From the Flamingo Club to Ronnie Scott’s
Here is a list of selected recordings with good sound. These performances have appeared on many different bootleg labels over the years, in many different guises and configurations. Some were even duplicated and released on Purple Haze and Radioctive Records, etc. (i.e. the controversial Mike Jeffrey and John Hillman estates) turning up in record shops and supermarkets. Many are of course audience recordings and I try and list those with the better sound quality. Some other shows with very poor sound can be great performances but it is up to each fan’s patience if they can sit through them.
Also, a group of devoted Hendrix enthusiasts collected together the best known sources available and shared them with the world: “For Trade Only”, the A.T.M. (Archived Traders Material) CDs , so hats off to them and also to the guys behind the Vibratory series. Watch out also for Funkydrummer’s updates of all these releases which turn up on YouTube and elsewhere.
The covers shown here are just some among many of the different versions out there.
The detailed listing on the Forum Jimi Hendrix helped a lot here. Check out the “Recherches” summary also, which is also a good way to get track details of outtakes CDs.
You can pose questions to the webmaster Ayler who speaks excellent English
1967
LONDON – Flamingo Club – February 14, 1967 – Fair to good audience recording
Killing Floor, Have Mercy, Can You See Me, Like a Rolling Stone, Rock Me Baby, Catfish Blues, Stone Free, Hey Joe, Wild Thing
This very early complete show, just four months after the formation of The Jimi Hendrix Experience is fascinating. The sound is not hi-fidelity but it’s a great show. Of particular interest is the only known complete performance of “Have Mercy”.
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HAMBURG – Studio 1, NDR Radiohause – March 18, 1967 – Very good soundboard recording
Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, Stone Free, Fire, Purple Haze
Just a month after the Flamingo and great sound this time as the band were recorded for the “Twenclub” radio show. There a couple of brief interviews with the band and Noel steps in to reply in German.
The tapes have been mistaken for Star Club recordings on some bootlegs as the band had played at the famous club later that day.
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STOCKHOLM – 1967/1968 – Fair to good audience recordings
24 May, 1967 – Stora Scenen, Grona Lund
Foxy Lady, Rock Me Baby, Hey Joe, Can You See Me, Purple Haze, Wild Thing
4 September, 1967 – Stora Scenen, Grona Lund
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, Rock Me Baby, Catfish Blues, Hey Joe, Purple Haze
11 September, 1967 – Stora Scenen, Grona Lund
Foxy Lady, The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, Fire, Catfish Blues, Hey Joe, Purple Haze
8 January 1968 -Stora Salen, Konserthuset
Sgt Pepper, EXP, Up From The Skies, Spanish Castle Magic, Foxy Lady, Little Wing, Fire, Catfish Blues, The Wind Cries Mary, Purple Haze
A great collection of raw power here at various Stockholm concerts and mainly at the famous Stora Scenen in the Tivoli Gardens Gronalund amusement park. Jimi played the venue many times and even on the final 1970 European tour just after the Isle Of Wight.
Here we are in 1967/68 and these are all very good audience recording. Even Mitch’s cymbals come across well in general, though Jimi’s vocals are a little muffled here and there (and even absent on that first track).
> These recordings turned up in the shops on “Live In Sweden – Volume 1” (Msi) from the Jeffrey estate.
> That great “Can You See Me” from May 67 had appreared on Univibe’s “EXP Over Sweden” subscriber’s CD (which also featured the second show from 4 September 67 at the nearby Dans In venue). Also on that Univibes CD were “EXP”, “Up From The Skies” and “Little Wing” from the 8 Jan. 68 show featured here.
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LUND – Stora Salen, Akademiska Forenengen – 10 September 1967 – Fair to good audience recording
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Foxy Lady, Catfish Blues, Fire, The Wind Cries Mary, Mercy Mercy, Manic Depression, Purple Haze
Another good show from the Scandinavian tour and of particular interest as, like the Flamingo Club recording, it features a rendition of “Have Mercy”. This version infuriatingly cuts out half way through, due to a power failure on stage!
The bootleg pictured is titled “Swedish Castle Magic”.
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BUSSUM – Vitus TV Studios – 10 November 1967 – “Hoepla”, Dutch radio – Excellent soundboard
Foxy Lady, Catfish Blues, Purple Haze (3 takes)
A nice little bunch of tracks done for TV here. “Foxy Lady” was on Univibes’ “Calling Long Distance” as was “Catfish Blues” (which cropped up on Alan Douglas’ “:Blues” compilation).
