Jimi Hendrix

Director Roger Pomphrey creates a unique montage of thoughts, impressions, photographs, and sounds about the creation and development of the Jimi Hendrix album Electric Ladyland. Engineer Eddie Kramer cracks open the tapes and the world gets to hear Rolling Stone Brian Jones' unreleased piano track to "All Along the Watchtower," Jimi's own strange "sci-fi" "air" vocal sounds on "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" -- fascinating stuff that makes a hardcore Hendrix fan or any serious musician wish there were 16 hours of information about this recording rather than just the 60 minutes or so that you get here. The DVD has no bonus material -- unless you consider the lame "discography" consisting of a mere three discs, with no information on Are You Experienced or Axis: Bold as Love -- but the program is cleverly put together and holds one's attention. There is a track selection giving the viewer some mobility and a strong, succinct script which gets the message across efficiently. Of course, the interview footage with Noel Redding and Chas Chandler is priceless now, and the information from the lips of the Jefferson Airplane's Jack Casady, Buddy Miles, Steve Winwood, Dave Mason, and other players on these sessions is all wonderful and marvelous. Originally released by Rhino on video in 1998, this Eagle Rock Entertainment version comes with a one-page pullout that includes the "Chapter Selection" and a blurb for other titles in the series: Lou Reed's Transformer, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, and Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Created originally for television, the hour zips by with nuggets on different aspects of the release, including photographer David Montgomery and record executive Chris Stamp discussing the making of the controversial U.K. "naked ladies" cover with Eddie Kramer explaining how Jimi was annoyed by an album design he had no control over. Kramer does an excellent and spirited job of pretty much narrating this as notes from Noel Redding's diary and Jimi's song lyrics in his own handwriting are utilized to good effect, all woven into the fabric of interviews, video clips, and rare glimpses into the recording process which resulted in this exceptional album. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide