SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE – LOS ANGELES FORUM: APRIL 26, 1969

Jimi Hendrix Experience
Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
Legacy Recordings

In 1969, Jimi Hendrix was one of the most celebrated musicians in the world. Playing at the Forum in Inglewood, CA in the spring of 1969 with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, this live album testifies to Hendrix’s influence on the 1960s musical landscape.

Notable moments include his own special rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, a precursor to the iconic Woodstock performance later that same year. The familiar sardonic bending of notes and electronic distortion allow Hendrix to show off his range, making the instrument seemingly sing as he stretches from legato to desperate chopping effects and everything in between before returning to the stratosphere, leaving the audience to hang on every held note. Throughout, Hendrix leads his ensemble well, with tracks such as “Red House” boasting the tight ensemble playing, with everyone rising together in every crescendo and falling on every crash as one.

At times it may prove a tough task on ears removed from the context of an original live performance, with tracks such as “Spanish Castle Magic”, possibly being stretched out five minutes too long as one long interminable solo follows another. However, maybe this should be seen as it is, a historical testament to a man who, at the time, seemed capable of anything with that instrument, and was giving a sneak preview of the things to come with metal and progressive rock. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but you can’t deny how important it was then, and now.

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