1968
DALLAS – State Fair Music Hall – Dallas : 16 February 1968 – Fair soundboard or good audience recording
Are You Experienced?, Fire, The Wind Cries Mary, Tax Free, Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, Purple Haze, Wild Thing
FORT WORTH – Will Rogers Auditorium : 17 February 1968 – Fair soundboard or good audience recording
Sergent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window, The Wind Cries Mary, Fire, Catfish Blues, Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Wild Thing
Two fun shows here on successive days, finding Jimi in great humour and constantly joking (rather like at the Paris Olympia show of the previous January), much to the delight of the audience. There are tuning problems here and there and the Fort Worth recording has varying tape speeds occasionally which is a little annoying. Mitch’s drums are way back and his cymbals are pretty well inaudible, Noel’s bass is too loud and it creates a lot of boomy distorsion but Jimi’s guitar and vocals come over well, particularly on The Wind Cries Mary, Red House and Catfish Blues. That last track is over 9 minutes long because of an immense, tedious drum solo but when Jimi comes back in, his improvisation is like nothing you’ve heard anywhere else. For the Dallas show, there is the first “Tax Free” played in public. Also of interest are Jimi’s spectacular improvisations for the overture of “Purple Haze” which he announces as a joint national anthem. Later in the year, at Winterland for example, he would expand it into what he called “This Is America” incorporating The Star Spangled Banner.
I love the cover of this ATM version which uses a mean shot from the “Smash Hits” bandits photo session and inside there is a mock-up of a WANTED poster for Menacing Mitch Mitchell, Nasty Noel Redding and “Jesse” James Marshall Hendrix.
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OTTAWA 1968 : 13 March 1968 – Excellent soundboard recording
2nd show: Killing Floor, Tax Free, Fire, Red House, Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, Spanish Castle Magic, Purple Haze, Wild Thing (incomplete)
1st show: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Fire, Purple Haze
The 2nd show from Ottawa is very familiar to Hendrix enthusiasts, from previous bootlegs such as “Magic Fingers” and the later official Dagger Records release of 2001. This however is a higher (1st generation) source with obviously superior sound quality. It’s still a little hissy but the instruments are better balanced and Mitch’s drums are more distinct.
The 1st show tracks are identical to those presented on Dagger’s “Live 68 – Paric/Ottawa”.
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NEW YORK – Generation Club : 15 mars 1968 ? – Very good audience (Jimi’s tape machine?)
Ad Libbed Impromptu Blues In ‘A’ (B.B King Jam), Kooper’s Shuffle In ‘G’ (Blues Jam), Like A Rolling Stone, San-Ho-Zay /Instrumental Jam, Intro by B.B. King, Slow Blues, Fast Blues, It’s My Own Fault, BB King Intro 2, BB King Slow Instrumental Jam
Jimi doing what he loved the most, jamming with friends. This time it’s B.B. King himself along with Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop among others.
Unfortunately Jimi and B.B. don’t play at the same time and B.B. plays very little here. Tracks here are a bit mixed up and incomplete I beleive.
The ATM “Kick Out The Jams” is said to be more definitive. Of particular interest is Jimi attacking Freddie King’s “San-Ho-Zay” (he leaves a lot of space for other players to do their thing also).
> The Generation Club became Electric Lady Studios!
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NEW YORK – Café Au Go Go : 17 mars 1968 – Very good audience (Jimi’s tape machine ?)
Little Wing, Everything’s Gonna Be Allright, Three Little Bears Part 1, Three Little Bears Part 2, Instrumental Jam, Stormy Monday, Blues In C (including San-Ho-Zay)
Jimi with Elvin Bishop and Paul Butterfield again plus Buddy Miles and others. A lot of general blues bashing with some nice guitar from Jimi here and there. ‘Three Little Bears” and “Little Wing” have only fleeting resemblances to the songs in Jimi’s catalogue. That last track is in fact from the B.B. King jam above. There’s some fantastic soloing from Jimi here, when he’s not stepping back to let other players take their tedious solos (harmonica, organ, sax, bass).
This was put out by Radioactive as “Blues At Midnight” (the same title as the bootleg pictured).
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NEW YORK – Fillmore East : 10 May 1968 (second concert) – Very good audience recording
Lover Man, Fire, Foxy Lady, Red House, Hey Joe, The Sunshine Of Your Love, Hear My Train A-Comin’, Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window ?, Purple Haze, Wild Thing
Considered to be one of the band’s finest shows and rightly so. Jimi is on top form and in great humour (like at the Dallas and Fort Worth gigs). This is the first concert performance of “Hear My Train” and the band play the riff of “Sunshine Of Your Love” for the first time also (the first complete performance of the song came later at Pheonix in September). Note also the rare live performance of Dylan’s “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window ?” (also performed during the 1967 BBC sessions).
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SAN FRANCISCO – Winterland Theatre : 10, 11, 12 October 1968 – Very good soundboard recording
All six shows here and it’s all soundboard except for a few tracks at the end of the one of the night’s performances. The very best moments were of course picked out and enhanced by Alan Douglas for the albums “The Jimi Hendrix Concerts” and “Live At Winterland” and in 2011 by Eddie Kramer for the “Winterland” box set and single CD.
The ATM version, “The Winterland Reels” was subsequently duplicated by Reclamation Records and marketed as “Three Nights At Winterland”. What this complete recording reveals clearly is that the band were plagued by equipment problems at practically each performance. One understands also why Herbie Rich’s organ was edited out on the official releases as he plays in the wrong key ! There is an interesting jam on “Are You Experienced” with flute player Virgil Gonzales.
> See Live Releases 80s or 2010s for the full set lists.
1969
STOCKHOLM – Konserthuset – 9 January 1969 (2 shows) – Excellent soundboard recording
1st show – Killing Floor (Burnett), Spanish Castle Magic, Fire, Hey Joe (Roberts), Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Red House, Sunshine Of Your Love (Bruce, Brown,Clapton)
2nd show – I Don’t Live Today, Spanish Castle Magic, Hey Joe (Roberts), Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Sunshine Of Your Love (Bruce, Brown,Clapton), Red House (Jimi Hendrix), Fire, Purple Haze, Star Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key)
After a month off the road and “The Lulu Show” (4th of January), the 1969 European tour kicked off in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was a ragged show with Jimi seeming to lack enthusiasm. This is the Second night of the tour and a TV crew was there to film the band. They unfortunately only filmed the first show which turned out to be poor. The band were evidently in very bad spirits and it shows on the black and white video (extracts are on the official “Experience” DVD and a complete bootleg DVD of the set exists).
The second set improved a little but despite the excellent sound quality the whole evening was not a good night for the band.
The Jeffrey and Hillman “estates” put these recordings in the shops (“Astro Man”, “Stockholm Concert” and “Live In Scandinavia”).
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MUNSTER – Halle Munsterland – 14 January 1969 – Very good audience recording
Come On (Part 1), Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, Fire, Foxy Lady, All Along The Watchtower, Hey Joe, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Purple Haze
The following night and the group are coming into their stride at last, putting on a fine performance here. The nice surprise here is the only “All Along The Watchtower” performed live by The Experience ! Good show.
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FRANKFURT – Jahrunderhalle – 17 January 1969 – Fair audience recording
Come On (Part 1), Fire, Red House, I Don’t Live Today, Little Wing, Foxy Lady, Sunshine Of Your Love, Hey Joe, Purple Haze
A very good quality audience tape (at least for Jimi’s guitar) and this one finds Jimi on absolute top form and in good humour. A must!
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BERLIN – SPORTPALAST – 23 January 1969 (1st concert) – Fair to good audience recording
Fire, Hey Joe, Spanish Castle Magic, Foxy Lady, Red House, Come On (Part One), Sunshine Of Your Love, Purple Haze
Very good sound here, a standard set list and another fine performance. This was the last date of the brief European tour and the band were set to perform the historic British farewell at The Royal Albert Hall a month later, then off to the States again.
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LONDON – Royal Albert Hall soundchecks – excellent soundboard
Hey Joe, Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Hear My Train A-Comin’, Room Full Of Mirrors, Bleeding Heart, Hound Dog
There are a few versions of this bootleg which let us hear The Experience in preparation for the second night of their 1969 London concerts. Some songs are played many times and one bootleg even features brief riffs from “Dance” (to become “Ezy Ryder”) and “Message To Love”. The best tracks were included on Purple Haze Records “An Evening With The Jimi Hendrix Experience”. Just about all the rest turned up on Charly’s 3 CD “The Last Experience”.
During one of the “Room Full Of Mirrors” takes, Jimi sings a short “Shame, Shame, Shame” (“It’s Too Bad”) sequence, just like on the 1988 Chandler project tapes (see studio bootleg “Studio Haze”). Interesting to hear the band coming back to “Hound Dog” for the first time since the BBC sessions. There is some great music played among all these takes.
