Short Attention Span Review - Jimi Plays Monterey (1986)

Last year, I picked up the Criterion edition of The Complete Monterey Pop Festival. That movie - Monterey Pop - is great in it's own right, Proteus for every music festival film since. As part of the set, there are two related films, Shake! Otis at Monterey and this movie, which is Hendrix's complete performance at the 1967 festival. It is astounding. A caveat, it is astounding if you like Hendrix and his blues/acid rock fusion. The sound is great, the print is pristine and you can feel the energy of Hendrix - and of an era long gone - blasting from the screen and the speakers. although every song is good, he really kicks it on two covers, Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" and Chip Taylor's "Wild Thing" - 10 freakin' awesome minutes of "Wild Thing."

Hendrix was a master of the guitar and his music has a rawness that is hard to find these days. Buy the set and rock on.