Jimi Hendrix: Musician

Rating:
Summary: Spelling mistakes?
Review: All of us at Backbeat Books were disturbed to read that 'A reader from Marietta, Ga United States' has spotted all sorts of 'misspellings' in Jimi Hendrix:Musician.

Could he/she please point them out? We can't see any, and no other readers or reviewers have mentioned any to us either.

Rating:
Summary: Spelling mistakes?
Review: All of us at Backbeat Books were disturbed to read that 'A reader from Marietta, Ga United States' has spotted all sorts of 'misspellings' in Jimi Hendrix:Musician.

Could he/she please point them out? We can't see any, and no other readers or reviewers have mentioned any to us either.

Rating:
Summary: Spelling Errors?
Review: I'm with you folks at Backbeat Books...where are the "redundant" spelling mistakes in this superb tome????.....I thought it was an outstandingly well written book looking at Jimi the musician...Keith Shadwick is a brilliant author....I can also relate to that fateful day in '67 when we both got our ears & hearts around Are You Experienced?.....seems it changed both our lives....and no doubt continues to do so....thanx for this super book Backbeat folks......and thanx to Jimi too....may the Axis bless you both!

ps....I'm an English teacher, so I can usually spot spelling errors!

Rating:
Summary: Spelling Errors?
Review: I'm with you folks at Backbeat Books...where are the "redundant" spelling mistakes in this superb tome????.....I thought it was an outstandingly well written book looking at Jimi the musician...Keith Shadwick is a brilliant author....I can also relate to that fateful day in '67 when we both got our ears & hearts around Are You Experienced?.....seems it changed both our lives....and no doubt continues to do so....thanx for this super book Backbeat folks......and thanx to Jimi too....may the Axis bless you both!

ps....I'm an English teacher, so I can usually spot spelling errors!

Rating:
Summary: Getting Inside Jimi's Musical Mind
Review: So much has been written about Jimi Hendrix, do we really need another full length book? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding "yes"! Keith Shadwick has given us a fresh perspective on Hendrix, one that took this reader on a bit of a travel through time. What we've been missing all these years is a comprehensive source that cuts out all of the superfluous junk and gets down to that which was real, at that time - how it affected the music and how the music affected it.

Electric Gypsy (Harry Shapiro) is an excellent book in that it has the bulk of the factual information on Jimi's life, maybe even too much information. But, in its quest for all things encyclopedic, it seemed to miss out on the spirit of the time that Jimi lived in. Setting The Record Straight (Eddie Karmer and John McDermott) partially bridged this chasm, by taking the reader into not only the studio where Jimi and his bandmates laid down the tracks, but into Jimi's musical mind - the kinds of sounds he wanted to find, where he thought his music could go in the future. In short, it took us into some of Jimi's dreams. Between these two extremes, one can find much middle ground, most of it far more towards the Electric Gypsy camp. To get closer to the man himself and the realities of the world as it was when he was making his mark, one was almost better off searching out vintage magazines, such as Guitar World, Rolling Stone, etc.

But now we have Jimi Hendrix: Musician. The changes brought on by the simple realities of Jimi's musical life are given perspective in this book fare more completely than ever before. We are given glimpses of the journey and not just a facimile of the final destination. And those glimpses provide color so we can see more clearly how difficult it must have been to endure the musician's life back when Jimi was starving. Not only that, we can share in the joy of the good times and also the frustrations Jimi felt when all was not well during his last years.

Jimi's musical tenure was rooted right in the middle of the most incredible of times, when social change moved music and music attempted to cause social change. Many authors have struggled to put the reader into that space and time, but Keith Sedgewick has managed to sail those waters brilliantly.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Inside Jimi's Musical Mind
Review: So much has been written about Jimi Hendrix, do we really need another full length book? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding "yes"! Keith Shadwick has given us a fresh perspective on Hendrix, one that took this reader on a bit of a travel through time. What we've been missing all these years is a comprehensive source that cuts out all of the superfluous junk and gets down to that which was real, at that time - how it affected the music and how the music affected it.