> Some versions of this include interviews with Jimi and the acoustic “Hound Dog” with jimi playing it on a bed surrounded by friends.
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TORONTO – Maple Leaf Gardens – 3rd May 1969 – Fair audience recording
Fire, Hear My Train A Comin’, Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, Foxy Lady, Room Full Of Mirrors, Purple Haze, Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
This is a pretty poor recording but it is of historical interest. Jimi is on stage just after being busted for the heroin found in his luggage (he was later cleared of all charges). He carries on as if nothing had happenned and delivers an exciting set with a few unique moments. During the long “Spanish Castle Magic”, he quotes “3rd Stone From The Sun” and “Little Miss Lover”. Then, during a loose jam around “Room Full Of Mirrors” (in the same style as the Albert Hall version), Jimi improvises some lyrics with a bit of “Gypsy Eyes” and what later become what we know as “Crash Landing” and “Keep On Groovin'”.
This concert can be heard on the official site.
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SAN DIEGO – Sports Arena – 24 May 1969 – Excellent soundboard recording
Fire, Hey Joe, Spanish Castle Magic/Drum Solo/Sunshine of Your Love/Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, I Don’t Live Today, Foxy Lady, Purple Haze, Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
Like with the LA show, this was recorded with a live album in mind. It’s another great show from the final days of The Experience.
The show was released officially as part of “Stages” way back (again without “Foxy Lady”) and more recently by Purple Haze Records as “Truth & Emotion”. The killer “Red House” was on “Hendrix In The West” in the 70s and on the MCA box along with the superb performance of “Purple Haze”.
> In 2011, more tracks from San Diego were re-released (with an Eddie Kramer mix) on the altered re-release of “In The West”.
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SAN JOSE – Santa Clara County Fairgrounds : 25 May 1969 – Poor audience recording
Hear My Train A Comin’, Fire, Drum Solo, Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, I Don’t Live Today, Foxy Lady, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) /Room Full Of Mirrors/Message To Love Riff/Room Full Of Mirrors/Sunshine Of Your Love/Voodoo Child (Slight Return
Jimi on top form but sound quality is pretty awful. Note that during the expanded “Voodoo Child‘ the band throw in some of an embryonic “Message To Love” ! A damn shame that this wasn’t professionally recorded and filmed.
This concert could be heard on the official site a while ago.
The 2024 release “High Times In San Jose” purported to be from a radio broadcast source but alas it’s the same old tape source with a bit of tinkering to bring Jimi’s guitar and vocals more up front (which isn’t a bad thing). Mitch’s drums still sound like distant dustbins.
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DEVONSHIRE DOWNS – Newport Pop Festival – Very good soundboard recordings
20 June 1969 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Stone Free, Are You Experienced, Sunshine Of Your Love, Fire, Get My Heart Back Together, Red House, Foxy Lady, Like A Rolling Stone, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Purple Haze
Another huge pop festival and this time in front of a rather hostile bunch of hecklers. The day before, Jimi had been in court (the Toronto bust) so that didn’t help his mood either. He gets so annoyed with the crowd that before going into “Voodoo Child”, he shouts “This is a black militant song and don’t you ever forget it !”. There are some great moments as usual but overall it is an uneasy listening experience. The last ever live version of “Like A Rolling Stone” (pretty rough).
22 June 1969 – Jimi backed by Buddy Miles and other musicians
Earth vs Space/Gypsy Eyes/Keep On Groovin’/Red House/Machine Gun, The Things I Used To Do, Jam/Train Kept A Rollin’, Power Of Soul/Earth Blues, Get My Heart Back Together, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Fast Jam/Sunshine Of Your Love/Come On (part 1)/Star Spangled Banner), We Gotta Live Together/Feel So Good
Jimi was upset that the Experience show had gone so badly, so he decided to return to the festival two days later to perform as part of an “All Star Jam”. Up there with him was Buddy Miles, Eric Burdon, Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth. Because of the presence of Miles, the show points us towards the Band Of Gypsys of course and some songs of that future band’s repertoire are in among the jamming. The show opens with an interesting jam, “Earth vs Space” which includes snatches of “Gypsy Eyes” and “Machine Gun”. There is a great version of “The Things I Used To Do” sung by Jimi (which fades out on some versions, just as Jimi goes into a blistering solo) then Buddy takes everyone into Elmore James’ “The Sky Is Crying”. The ATM merge version has the complete solo however. You can see Jimi playing it on YouTube !).
