Jimi Plays Berkeley (DVD), Sony Legacy, Music & Performance

Derived from a pair of concerts at the Berkeley (California) Community Theater on May 30, 1970, JIMI PLAYS BERKELEY is presented here for the first time ever on Blu-ray as a new, digitally restored high definition transfer from the original 16mm negative. JIMI PLAYS BERKELEY now features nearly 20 minutes of previously unreleased footage including newly discovered performances of such classic songs as "Hear My Train a Comin, " and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" together with documentary content not seen in the original release. A new Special Feature presentation includes an interview with Abe Jacob, Hendrix's road sound engineer, who recorded the two legendary performances and a 5.1 surround soundtrack of the complete second show performance (mixed by original Jimi Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer), which includes many songs such as "Hey Joe" and "Stone Free" not seen in the film. The brand new artwork includes a detailed essay and many previously unpublished photographs.

The Jimi Plays Berkeley film, documenting his performances at the Berkeley Community Theatre on May 30, 1970, was about as haphazardly organized as most of the projects from the final year or two of his life were. It endured a post-directorial cut from Hendrix manager Mike Jeffery and, even with the insertion of some footage of period Berkeley rioting and protest, still clocked in at less than an hour. Perhaps it could have been better if more footage was prepared -- and, unfortunately, a few of the songs weren't filmed in complete versions -- but what remains is actually a pretty enjoyable and valuable document of Hendrix in concert. Just a few months prior to his death, he's backed by the reliable Mitch Mitchell on drums and newer trio mainstay Billy Cox on bass, mixing some old classics ("Purple Haze," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," "I Don't Live Today") with quite a few selections he wouldn't release on record during his lifetime ("Johnny B. Goode," "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)," "Lover Man," "Hear My Train a Comin'"). Hendrix seems to be a little tired and fed-up on some of the footage that survives of his concerts from his final months, but that's not the case here. He seems relaxed and in a pretty good mood, even on the obligatory "Purple Haze," the one song on which he really pulls out his most famed bag of tricks, like playing the guitar with his teeth. There's also "The Star Spangled Banner," not destined to make the lasting impact as the version filmed for Woodstock, of course, but impressively executed here. Most video releases have an audio-only section of concert recordings from the second set of the night's performances (also available separately in standard audio as Live at Berkeley). It's unclear, though, why neither the audio nor video included any material from the first show; as a consequence, some songs in the film, like "Hear My Train a Comin'" and "Johnny B. Goode," aren't heard on the audio-only portion. A DVD version was released in 2012. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Performer	Jimi Hendrix
Music genre	Live Concerts
Music release type	Live Performance
Media format	DVD
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Number of tracks	2
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Jimi Plays Berkeley
Awards won	dd
Track listing	Introduction,Pass It On (Straight Ahead),Hey Baby (New Rising Sun),Lover Man,Stone Free,Hey Joe,I Don't Live Today,Machine Gun,Foxey Lady,Star Spangled Banner,Purple Haze,Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Record label	Legacy Recordings
Target audience	Adult
Composer	Jimi Hendrix
Songwriter	Jimi Hendrix
Music producer	Eddie Kramer
Number in series	1
Occasion	All Occasion
Duration	5.0 min
Digital audio file format	DVD-A
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	Y