Classic Albums - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (2005)

Working with the Master

Electric Ladyland has and always will be a classic album.
This DVD not only deals with the making of the album, but it shows what was going on with the band and Jimi Hendrix at the time.
The movie points out the hellish schedule they would have. It pointed out that they would be on one coast one night and the other coast the next night. At the same time Hendrix would try to make time to record while trying to put together his own recording studio in New York City.
It shows how Hendrix would for instance make recordings of guitar music at one speed and play it back at another for special effects.
It tells you how he used a comb with wax paper to simulate a kazoo sound for another track.
It interviews Michael Finnigan, who played on Rainy day, dream away.
Finnigan talks about how Hendrix instructed him to play the music they way he wanted it.
It indicates that Hendrix played a harpsichord on Burning of the Midnight Lamp. Hendrix was apparentley a good keyboard player.
Hendrix also uses Jack Casady to play bass guitar on some songs, and plays bass himself in Noel Reddings abscence.
This is in my mind a very good documentary.....I would recommend it to any Hendrix fan or any serious fan of the Rock of the 60's. February 3, 2008

Getting close to the genius.

Watching this DVD brings the Hendrix fan closer to the soul that produced this beautiful work of art. The interviews and recollections show how Jimi's personality imprinted on everyone he worked with. They all still miss him terribly. This DVD provides insight into the process Hendrix evolved to in writing and recording his work. After watching this DVD I hear the album in a more informed light. Hendrix was a brilliant shooting star. I also noticed how much Prince copies Jimi's style. Somehow I missed that before this DVD. September 10, 2007

batcall

It's a shame that one of the best guitarist in rock'n roll died so young. This is great music. August 9, 2007

Behind the scenes in the studio

Great video that focuses on the mixing of the individual parts in the studio mixing and really has some great behind the scenes glimpses into the making of this classic album. Very good quality and production. Very interesting to all guitarists interested in classic rock. November 4, 2006

Okay, not outstanding

While this DVD is interesting and well-produced, it doesn't measure up to other releases in the "Classic Album" series. The great bulk of screen time is spent on talking head interviews. That in itself would be okay, but they focus more on praising Jimi than discussing the music and the nuts and bolts of its creation. There is a lot of material that didn't make it onto this DVD - extensive alternate takes and outtakes - that has been broadcast on the radio. That material would have provided a fascinating supplement and insight into the Electric Ladyland creation process, and the brilliance behind the compositions of the songs. But instead this disc shows too much reminiscing about Jimi and mourning of his early death.

Once again, Eddie Kramer provides the meat of the subject matter, playing the mixer like a virtuoso. But even here his comments seem curiously attenuated. Electric Ladyland is a masterwork of studio recording, one of the striking achievements of 20th century rock music, and a complete treatment could fill several DVDs. Here we only get snippets. The same is true of the performances; this disc only shows brief clips, frequently interrupted, of various classic performances.

This is a disc for completists, and you probably won't want to watch it more than once. It talks about Jimi a lot, but there just isn't much of him here. September 11, 2005

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