Recorded mostly in Seattle (with three bonus tracks from San Diego), this noisy commingling of guitarists is billed as a tribute to the past, present, and future of Jimi Hendrix, the man still regarded as the greatest of them all, at least among rock artists. It's an apt description, and the concerts feature an interesting assortment of great older bluesmen (Buddy Guy and Hubert Sumlin), younger guns (Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Randolph, and Jimmy D. Lane), veteran rockers (Mick Taylor, formerly with the Rolling Stones, and singer Paul Rodgers), musicians who played and recorded with the master (Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles of the Band of Gypsys), and some more unexpected participants (such as Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Kenny Olson from Kid Rock's band)—many of whom are backed by Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section (bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton). The song choices tilt heavily toward the bluesy end of Hendrix's repertoire—no “Little Wing,” “Angel,” or “One Rainy Wish” here. To be sure, there are some powerful performances: Shepherd plays with fire and passion on “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)” and “I Don't Live Today”; Rodgers is an excellent choice for “Stone Free”; Guy, as always, is masterful, showing off his incredible feel for dynamics on the blues standard “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and Living Colour brings high energy to “Crosstown Traffic.” The performances also include a bunch of cats who sound like Hendrix, and therein lies the problem, such as it is: the original is still the greatest, so you gotta wonder why anyone other than guitar freaks would choose Experience Hendrix when you can actually experience Hendrix in the many available DVDs featuring the man himself. This caveat aside, this is still recommended for larger music collections. Aud: P. (S. Graham)
Experience Hendrix
(2007) 99 min. DVD: $19.98. Image Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 23, Issue 6
Experience Hendrix
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: