Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Church [Blu-ray]

This documentary film of the second Atlanta Pop Festival is a fascinating trip back in time to 1970. Against a background of riots, the Vietnam War, drugs and the hippie/Woodstock subculture, the most creative music of the rock n' roll era was in full bloom. Jimi Hendrix was at the vanguard of this musical explosion and his brilliant guitar playing is on display here. There are numerous interviews (a few they could have done without) with people connected to the festival, townspeople, and fellow musicians like Paul McCartney and Steve Winwood. There is insight into Hendrix from bandmates Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, and Buddy Miles as well. But the real star of the show is Jimi himself, an enigmatic child of Aquarius who blew everyone's mind with the feedback laden, psychedelic marriage of blues, funk and straight-ahead rock that he produced with his guitar. Excellent performance footage of songs like "Voodoo Child", "Hey Joe" "Purple Haze" "Freedom" and of course (it was, after all, July 4th) his electrifying "Star-Spangled Banner" complete with fireworks going off above his head in the night sky. Beautiful. The sad part is that, while the spirit of love and peace prevailed, festivals like Atlanta Pop were coming to an end. In a month and a half, Hendrix would be gone, and eventually the '70's would dissolve into a self-indulgent decade of disco, punk rock and more rampant drug abuse. "Electric Church" will take you back to a brief moment in time when peace, love and great rock music was all you really needed, and Jimi Hendrix was there to provide the soundtrack.

I was thrilled to receive this dvd. There were performances that I had never seen before which was amazing to me. This festival took place in Byron, Georgia about 100 miles south of Atlanta on July 4. 1970. Jimi was just amazing. The camera work and lighting were criticized. The little town did not generate enough electricity so Jimi could hardly see the audience which was important to him. I loved the people of this town. The sheriff was so intelligent in the way that he handled things which was to leave everybody alone. The jail was so cute -- 2 cells and it looked like a museum piece. I found the lack of electricity to be a plus because Jimi was lit so well. I loved the camera work -- it concentrated on his face and hands and captured such an amazing experience. I could feel Jimi's energy and the intensity of his work. There are no gimicks to Jimi. It is all heart and soul and who could not appreciate that. He gave it everything that he had. His performance of Red House was amazing, as was "Hey Joe," (the song that got me interested in Jimi) "I live today," "Vodochile," was amazing and I want to add that "All Along the Watchtower," was like riding on a speeding train. Every song that he performed was so intense and beautiful. How sad to know that he had only about two months left to live. I have to mention that Jimi's philosophy was "peace, love and happiness." I have never heard of any violence associated with one of Jimi's festivals. He was an Angel and always will be.

I do love a good documentary film and this is a good one. Just wish there was more Jimi himself and him playing his music than what there is....I mean c'mon doesn't anyone out there realize that if you have tons of music, interviews and documentary info they could always put it on 2 discs. However this DVD is a little over 3 hours long. That's a good start..right ! I became a fan when my best friends brother bought the first round of the "album" Are you experienced and I was about 12 or 13 when that album first ever came out Just something about him his style his look his sound I have always loved. I do recommend it I enjoyed the Hendrix "fix"

Superb DVD with Hendrix at his zenith! With close-ups of his virtuoso guitar playing. I love it! In the commentary- the film depicts rear and full frontal nudity at the EC concert- I was utterly appalled! They should have blurred the images to keep it decent.

Amazing show, one of the best Hendrix films out there. The sound and video are excellent, fairly interesting documentary precedes the concert footage. The band is super tight, with Jimi really on top of his game here, pulling off lots of cool tricks and embellishments and sliding in some very sly riffs into old favourites. Spanish Castle Magic is absolutely stunning, as are his solos in Hey Joe, and there are some rarer numbers like Freedom and Straight Ahead. One thing I noticed is that Hendrix seemed a bit less than his usual jovial self- maybe the tuning problems caused by the extreme heat were getting to him; you can notice him tuning a lot while he is playing, more than usual. Very cool shots with fireworks going off behind him- really great stuff here all around and any fan will love it. Mitch and Billy are great- particularly Mitchell who is just on fire this show. Great mix by Eddie Kramer too.