Overall, this is rather slapdash affair but has its moments.
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DENVER – Mile High Stadium : June 29 1969 – Good audience recording
Tax Free, Hear My Train A Comin’, Fire, Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, Foxy Lady, Star Spangled Banner, Purple Haze
The very last performance by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (sob, sob) and it’s yet another festival. It’s a good show but was again marred by misunderstandings between the audience and the police firing tear gas into the crowd, forcing the band to run for cover also! Noel just couldn’t take it anymore and took a plane back to England shortly after the concert, never to take the stage with Jimi again. Noel was furious also, as a journalist told him that Jimi was planning to expand the group, and he hadn’t been informed. Very soon after, Jimi put together his short-lived six piece outfit Gypsy Sun And Rainbows.
> This concert can be heard on the official site
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SHOKAN (Jammin’ Back At The House) – good quality porbable tape machine
Back on the desert/medley, Izabella/The Rumble, Izabella/Machine Gun jam, Univibe jam, Message To Love, Mannish Boy, Mannish Boy/Izabella/You Make Me Feel, Ain’t got nobody, The Dance, Sundance, Free form jam
Izabella (3 takes), Message to love, Beginning, Instrumental, Beginning, Machine Gun/If 6 was 9, Flute instrumentals 1&2, Why i sing the blues, Izabella (percussion lower),Sundance
Lover man, Lover man/drum solo, Getting my heart back together again, Spanish Castle Magic, Instrumental jam, Jams/Villanova Junction, Flute jam, Instrumental jam/jams / Villanova Juncton
A home-base recording of Jimi relaxing and jamming with his gang of friends which he christened Gypsy Sun & Rainbows before and after the Woodstock festival in a
rented house (called Shokan) in Boiceville, NY.
A hissy 3CD collection of loose jams, ideas, doodles and nothing of any real interest, although it is interesting at least to hear Jimi in this relaxed setting, trying riffs and structures with this ramshackle band (of gypsys). At one stage there is a brief slow jam on If 6 Was 9 (a rare occurrence). Boring or fascinating according to your mood.
> The Mike Ephron jams were also recorded at the Shokan house but thankfully are absent here.
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WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL – 18 August 1969 – Very good soundboard recording
Message To Love (Message To The Universe), Hear My Train A Comin’, Spanish Castle Magic, Red House, Mastermind, Lover Man, Foxy Lady, Jam Back At The House (Beginnings)/Izabella, Gypsy Woman/Aware of Love, Fire, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)/Tryin’ To Be/Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze/Woodstock Improvisation,/Villanova Junction Blues, Hey Joe
This show has been well covered on the official releases over the years but the bootleg enables one to hear the unedited performance, warts and all. Larry Lee’s out of tune guitar is more audible and his awkward solo on “Red House” is intact, as are the two songs he sung that day, his own song “Mastermind” and The Impression’s “Gypsy Woman”.
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NEW YORK – Fillmore East : 31 December & 1 January 1970 – Excellent soundboard and audience recording
All four sets here from the famous Band Of Gypsys shows at the Fillmore, warts and all. The concerts have been
well covered offically now with Jimi’s own “Band Of Gypsys” album, “Live At The Fillmore east”, “West Coast Seattle Boy”, “Machine Gun” and by the box set “Songs For Groovy Children” (which didn’t contain all the songs represented here).
The so-called Mike Jeffrey estate copied this bootleg and put it out as “2 Nights At The Fillmore”.
1970
LOS ANGELES – The Forum : 25 April 1970 – Very good audience recording
Spanish Castle Magic, Foxy Lady, Lover Man, Getting My Heart Back Together (Hear My Train A Comin’), Message To Love, Ezy Ryder, Machine Gun, Room Full Of Mirrors, Hey Baby, Villanova Junction/Drum Solo, Freedom, Star Spangled Banner, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)/Keep On Groovin’
Back to the Forum, without Noel this time, and a very long set finding the new band (Hendrix/Cox/Mitchell) on fine form for the first date of the new American tour. I remember a friend of mine had a vinyl bootleg of this show way back in the seventies titled “Hendrix Alive”. The stereo merge is the best.
> This concert can be heard on the official site.
