Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts

I have always enjoyed listening to Jimi Hendrix but I never really got hooked on his music. He's one of the most influential guitarists to ever have existed and has created some of the greatest rock tunes without any doubts. But he never quite hooked me. I have picked up a number of live releases like Hendrix In the West, Isle of Wight, Woodstock and a few more but none of them really clicked with me. It wasn't until I dove head first into this five disc box-set that the magic of Jimi Hendrix made sense.Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts is a five disc release from the Experience Hendrix folks. It features Jimi Hendrix's performances from New Years Eve 1969 at the Fillmore East, New York. The box contains forty three songs in total and is advertised as his the entire performance. Apparently this is not the case. According to the great internet, there are still several previously released songs missing and one here that has been edited. Despite those issues, what you get is still quite appetising.Naturally, the big question about box-sets like this is how it sounds. It's absolutely perfect to my ears. It's not too loud, every instrument has their place in the mix and it sounds great blasted through both headphones and my hi-fi system. Hendrix's guitar playing is of course up front in the mix but the others get their time to shine. Billy Cox's bass playing is absolutely fantastic here. In fact, he's possibly my favourite thing about the album. I enjoyed the alternating lead vocals too, it made for some fine variety. The drums from Buddy Miles is a bit hit or miss in places. It seems that he finds it hard to stay in beat at times and it's the ONLY real weak point here.As for the great Jimi Hendrix. It's a crying shame he died when he did. When you listen to all five discs presented here, you have to wonder how good he could have been. It's clear that he was improving as a musician as his performance here is already vastly superior to the majority of his other live releases. His playing is more energetic, more focused and nowhere near as sloppy. I like the fact that he brings more funk into the sound compared to the previous blues style. It really is a shame he went when he did.The box-set is nicely presented, or at least I think so. There's a nice hard case that opens up at the top with an easy to remove lid. The pattern design on the box is quite visually appealing and makes it look quite nice on the shelf. Inside you'll find the discs in some fairly typical cardboard sleeves and a booklet to go. It's not anything special by any means but for the price I paid for this, I wasn't exactly expecting some big hard back media book. It's looks nice for what I paid for it and does its job.The product as a whole is fantastic. It is by far my favourite Jimi Hendrix release and I couldn't recommend it more.

Fantastic and thrilling box set of perhaps one of the highlights of Hendrix career.I have seen a few gripes that it isn’t quite as complete as claimed but it’s pretty damn near.The recordings sound great, if you have purchased any of the recent ‘live’ reissues you know what to expect.You get over five hours of Hendrix stretching out with his new band, OK you can’t beat the original Experience but on these recordings you get a sense of freedom and renewal.If you are a casual fan you probably only need the original album or the recent Machine Gun album.Every track featured on those two albums are obviously repeated on this ‘complete’ box set.What’s in it for the collectors and more committed fans?A sturdy CD sized box which feels good quality.Each CD is housed in a card sleeve featuring some photos and track listings.You also get a nifty booklet with some background and additional photos.Then of course you get the complete concert in fantastic audio, these are some truly powerful performances, many of the tracks have not been officially available before in this sort of clarity.If you’re a big fan or completist you NEED this, I have seen it in music shops at £70 which is excessive, £45 is fair price, add it to your Xmas list.

This is just a super set. Obviously a number of repeat tracks but each one is different. That’s the beauty of it. Hendrix at his best in my opinion

Great vinyl set. True treasure. One of my favourite periods from Hendrix. I've always liked the Band of Gypsies live album, with the blend of soul, funk, blues and jam rock etc. For me, this is peak Hendrix. This set covers the entire Fillmore east recordings. Sound is excellent, playing suburb and there are times, with the lights off and eyes closed, I may well have been in the Fillmore. ! Obviously tracks are repeated but I didn't 'binge' this in one go, yet listened over the course of a week or two, which made it more fresh. I can never get enough of Machine Gun, so always nice to hear different versions of it. Highly recommended.

Simply a must for all Hendrix lovers. I wonder if Jimi realised at the time just what an important piece of work this was. Here we have the complete 4 shows as they happened...raw and uncut. The majority of the work is new material and you can feel this with the slightly different versions performed over the 2 days plus the lyrical changes and the odd blank spots where Jimi hadn't come up with them! It doesn't matter as it simply shows these great tunes in their infancy and still incomplete in Jimi's mind. The band are amazingly tight although I've never been a great lover of Buddy Miles drumming. It's choppy and stiff at times and his kit often sounds quite weak/tinny. But's that's just an opinion. If you love Jimi then you will have bought this already regardless of any review. It's a nice package with a booklet giving an insight in the build up to the shows and some new pics of the man.

Fantastic music from the Band of Gypsies and well remasters in my opinion so it's great to hear at long last. But more editing and songs missing like Winterland before it, and I suspect like the '69 Albert Hall if it is ever to come. Not a problem for most people but for those of us completists with extensive Hendrix collections who couldn't be there and who've been listening to poor quality bootlegs for years this is a disappointment. Janie Hendrix doesn't seem to understand that she is the custodian of this extensive and important musical legacy and not the owner. Would she publish Beethovens 5th with ten bars cut from the first movement and miss out the last?Great music from a legacy which is once again poorly managed.