Jimi Plays Berkeley (DVD/CD Set)
Picture: Sound:
Extras: Film/Album
DVD C+ B- B B+
CD N/A B- B B+
Take a good look at just
about every Top Guitarist list and you will most likely find Jimi Hendrix to
hold the numero uno spot. He is
certainly at the top of my list, despite my love for fellow guitarist such as
Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, and Eric Clapton. While there is much debate over who the top
guitarist may be, that distinction certainly becomes harder as time presses
on. What most people fail to realize
(as with Top Movie lists) is that much credit is due to those who do it
first. While Hendrix certainly had his
share of influences, his separation from the rest of the world of guitar
players resides in his abilities to incorporate so many styles and to play each
with his own trademarks included. At
times Hendrix goes into out-of-this-world guitar virtuosity and his abilities
have been documented in many places, in various recordings, despite a shortened
career.
Essential Hendrix was only
known on a large scale to the public for about four or five years until his
untimely death at the age of 27. He
released four albums, one of which was live entitled Band of Gypsies,
which remains the only authorized live album of his. Since then there have been many releases of material from the
Hendrix vaults including rare outtakes, alternate versions, cover tunes, and
many other live versions of songs.
Hendrix was one of the few to alter his work between the studio and the
stage. Often times he would change
words, change solos, alter the rhythm, or even retiled songs such as Foxy
Lady vs. Foxey Lady.
Berkeley was designed as a
two day show, Friday and Saturday, with James Taylor playing on Friday night and
Hendrix doing two shows on Saturday.
With his Experience behind him consisting of members Mitch Mitchell and
Billy Cox, Hendrix revamped the Experience from their earlier days in 1969. The loss of Ginger Baker on drums is certain
recognized though. One of the best
songs included in this set besides some of the crowd favorites was the
inclusion of Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), which was issued a few years
back on a CD entitled First Rays of the New Rising Sun, which introduced
some other lost or allegedly lost songs of Hendrix’s such as Dolly Dagger.
As far as the DVD
technology is concerned there are several discs out there highlighting some of
the live shows of Hendrix including The Monterey Pop Festival, which was
released from Criterion. From Universal
Music comes Jimi Plays Berkeley, which is from the Berkeley Community
Theatre recorded May 30th 1970.
There were two shows as well as two sets and this DVD/CD set includes
all the music from both. The CD
contains the second show, while the DVD footage includes the first show with
video footage, while the second set is audio only.
Film Set (49 Minutes)
Johnny B. Goode
Hear My Train A Comin’
I Don’t Live Today
Machine Gun
Purple Haze
Star Spangled Banner
Voodoo Child (Slight
Return)
Bonus Set (DVD/CD) (67 Minutes)
Pass It On (Straight
Ahead)
Hey Baby (New Rising
Sun)
Lover Man
Stone Free
Hey Joe
I Don’t Live Today
Machine Gun
Foxey Lady
Star Spangled Banner
Purple Haze
Voodoo Child (Slight
Return)
Jimi Plays Berkeley is downright powerful as his lyrics cut through
the air with the juxtaposition of the upheaval at Berkeley during this
tumultuous time with Vietnam and the freedoms being threatened in America. The recording here is fine, even when the
performances is not as good as it has been in other areas. The Star Spangled Banner, for example
does not quite come close to the hair tingling experience from his Woodstock
performance. Nor does Machine Gun
have the edgy ferocity it did from the Band of Gypsy’s album, which was
recorded a few months earlier than this on New Years Eve.
The improvement here
though is the inclusion of a second audio option to the 2.0 stereo track and
that is a newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track that has been created by
famed engineer Eddie Kramer. Kramer, of
course, being the original engineer on Hendrix’s project was also responsible
for the mix from the Monterey Set released by Criterion. However, that set included three playback
options including Stereo, Dolby 5.1, and an even better DTS 5.1. The absence of that DTS here is certainly
heard, as the songs do not quite come across as powerfully as they did on that Monterey
Set. However, many of the songs
here were not featured there as that concert took place in 1967 and Hendrix had
only been introduced to the world. By
the time Berkeley came Hendrix was at his height of superstardom, which would
only last a little bit longer. His
repertoire was expansive ranging from bluesy songs to sheer rock numbers.
Although the recreated
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix sounds better than the 2.0 Stereo there are definite
limitations still. Kramer attempted to
bring together a lively feel to the mix by placing more of the crowd noises
towards the rear and focused on more of the instruments in the front
portion. Oddly enough the audio-only
portion delivers better renditions of the songs than what appear in the
film. The introduction to Hey Baby
(New Rising Sun) includes the entire guitar part, but the film version
begins almost where the vocals come in.
Machine Gun also sounds more forceful and tighter on the audio
only portion versus the film version.
Overall, Hendrix was a raw player when it came to live
performances. As an audience member you
never knew what to expect from certain songs no matter how familiar you were previously. He would improvise so much not just
musically, but physically transforming his body into a slithering device
pouring his soul into his music. Often
times we see Hendrix distorting his guitar and using it in ways no one else
ever had.
The full-frame picture
looks ok, but nothing great. The
footage captured is quite raw looking, which fits the material. Most of the concert footage was shot in a
way to go along with the feelings and moods, which often time become more
psychedelic with the camera held on its side with various lighting
schemes. Although this is all good, it
still does not quite look as good as some of that footage from the Monterey
Set, nor does it sound as good. The
plus side with this DVD though is the range of songs as well as the various
versions we get in this set. We can
hear from doing A/B comparisons just how Hendrix altered his performance each
time.
Probably the best extra
within this set is the booklet that is inside the packaging. This is where the most vital information is
included about Berkeley, about Hendrix, and about this whole film in and of
itself. While it is only a few pages in
length it is very information heavy with small print. The CD also contains a thorough booklet as well, which focuses
more on the actual songs and their versions within this set. Any Hendrix fan is
going to want to get all the material that they can from this legendary
man. This DVD is certainly one of the
best of his to date offering some of his best tunes no matter what boundaries
the performance crosses.
- Nate Goss
