University of Virginia Library

Hendrix: Listen To Him Loud

By DOUG STEIER

Ever since I heard the last
three minutes of "Woodstock",
I've been hoping for a live
Hendrix album.

"Hendrix in the West"
(recorded at three different
concerts) is not all I was
hoping for, but it is perhaps
the most exciting Hendrix
album to date.

The production work is
excellent and the vitality of
these performances is captured
as well as any live album I've
heard.

Questionable Taste

Unfortunately, the album
opens with two cuts from the
Isle of Wight concert which
are, at best, in questionable
taste. They certainly show
Hendrix to poor advantage,
and it seems doubtful that he
would have had them released
if alive.

The album really gets off
with a concise and subtle
version of "Little Wing" that
sounds better than the studio
version on "Axix: Bold as
Love".

"Red House," the
unquestionable high point of
the first side, is the next cut.
Beginning with some superb
blues that is all too seldom
heard on his other albums, he
established a mood just in time
to join the band in a gear
change that charges along
through several fine and
unexpected style changes.

Constantly Loud

Constantly changing and
constantly loud, Hendrix
demonstrates that there is no
sound that he can't coax from
his guitar.

The second side begins with
him "strutting his stuff" in the
classic rock 'n' roll
foot-stomper of all time,
"Johnny B. Goode." If you've
been wanting a song you could
yell and scream and jump up
and down to (and who
doesn't), this is it.

Two Guitars

Hendrix sounds like two
guitars at once in the best
version of this number since
Chuck Berry.

After this, the tempo (but
not the excitement) slows
down through "Lover Man," a
version of "Blue Suede Shoes"
that would turn Carl Perkins'
head around, and finally,
"Voodoo Chile."

Anybody who likes
Hendrix and wants more
should rush out and buy this
record. Even those of you who
don't particularly like the man
should find a friend with a
copy and give it a listen.

But no matter where you
listen to it, listen to it loud.

(Now at the Band Box)