Jimi Hendrix’s first Berkeley Community Theater show from May 1970 is presented in full running order on “Magic Boy“. The performance includes ‘Hear My Train A Comin’’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’, ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, alongside fierce versions of ‘Fire’ and ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’. Hendrix also works through developing songs ‘Ezy Ryder’ and ‘Freedom’, plus Band Of Gypsys material ‘Message To Love’ and ‘Machine Gun’, capturing a restless guitarist pushing beyond his Experience-era sound.
In his brief four-year reign as a superstar, Jimi Hendrix expanded the vocabulary of the electric rock guitar more than anyone before or since. Hendrix was a master at coaxing all manner of unforeseen sonics from his instrument, often with innovative amplification experiments that produced astral-quality feedback and roaring distortion. His frequent hurricane blasts of noise and dazzling showmanship — he could and would play behind his back and with his teeth, and set his guitar on fire — have sometimes obscured his considerable gifts as a songwriter, singer, and master of a gamut of blues, R&B, and rock styles. After working as a backup guitarist in the early ’60s, he launched a solo career in 1967 with the psychedelic debut record “Are You Experienced?” The follow-ups “Axis: Bold as Love” and “Electric Ladyland” were more diffuse and experimental. Hendrix later formed the Band of Gypsys to pursue funkier directions, and recorded an erratic live album with the new lineup. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by a fatal overdose in 1970.
Fans first became aware of his Berkeley performance when two early posthumous releases featured a stunning Hear My Train A Comin’ on 1971’s “Rainbow Bridge” and his electrifying rendition of “Johnny B. Goode” on 1972’s “Hendrix: In The West“. The shambolic 1971 film Jimi Plays Berkeley stoked the fires further with extracts of “Purple Haze” and the “Star Spangled Banner”.
“Magic Boy” includes those two classics and assembles the performance in its running order for the first time. It also offers “Ezy Ryder” and “Freedom” in development before completion in the studio by the guitarist, plus “Message To Love” and “Machine Gun” from his recent “Band Of Gypsys” album, alongside “Fire” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)“, all newly remixed by Eddie Kramer from the original multi-track tapes.
“Magic Boy” presents Jimi Hendrix‘s legendary first show at the Berkeley Community Theater in May 1970.
The Fat Angel Sings 