Search - Jimi Hendrix - Live at Woodstock on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 4/6/2023...

Very high Amazon ratings but not our cup of tea. You need to be a Jimi fan to appreciate this!

Greatest performer at his greatest concert

B. L. Vor Broker | USA | 04/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock is disputabily the greatest concert ever given. I am an avid Hendrix fan and was elated to see this DVD. This is by far the best DVD I have and shows Hendrix at his greatest. Izabella is revolutionary, Fire is rock solid, Red House is great (Jimi broke his high E string), his Woodstock Improvisation is incredible and his Star Spangled Banner is priceless. That being considered, it deserves 5+ stars.Although Expericnce Hendrix has done a great job releasing material since they won Jimi's legacy a few years ago, this DVD, contrary to the CD version, was disappointing in its length. There are many songs missing. I owned the CDs first and will list my disappointments: (1) I desperately wanted to hear and see all of Message to Love and Hear my Train a Comin', two of Jimi's new songs as he broke away from the Experience. (2) I also wanted to see Spanish Castle Magic, Foxy Lady, Hey Joe and Lover Man, all not included on the DVD. (3) The order of the songs was jumbled on the DVD and I wanted to see the actual chronological order of the songs. (4) Many of Jimi's comments, some pretty interesting (a la those before Izabella for those who own the CDs), were totally cut out. (5) If it replaced another of the aformentioned left-out songs, I really did not need to hear Larry Lee being backed up be Jimi on Jam Back at the House. Considering they cut out Larry Lee's other songs from the CD I was amazed that this one even made it.I guess I wanted a DVD identical to the CDs, which is not what this is. However, this is a must for any fan of rock music in general, but I felt I had to voice my completist complaints. Without a doubt, a must have."

Great concert! Questionable packaging.

Kay Emm Gee | 10/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The concert is legendary, but the DVD package fall short of definitive.

Here is what you get:
This DVD contains 10 full length songs from Hendrix's Woodstock concert, namely: "Fire", "Izabella", "Red House", "Jam Back at the House", "Voodoo Child", "Star Spangled Banner", "Purple Haze", "Woodstock Improvisation", and "Villanova Junction." A small segment of, "Message to Love" and, "Hear My Train a Comin'" is played over the opening and closing credits respectfully.

Here is what you don't get:
1. There is no fotage of Hendrix playing six songs from the concert, namely: "Message to Love", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Lover Man", "Hear My Train a Comin'", "Foxey Lady", and "Hey Joe."
2. The set list song order has been rearranged. This is unfortunate because there was a natural flow of momentum with the original song order. The concert started off loose and Jamming, then it tightened and rocked in the middle of the set, the climax being, "Star Spangled Banner." At the end of the original set list Jimi calms the mood down with, "Villanova Junction." For some odd reason Alan Douglas enjoys reconfiguring Jimi's set lists, his trademark is to start all concerts with, "Fire", Jimi NEVER opened with this song.
3. The picture has not been cleaned up. Although the image quality is very good it would be nice to see a widescreen version of this concert. The Woodstock movie is now available on DVD widescreen so why not this concert?
4. The original audio mix was used on this DVD. The two percussionists are inaudible and Jimi is mixed right up front.
5. There are no DVD extras, no interviews, no 5.1 mix, nothing.
6. There is NO BOOKLET contained in the DVD package. A booklet might answer some questions about the missing songs and the audio mix. Maybe the percussionists were not recorded to audio tape? Maybe some of the songs were not filmed? Maybe the original negative has been damaged or lost? Maybe the original muli-track audio tape has been lost? A small booklet with the history of this concert and DVD release could answer these questions.
"

A must for any hardcore fan

Jimi Fan | Chicago | 02/08/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This video fills in a huge gap in my collection. I'd seen the Woodstock movie and always wanted to see more of Jimi's performance. This release does not disappoint. The music is phenomenal, Jimi looks and sounds great. Not much of the usual naked hippies at the waterhole footage. 99.9% of the video is Jimi on stage.My only (minor) complaints about this video is with the way it was editted and packaged. Contrary to what the Amazon description says, there are no liner notes included. In fact there is no real information other than the song list on the cover. This is especially disappointing since the audio CD of the same show includes a fantastic liner notes book (including shots of Jimi's hand written set list and words to a song about Woodstock). I found it a bit sad and confusing that the Hendrix estate would finally release movie footage that is obviously going to be consumed by hardcore Jimi fans and not bother to include any liner notes at all (again, especially since the audio CD has top rated notes). The audio CD liner notes provide some much needed background about the musician lineup (not the Experience, but a brand new first time in public line up - Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, the songs played, problems with the PA, problems faced when it came time to edit the tapes, etc.. Also disappointing was the fact that the DVD contains only 57 minutes from the original 140 minute set. The audio CD trims out two songs and some dead air to bring the set down to just under two hours. About 90 seconds of "Message to Love" are played over the opening titles and about 60 seconds of "Hear My Train Comin" are played over the closing credits. Several of the songs also appear out of sequence from the orignal set. I would have been willing to pay an additional $10 or $20 to have had the whole show intact.That being said, I can't rave enough about the footage that is included. This was drawn from the original footage shot by Michael Wadliegh and company (of the Oscar winning Woodstock movie fame). Jimi played in the morning so it is shot in daylight and is vibrant with light and color. Jimi's playing is unbelievable and every guitarist will want to watch this for the great tight shots of his technique. Anyone who loves his music should find this to be a great historical document that is full of some great music (especially the jams: "Jam Back at the House", "Woodstock Improvisation", and "Villanova Junction").Buy this and if you are a real fanatic, get the audio CD box set too."