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BERKELEY – Berkeley Community Theatre : 30 May 1970 – Excellent soundboard recording
1st set – Fire, Johnny B Goode, Hear My Train A Comin’, Foxy Lady, Machine Gun, Freedom, Red House, Message To Love, Ezy Ryder, Star Spangled Banner, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
2nd set – Pass It On (Straight Ahead), Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), Lover Man, Stone Free, Hey Joe, I Don’t Live Today, Machine Gun, Foxy Lady, Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Soundchecks – Message To Love, Blue Suede Shoes, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) Intro, Star Spangled Banner*, Earth Blues, Room Full Of Mirrors (part), Villanova Junction, Keep On Groovin’, Freedom, Power Of Soul Intro, Machine Gun*, Ezy Ryder*
Professionally recorded for a live album and film, these are two great shows with Jimi at the summit of his form. An official release covered the second show and the first show came out on Radioactive shortly afterwards minus the stunning “Purple Haze” which was previously seen on the “Jimi Hendrix” film soundtrack album of the 70s. Some bootleg versions include the soundchecks, one of which, “Blue Suede Shoes” , was included on “Hendrix In The West” and the MCA 4 CD box set.
This release turned up recently on various purchasing sites.
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BALTIMORE – Baltimore Civic Centre : 13 June 1970 – Good audience recording.
Pass It On, Lover Man, Machine Gun, Ezy Ryder, Red House, Message To Love, Hey Joe, Freedom, Hear My Train A Comin’, Room Full Of Mirrors, Foxy Lady, Purple Haze, Star Spangled Banner, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) > Keep On Groovin’
A regular gig from the 1970 US tour with Jimi on top form. This can also be heard on the official site and according to the Forum Jimi Hendrix, there are four audience sources for this show and merge versions.
> This concert can be heard on the official site.
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NEW YORK – Mile High Stadium, Randall Island – New York Pop Festival : 17 July 1970 – Very good soundboard
Stone Free, Fire, Red House, Message To Love, Lover Man, All Along The Watchtower, Foxy Lady, Ezy Ryder, Star Spangled Banner, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
A soundboard recording and a pretty good performance despite some sound trouble and some bad exchanges with hecklers in the crowd. Note the fabulous “Red House” which was on “Jimi Hendrix Concerts”.
> The bonus section of the official DVD/Blu-ray Hear My Train A Comin’ features footage of the band performing Message To Love, Lover Man, All Along The Watchtower, Purple Haze, and Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
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STOCKHOLM – Stora Scenen, Grona Lund, Tivoli Garden: 31 August 1970 – Good audience recording (4th source)
Lover Man, Medley: Catfish Blues/Keep On Groovin’/Race With The Devil, Ezy Ryder, Red House, Come On (Part One), Room Full Of Mirrors, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), Drum solo, Message To Love, Machine Gun, Voodoo Child (slight return), In From The Storm, Purple Haze, Foxy Lady
Jimi reluctantly left the States and his new Electric Lady Studios to embark on a brief European tour. On this day at around 3 a.m., he was on stage at the Isle Of Wight festival, putting on a very disappointing show (as documented on the official “Blue Wild Angel” release). Later that same day, after quick flight to Stockholm and he was up onstage again for this evening show at Tivoli Gardens.
Miraculously, despite one or two lapses, Jimi is back on form here with some good playing, putting in great versions of “Red House”, “Machine Gun” and a revived “Come On (Part One)”! He even throws in a little of “Catfish Blues” during a brief medley at the beginning of the show. The version of “Hey Baby” is also very good.
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GOTHENBURG – Stora Scenen : 1er September 1970 – Fair to good audience recording
Spanish Castle Magic, Killing Floor, Get My Heart Back Together, Message To Love, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), In From The Storm, Hey Joe, Foxy Lady, Red House, Room Full Of Mirrors, Straight Ahead, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
The third concert of the tour and a good performance here. Note the return of “Killing Floor” here, played to a tempo closer to the Howling Wolf original rather than the breakneck tornado style of the early days.
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COPENHAGEN – K.B. Hallen : 3 September 1970 – Good audience recording
Stone Free, Foxy Lady, Message To Love, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), All Along The Watchtower, Machine Gun, Spanish Castle Magic, Ezy Ryder, Freedom, Red House, In From The Storm, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Hey Joe, Fire
After Gothenburg, Jimi fell apart at the following gig at Aarhus in Denmark. Drugs, booze and lack of sleep finally got to him and the concert came to a halt after two songs. The night after in Copenhagen, he was back on top form! A fantastic performance and one of his best ever concerts. It includes terrific versions of Hey Baby and Machine Gun.
