Jimi Hendrix – Live

Jimi Hendrix – Live

An intriguing early chapter in the recording history of one of rock music's greatest guitarists, Live brings together seven performances associated with Jimi Hendrix's formative musical years, before the international success of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Originally circulated on vinyl in the early 1970s under various titles, this collection offers a fascinating glimpse into the blues, R&B and soul influences that helped shape Hendrix's extraordinary musical identity.

Before becoming a household name with classics such as "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", Hendrix spent much of the mid-1960s working as a backing musician and performing on the American R&B and soul circuit. During this period he worked with artists including Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and Curtis Knight, developing the explosive guitar technique and distinctive musical vocabulary that would soon revolutionise rock music.

The recordings featured here belong to the early PPX recording period associated with Curtis Knight and his group, when Hendrix was still establishing himself as a guitarist. They offer a different perspective on his musicianship, rooted in blues, rhythm and blues, soul and the electric guitar traditions of mid-1960s American popular music.

The collection opens with "Driving South", a blues-driven performance that provides an opportunity to hear Hendrix exploring the expressive possibilities of the electric guitar. "I'm A Man" draws on the Chicago blues tradition, while "On The Killin' Floor" reflects the influence of Howlin' Wolf and the raw, electrified blues that would remain central to Hendrix's playing throughout his career.

The second side continues with "California Night", "Ain't That Peculiar" and Ray Charles's "What'd I Say", demonstrating the strong R&B and soul influences of the period. The collection closes with Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big City", bringing together the blues foundations that informed so much of Hendrix's later work.

What makes this release particularly interesting is its historical context. These recordings predate Hendrix's rise to international fame and capture a musician working within the American R&B scene rather than the psychedelic rock environment for which he would become celebrated. They provide an interesting contrast with the groundbreaking recordings he would make shortly afterwards with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.

The seven-track collection was issued in Germany in 1970 as Live – Birth Of Success on the Hör Zu label, catalogue number SHZE 293, and subsequently appeared under different titles in other territories. Its recording history is associated with the New York and New Jersey club circuit of the mid-1960s, although early Hendrix releases from this period have a complicated and sometimes inconsistent discographical history.

An interesting addition for Jimi Hendrix enthusiasts, collectors of early recordings and listeners fascinated by the blues and R&B foundations of psychedelic rock. Rather than representing the fully developed Hendrix Experience sound, this album offers a window into the formative musical world that helped create it.

Tracklist

Side A
A1. Driving South – 7:30
A2. I'm A Man – 4:52
A3. On The Killin' Floor – 3:18

Side B
B1. California Night – 5:08
B2. Aint That Peculiar – 3:24
B3. What'd I Say – 3:59
B4. Bright Lights, Big City – 3:16