I was excited to learn about the Atlanta Pop Festival 1970. This is a must have for Hendrix fans. HOWEVER:. The total run time is NOT 3 hrs 14 min. It is about 1 hr. 45 min. plus about 4 more minutes for the room full of mirrors video....

If you saw the special on TV, you'll want this even more since it has Freedom and Red House on it (the TV show did not). Jimi seems to be having a good time and watching fireworks go off while he's playing is fantastic. It also makes him appear more human as he starts 'Watchtower' in the wrong key (but quickly corrects), doesn't have the words to 'Freedom' quite down yet as it was a new song at that time. If you's a jImi Hendrix fan this is a must to own. If you don't know who he was, but want to see a master musician get thi svideo you will not be dsiappointed. The video quality goes from decent to great to ok. Given the age of it and the circumstances, it's understandable. The sound is great and the backgound 'story' is good too.

Great collection of videos! Jimmi Hendrix was an inspiration for future guitarists....imagine how much GREATER he would have been, if he'd lived pass 27? He played with an EXTREME PASSION! He even was praised by Paul McCartney, sooooooooo.....

C'est un des derniers concerts d'Hendrix, et le fait de savoir qu'il sera mort un peu plus de deux mois après, ajoute à une certaine émotion. Le festival d'Atlanta en 1970 est évidemment une tentative de recréation d'un Woodstock, mais ici, c'est surtout la prestation d'Hendrix qui prime. Prestation qui est racontée dans la première partie du film par ses intervenants, organisateurs diverses et témoins. Ce qui frappe surtout, c'est la tristesse et une certaine "lassitude" de Jimi. Quelque chose est en train de changer dans sa personnalité et cela se sent. Pourtant, on reste subjugué par la maîtrise du musicien et les morceaux joués, avec, en particulier, une version de l'hymne américain encore supérieure à celle de Woodstock, avec de nouvelles subtilités vraiment époustouflantes ! A noter, et c'est important, que ce DVD est en NTSC format couleur américain... pas compatible avec tous les lecteurs de DVD. Donc, vérifiez le votre. A noter également, le beau travail de masterisation de l'image et du son, superbes malgré l'époque.

Muy buen audio, muy buena imagen, excelente

prima

Je ne connaissais pas cette version complète , je l'avoue ma VHS ne durant que 58MN le concert seulementici on voit le film complet 1H45, documentaire en 1ére partie, suivi du concert( pas complet je pense) des titres ont été ajouter comme RED HOUSE / FREEDOM ou ROOM FULL OF MIRRORS en bonus,pour ce dernier, car endommagé, au point de vue image.un bon concert, mais pas le meilleur pour moi (WOODSTOCK ou ISLE OF WIGHT sont bien meilleurs à mon goût et complet) mais ce document me semble indispensable, dans votre collection sur HENDRIX, on y trouve des commentaires de LESLIE WEST/ MC CARTNEY/S. WINWOOD/TRUCKS TEDESCHI etc, une belle édition restaurée, ne pas s'en priver , JIMI s'éteindra 2 mois après ce festival !!

This is great concert. Jimi is playing realy well and there is lots of energy from the band. Great set list and excellent HD audio. The downside is the film has lots of damage done to the print. They have done a very good job fixing it up but it's still noticeable. The set list is excellent. So over all happy and great addition to any Hendrix collection but I am only giving it three and a half stars because of the films limitations. This film is in full HD but from a 16 mm print so you do get back bars down the side however the documentary leading up to the film is in full wide screen. Yes the Hendrix estate has come close to finishing their visual archive but that maybe why this film finally got made. To be fair the Hendrix estate, in my opinion, has done an excellent job preserving Jimi's legacy. Worthy edition to anyones music video collection!