Product Description

Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 10/03/2006

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26669 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-11-12
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 154 minutes

Amazon.com
Those familiar with the original Isle of Wight DVD/VHS release will be pleasantly surprised by Blue Wild Angel. For one thing, the soundtrack has been remixed in both stereo and 5.1 surround. Hendrix's legendary Isle of Wight show may have been notoriously riddled with technical difficulties, but in all honesty, it is one of his better live recordings, and Eddie Kramer's remix sounds superb. Next, Blue Wild Angel includes many songs missing from the original release such as "Lover Man," "Foxey Lady," "Message to Love," "Ezy Rider," and "Purple Haze." By far the highlights of the performance are the mesmerizing, newly unedited versions of "Red House" and "Machine Gun." Finally, as an added bonus, the concert is introduced by a mini documentary about Hendrix's involvement with the Isle of Wight festival. This introduction is told through new interviews with Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, and Eddie Kramer and footage from Murray Lerner's Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival rockumentary. Blue Wild Angel is a great addition to any Hendrix fan's collection. --Rob Bracco

From the Back Cover
Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight documents the guitarist's legendary performance before 600,000 people at this massive outdoor music and arts festival in August 1970. This unforgettable concert experience draws heavily upon Academy Award-winning director Murray Lerner's vast archive of previously unseen performance footage and presents some of Hendrix's finest ever concert performances, including extended takes of "Machine Gun," "Red House," and other favorites such as "All Along the Watchtower," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and a unique medley of "God Save the Queen" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." New interviews with Jimi Hendrix Experience band members Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, and others set the stage for the concert footage that follows. In addition to providing the definitive look at tone of the landmark events in Hendrix's storied career, Blue Wild Angel features both a stereo and 5.1 audio surround soundtrack newly mixed by Hendrix's original recording engineer Eddie Kramer.

Songs: God Save the Queen, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Spanish Castle Magic, All Along the Watchtower, Machine Gun, Lover Man, Freedom, Red House, Dolly Dagger, Foxey Lady, Message to Love, Ezy Ryder, Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), In from the Storm.

Customer Reviews

Superb Documentation Of Hendrix
As far as film accounts of Jimi Hendrix go, this is absoluetly the best from every conceivable perspective. Camera work is terrific: none of the poor lighting that mars Berkley or Band of Gypsies, none of the dental examination that comprises all but a few minutes of Woodstock. The opening sequences are informative. Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox give a very solid account of how truly beyond pop stars they had become by that point, heading towards a jazz-blues fusion that only Miles Davis and John McLaughlin would be able to assume with any respectability.
It is very clear from backstage chatter thru the comments of his tour manager and band mates that Hendrix was not keen on performing at this concert and had begun to feel that he was, in fact, beyond rock and its infantile approach to artists. That said, he had enormous respect for the people who had paid money to see him and so tore into this concert with enormous brio. His fingerwork is among his most dazzling. The camera crew captures three men feeding off each other with visual ques that also point to how sober, clean and focused Jimi was by this time. He and Mitchell were as in sync with each other as Coltrane and Elvin Jones. Cox has been unfairly glossed over in music and this film and soundtrack illustrate that he was the best bass player for the best guitarist of all time.
If you are a fan, pick this up. If you are curious, I'd suggest this as theplace to start. Many thanks to the Hendrix family for releasing an incendiary performance. In a matter of weeks, Jimi would be dead. You'd never guess it from here: one listen to Voodoo Chile would convince you.
I might also add that this DVD is far superior to the CD, whose sequencing made no sense and gives the listener the impression that Hendrix wants to get out as soon as possible. For the future: stick with Jimi's sequencing. He knew what he was about, and this DVD proves it.

It's like being on stage at a Jimi Hendrix concert!!
At last, Experience Hendrix does justice to this often-maligned concert. This release is infinitely better than the previous "Live at the Isle of Wight" DVD. First, we are presented with some informative interviews with Gerry Stickells (Hendrix's road manager), Mitch Mitchell, and Billy Cox. This segues into the concert itself, with Jimi backstage, ready to go on.

The songs all appear in proper order. Bear in mind, this isn't the ENTIRE concert (Hey Joe, Hey Baby, and Midnight Lightning weren't filmed, according to Experience Hendrix), but all the songs contained on the video are complete, and there's even some nice between-stage banter that's preserved. It's the small details, like that, which makes this film stand out from most of the other commercial JH video releases.

As far as the music itself, it's incredible -- check out the mind-blowing versions of "All Along the Watchtower", "Freedom", "Machine Gun", and even "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)". The other tracks are great too -- most notably "Red House". The sonic quality is vastly improved, with a Dolby 5.1 surround mix.

In short, if you're a Jimi Hendrix fan, what are you waiting for?? You NEED to buy this DVD!

The Full Concert, Finally!
Finally, the complete film footage of the last major concert performance by Jimi Hendrix at the 1970 'Isle Of Wight' festival is now available. This historic show has been available through the years under different names and permeations, but never as the complete concert and in proper sequence. This errors have now been thoroughly corrected with the release of the superb DVD "Blue Wild Angel".

Reputedly, this is supposed to be a sub-par performance by a tired and burnt-out Hendrix, and if that's the case, even a sub-par Hendrix is still a marvel to behold. Regardless of his physical and mental conditions that night, Jimi still managed to deliver scintillating versions of "All Along The Watchtower", "Red House", and the always inspiring "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)". The ferocious, anguished "Machine Gun" alone makes this DVD essential. Finally, there's the rare, and to best of my knowlege, unavailable elsewhere, live renditions of "Freedom", "Message To Love", and "In From The Storm", great new compositions that pointed the musical directions Hendrix was headed just before he sadly died.

The sound and picture quality are very good for a film this old and just recently restored. I would have enjoyed the footage a bit more if there was less facial close-ups and fast-cut editting, especially during the guitar solos, but overall it's still enjoyable, especially if you're a Hendrix fan.

Overall, "Blue Wild Angel" is the best Jimi Hendrix concert film capturing one of the true guitar geniuses of all time in a last performance. No Jimi Hendrix fan should be without this DVD.

April 22, 2003 lr**

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.