The 3-source stereo merge pictured has the best sound of the various versions in circulation.
> This show turned up on the Jeffrey estate’s “Live In Scandinavia – Volume 2”.
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BERLIN – Deutschlandhalle : 4 September 1970 – Poor audience recording
Straight Ahead, Spanish Castle Magic, Sunshine Of Your Love, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), Message To Love, Machine Gun, Purple Haze, Red House, Foxy Lady, Ezy Ryder, Hey Joe, Power Of Soul, Lover Man (cut)
The next night and Jimi sounds rather sluggish on this very good sounding audience tape. His vocals are particularly rough and the concert just drags along. It’s interesting to note that during “Spanish Castle Magic”, Jimi plays a little of the driving riff from Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”! After that he revives “Sunshine Of Your Love” which hadn’t figured in a live show since the Experience concerts of 1969.
Things pick up a little from “Message To Love” onwards and there follows a tormented and eerie “Machine Gun” which was his last performance of the song. Things crash down to rock bottom during “Red House” as Jimi seems to totally loose his way at around the sixth minute. Perhaps he broke a string or something. “Hey Joe” is just awful and you can hear Billy Cox’s backing vocals trying in vain to help things along. Note the inclusion also, of a rather half hearted “Power Of Soul” which segues into an instrumental “Lover Man”. The end of the show is unfortunately missing (probably “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”).
It’s as if this gig continued where the Arhus disaster left off. The miracle was the Copenhagen concert that came between these two disappointing gigs.
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FEHMARN ISLAND – 6 September 1970 – Good audience recording
Killing Floor, Spanish Castle Magic, All Along The Watchtower, Hey Joe, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), Message To Love, Foxey Lady, Red House, Ezy Ryder, Freedom, Room Full Of Mirrors, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Which brings us to Jimi’s last ever concert performance. This was released officially on Dagger records of course but this three source merge has much better sound. Not an easy show for Jimi, with Hells Angels insulting him, a rainstorm and Billy Cox in a state of paranoid depression, but he still plays pretty well through it all.
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LONDON – Ronnie Scott’s Club : 16 September 1970 – Very good audience recording*
Mother Earth, Tobacco Road
After Fehmarn Island, the tour was abandoned because of Billy Cox’s worsening condition and Jimi came back to London to chill out.
He dropped in to jam with Eric Burdon’s new band War at the club belonging to the famous jazz musician. This was the last recorded performance by Jimi, just hours before he would lay struggling for his life in a London hotel flat.
*The one pictured is the new source that has come into circulation. It has a much better sound than the previous version.
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Kick Out The Jams (ATM 152-157)
This 6CD set collects together a number of club jams from 1967 to 1970.
CD 1
– Club Filips, Stockholm 07.09.67 [Hansson & Karlsson Jam] (excerpts only): Jams I – XII
– Scene Club, New York City, NY 18.03.68 (Jam with Jim Morrison) : identical to the grey area Wake Up This Morning And You FInd Yourself Dead/Scene 68 albums.
CD 2
– Unidentified New York City Night Club, April 1968: Hoochie Coochie Man
– Cafe Au Go-Go, New York City, NY 17.03.68: Instrumental Jam/Drunk Again/JL2/Little Wing
CD 3
– Cafe Au Go-Go, New York City, NY 17.03.68 (cont’d): Everything’s Gonna Be Alright/Stormy Monday/Three Little Bears/Jam JL1
CD 4
– Generation Club, New York City, NY 07.04.68 [Jam with Buddy Guy]: Jam JL3
– Generation Club, New York City, NY 15.04.68 [Jam with B.B.King]: Ad Libbed Impromptu Blues” (No Hendrix involvement)/Kooper’s Shuffle” (No Hendrix involvement)/Like A Rolling Stone/San Ho Zay Jam/Intro by B.B.King/Slow Blues
CD 5
– Generation Club, New York City, NY 15.04.68 [Jam with B.B.King]: Fast Blues/It’s My Own Fault/Intro by B.B.King
– Pop Expo ’69, Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA 30.03.69 [Jam with Delaney & Bonnie]: Backstage interview by Jay Harvey/Blues Jam/Room Full Of Mirrors” (9) [listed as “Jamming with Delaney & Bonnie”]/Interview with Audience members by Jay Harvey [listed as “Outro”]
– Tinker Street Cinema, Woodstock, NY 10.08.69: The Dance/Sundance/Earth Blues/Star Spangled Banner
CD 6
– Ronnie Scott’s Club, London 16.09.70 [Jam with Eric Burdon & War]: “Paint It Black” (No Hendrix involvement)/Blackbird” (No Hendrix involvement)/Spill The Wine” (No Hendrix involvement/Mystery Train” (No Hendrix involvement)/Mother Earth/Tobacco Road
All this had already circulated as individual sets (and some of it actually in the shops on various labels like Red Lightning, Radioactive, Reclamation,…). It might look enticing but there really isn’t all that much to get your teeth into. A lot of the time it’s about tedious riffy blues bashing from all concerned and rare are the occasions where Jimi really gets to to do his thing. The highlights where he does are the beautiful Jam II of the Club Filips jam, Hoochie Coochie Man, Little Wing, Like A Rolling Stone, Three Little Bears, San Ho Zay and parts of that widely released Scene Club 68 jam with Jim Morrison and Buddy Miles.