Electric Gypsy (Harry Shapiro) is an excellent book in that it has the bulk of the factual information on Jimi's life, maybe even too much information. But, in its quest for all things encyclopedic, it seemed to miss out on the spirit of the time that Jimi lived in. Setting The Record Straight (Eddie Karmer and John McDermott) partially bridged this chasm, by taking the reader into not only the studio where Jimi and his bandmates laid down the tracks, but into Jimi's musical mind - the kinds of sounds he wanted to find, where he thought his music could go in the future. In short, it took us into some of Jimi's dreams. Between these two extremes, one can find much middle ground, most of it far more towards the Electric Gypsy camp. To get closer to the man himself and the realities of the world as it was when he was making his mark, one was almost better off searching out vintage magazines, such as Guitar World, Rolling Stone, etc.

But now we have Jimi Hendrix: Musician. The changes brought on by the simple realities of Jimi's musical life are given perspective in this book fare more completely than ever before. We are given glimpses of the journey and not just a facimile of the final destination. And those glimpses provide color so we can see more clearly how difficult it must have been to endure the musician's life back when Jimi was starving. Not only that, we can share in the joy of the good times and also the frustrations Jimi felt when all was not well during his last years.

Jimi's musical tenure was rooted right in the middle of the most incredible of times, when social change moved music and music attempted to cause social change. Many authors have struggled to put the reader into that space and time, but Keith Sedgewick has managed to sail those waters brilliantly.

Rating:
Summary: Jimi Hendrix: Musician
Review: This book is the best you will ever get. This book covers hendrix from the seattle years to his final years. This includes many rare photographs. This book is hardcovered and is the best on the market this is a must have for a hendrix fan.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Review of One Who Dared to Kiss the Sky
Review: This coffee table sized tome would make a perfect gift for anyone with an avocation for all things Hendrix. This is a well researched and documented account of the career and personal history of Jimi Hendrix. Shadwick has done a terrific job casting the historical setting that made both his music nad himself possible. While not the musicologist's tome that Lewis Porter did on John Coltrane, the research and writing here is absolutely first rate.
Shadwick clearly sets an historical line that preceeded Hendrix as musician and showman both in the course of R and B and Blues and Jazz (louis Jordan, T Bone Walker, the Isleys, etc) as well as that mix of Cherokee and African family heritage and culture that made him so unique. I'm not clear whether or not this has the official approval of the Hendrix Estate, but it should. It is a compassionate, yet unblinking study of his intrepid courage, his core humble hamnity, and the havoc wrought by the struggles and the success in a world of rock going crazy. In so many ways the "cult of personality" was born around and out of the fascination and adoration of Jimi Hendrix, first and foremost as a musician, and as just this wild hippie, which image became the whale that swallowed the Jonah of new music. At a time when he most needed to retreat from being "Jimi Hendrix" an entire network had contrived to ensnare him The dismay expressed by Mitchell, Redding and Cox is squarely legitimate and indicts for all time those whose msiion it was to consume him.
It clearly jumps out at you who was loyal to Hendrix as a human being, who sycophantically fed off him like a pernicious cancer, destroying a brilliant and yet essentially very kind man. It will aways be one of the great unanswered questions as to where he might have gone with his music. In the case of Coltrane, John had come to contemplate the face of God and may not have been able to articulate any further the rapture he experienced, and thus he may not have died so much as ascended into heaven.
In the case of Hendrix, he had inadvertently grasped onto death's doorhandle and while looking for a way to rise like a Phoenix from what he had clearly perceived as an exhausted road, he did not so much select his end as be virtually tossed from the window while scanning the horizon for a new rising sun.
The book is loaded with great photos and an index, set of references and a discography that is definitively well documented. The interviews recounted with friends, family, loved ones and villains is even handed and objective. This is a terrific book, definitely the best there is about a man whose music impacted and changed forever the way dedicated artists considered their craft. And no one has played the guitar the same way since Jimi Hendrix. He changed everything.

Rating:
Summary: Spell check
Review: This is my first review I just thought my opinions should be shared for those considering buying this book. Anyway here goes. I thought this was an excellent book on the history of the great Jimi Hendrix. I wish someone would have spell checked this book before it was published. Other than the redundant misspellings I loved the book.

I would have given the book more stars however I believe to do so would be misleading.

I hope this was some help.