Friday 26 April 2019

Band Of Gypsys - JIMI HENDRIX****

Who Knows/Machine Gun/Changes/Power Of Soul/Message To Love/We Gotta Live Together

Band Of Gypsys was the last album release during Jimi Hendrix's lifetime. It features live performances at the Fillmore East, New York of songs unreleased on his studio albums. (US:5 UK:6)

"Whereas Hendrix' work with the Experience was eclectic, psychedelic and spaced, the Band Of Gypsys had him getting down in a funk groove. And a particularly hard one, at that. Culled from live performances, Band Of Gypsys is a smouldering slab of electrified, molten funk metal that brims with attitude, passion, cynicism, hope and assertiveness."

"Most of the songs were never recorded in the studio and this fact makes this record a must have for every Hendrix fan as the only live album that was authorized by Jimi himself."

"In my opinion Hendrix was a musician who wasn’t able to show his entire potential in the studio, but live he was indisputable the best guitar player to have ever walked on earth. Also the interaction between the three musicians is great and even though some of the jams are very long it never gets boring."

"Not exactly a classic Hendrix album, apart from Machine Gun it doesn't really contain any outstanding songs, but it's a cool group effort encompassing rock, funk and soul."

"Of the four albums Hendrix released in his lifetime, it is evident that Band Of Gypsys is the weakest link. Perhaps it was only ever going to be a phase that Hendrix went through, but the impression I get from listening to this album is that he was just going to get ever more self-indulgent and over-complex as time went on."

"The band is totally on fire, Hendrix is on top form with the masterful Machine Gun, a true artistic statement of the past and future of electric guitar playing. Never has a wailing guitar said so much without words."

"Hendrix takes a major detour with Band of Gypsys showcasing performances which must have stunned and enthralled those who saw it live. This album has it all, funk, rock, blues and jazz, with a rhythm section in Buddy Miles and Billy Cox that really makes it happen. Each of the songs is truly unique, masterful in structure and presentation. Machine Gun is a brilliant work of guitar artistry and emotion."

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