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NOTES
Very good concert performances are to be found on these other audience tapes of varying sound quality :
Sacramento 26 April 1970
Oklahoma – 8 May 1970
RARE SONGS
Some bootlegs of lesser sound quality can be interesting as they feature rarely played songs.
For example, at a Dallas 1968 show, The Experience opened with “Dear Mr Fantasy” complete with a vocal from Jimi.
The Milwaukee 68 second show features an instrumental “Bold As Love” as well as “Hoochie Coochie Man” (cut).
There exists also a rough recording of a Saville Theatre show (August 27, 1967) where the band open with Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues”! Most tracks fade out however as this is a sample tape. Where the hell is the complete show?!
“LOST” LIVE RECORDINGS
It is rumoured that a soundboard Winterland show from February 1968 is stashed away somewhere (or is it the tape attributed to the February 68 Fillmore West show that was released on Dagger a “Paris 67/San Francisco 68”?
Then there are the tapes of the 1967 club jam with Hanssen and Karlssen which are still retained by their manager.
THE “MERGES”
In some cases, more than one audience source recording exists, so talented dabblers have merged the recordings. In this way, gaps can be filled or recordings combined to create a stereo effect.
A weak voice on one version can be compensated thanks to a merge with another tape which had stronger vocals for example. Many of these are in circulation from “Vibratory” and ATM (“For Trade Only”) sources.
ATM (Archive Traders’ Material)
A detailed list can be found here
TV & RADIO PERFORMANCES
Apart from the “BBC Sessions” the band were recorded live by various European stations. Here is a list of the recordings that have survived and can be found on bootlegs. Sound quality is excellent (apart from the Paris appearance here).
The Marquee, London – 2 March 1967 – “Beat Club”, German TV
Hey Joe, Purple Haze (extract in the “Film About Jimi Hendrix”)
NDR Radiohause, Hamburg – 18 March 1967 – German radio (listed above)
Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, Stone Free, Fire, Purple Haze
Théatre d’Issy-les-Moulineax, Paris – 11 May 1967 – “Music Hall”, French TV
Hey Joe, Wild Thing
Stadthalle, Offenbach, Hessen Germany – 18 May 1967 – “Beat Beat Beat”, German TV
Stone Free, Hey Joe, Purple Haze
Stockholm – 24 May 1967 – “Popside”, Swedish TV
The Wind Cries Mary , Purple Haze (both included on the official DVD “Experience”)
“Tonarskvall”, Studio 4, Radiohuset Stockholm – 5 September 1967
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / Fire / The Wind Cries Mary / Foxy Lady / Hey Joe / I Don’t Live Today / Burning Of The Midnight Lamp / Purple Haze
This was officially released “Stages 67” and unofficially on “Live In Scandinavia Vol. 1” (Voodoo Chile Records)
Vitus TV Studios, Bussen – 10 November 1967 – “Hoepla”, Dutch radio (listed above)
Foxy Lady, Catfish Blues (included on the “Jimi Hendrix :Blues” album), Purple Haze (3 takes)
The bootlegs keep coming!
It’s always open season for the bootleggers and many are still popping up on purchase sites (Amazon included).
Note that these present nothing new whatsoever and are merely old bootlegs repackaged or recordings copied from official releases. Of course the vinyl resurgence has brought a flood of items to lure the ill-informed. Always check the records on the Discogs website for provenance and track details or drop me a line. Just about everything can be listened to on YouTube for free anyway (with the same sound quality).
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