Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock

Hendrix fans rejoice: here's the full Jimi from the iconic 1969 Woodstock music festival—14 songs presented in their original order of performance totaling more than 80 minutes. Previously available only in an hour-shy version, this “definitive 2 DVD collection” features never-before-seen versions of “Message to Love,” “Lover Man,” “Foxey Lady,” and “Spanish Castle Magic,” as well as Hendrix classics such as “Purple Haze,” “Fire,” “Voodoo Child,” and his now-legendary rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” backed by his Gypsy Sons & Rainbows band. Opening with a segment offering a retrospective look at “The Road to Woodstock,” featuring Woodstock promoter Michael Lang and various band members, Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock serves up staggering evidence (if any were needed) that Hendrix was and perhaps will always be the world's greatest rock guitarist, especially during a brilliant five-minute jam simply called “Woodstock Improvisation,” a rapid-fire tour of the entire fret-board sandwiched in between songs during an uninterrupted half-hour sonic blast. If viewers are only familiar with Hendrix's set from Michael Wadleigh's classic 1970 film Woodstock (which featured a mere 10 minutes in the original and an added five in the “director's cut”), they owe it to themselves to check out this remarkable showcase filmed a little over a year before Hendrix's death. Presented in crystal clear DTS, Dolby Digital 5.0 and stereo, DVD extras include a second disc offering a black-and-white subpar videotape shot version of the set (intercut with some of the original color footage, and featuring the bonus song “Hear My Train A Comin'”), a seven-minute Hendrix press conference filmed two weeks after Woodstock, a pair of featurettes with band members and the recording engineer for the festival, and a booklet. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)