Band of Gypsys

[mikeguy53]

I could have called the thread "what is the best live Hendrix album?". I think this is it. Live, New Years Eve, at the Fillmore East. Love Mitch Mitchell but Buddy and Jimi seem to find a much deeper groove. Machine Gun alone is enough to give this album five mega stars. I still get chills whenever I hear it. Jimi at his absolute best.

 

[TopDog]

Jimi's best live album is Band of Gypsys.

 

[Kenny Blue]

I think that this album is one of the best Live albums from anyone...

 

[Wagster]

IMO BOG is some of Jimi's best work. Power of Love still kills me every time I hear it.

 

[Bill McDowell]

my favorite Hendrix album.

 

[trishoot]

My favorite album by Jimi. One of my favorite albums ever. I wore two of these on on vinyl. His playing is inspired and focused, and his vocals were great. It definitely has a different vibe than anything he did before or after. Still had the edge, but was very soulful.

 

[Antelope]

 

[pete kanaras]

the Baggies rehearsal studio sessions are pretty awesome too. friggin' mind bending is what they are in spots! all BOG fans need to hear that one, omg. i own 3 copies of the live album on vinyl, and it is by far my favorite Jimi beacuse it is so damn naked; just Jimi but with a real deal r&b rhythm section, and no tricks or flash. that record is All Business. and to me "Machine Gun" is still the greatest out of body electric guitar performance of all time. untouched to this day imo

 

[BlueHeaven]

+1000!!!!!

 

[Teleplayer]

The first 30 - 45 seconds of each tune on BOG lays down some greasy, nasty, funky grooves. Great playing. Much more roots/primal than Experience IMHO.

 

[Les Ismour]

As a Hendrix fan since the beginning of his career, I agree for live, Band of Gypsys is it. Just my 2 cents about studio LP's. So many good ones, but Cry of Love really does something for me. Makes one wonder where he would have gone had he lived longer.

 

[changeling]

the Baggies rehearsal studio sessions are pretty awesome too. friggin' mind bending is what they are in spots! all BOG fans need to hear that one, omg. i own 3 copies of the live album on vinyl, and it is by far my favorite Jimi beacuse it is so damn naked; just Jimi but with a real deal r&b rhythm section, and no tricks or flash. that record is All Business. and to me "Machine Gun" is still the greatest out of body electric guitar performance of all time. untouched to this day imo

yep;
and it's fun to hear em cuttin up between tunes too.

 

[HendrixVibrato]

Absolutely - Power of Love is the most exciting guitar intro of all time, for me - just stunningly brutal.

Great story behind that record - Graham wasn't thrilled about Jimi's first show, where he did a lot of the old tricks, Bill didn't care for the playing, pissed Jimi off - for the remainder, Jimi just stood there stock still and laid it down *brutal* - and as a result, we have the best live guitar album of all time, period.

Electric Ladyland, Band of Gypsys (what an album just to get clear of a that old "contract"!!) and Cry of Love show a clear progression - Electric Ladyland is a showcase of range as a composer/artist beyond measure. BOG is a tour de force in only-from-Jimi funk/rock, with way-deep grooves, tones from out of this world, and chops for decades. I am a HUGE Mitch Mitchell fan, but BOG could only have happened with *those* 3 guys, absolutely, Buddy was crucial, as was Billy. I loved it when Mitch called him "William the Concreter." Cry of Love isn't quite as cohesive to some perhaps, but for me it is truly another *great* Hendrix album, his last true work - would have been nice if he had been around long enough for a completion thru final mixdown, but it is great as released.

We can only speculate as to what would have happened afterwards - getting clear of that prick Jeffries, etc. But we all know changes were coming, and it was going to be incredible - wish he had gotten the chance to make that record date with Miles. Bottom line, had he lived, Jimi would have continued to blaze a trail of originality & composition that, I suspect, in each case would have given us even more range no other artist could match.

What he gave us in just 3-4 short years over those 4 albums is a body of work that will continue to be legendary for *centuries* to come.

BOG is *the* live guitar album, & for me, Hendrix is damn near a modern day Mozart.

 

[davebc]

That is the stuff!!

 

[monty]

Great album and some of Jimi's best recorded tone.

 

[newi123]

the Baggies rehearsal studio sessions are pretty awesome too.

How have I missed this???????? Is it official release or bootleg?

thanks

BTW - would love to know how much of Who Knows was planned and how much was ad libbed and jammed on the night....................

 

[karmadave]

I agree with everyone's comments. This is some of Jimi's most inspired playing and the rhythm section is superb. Buddy's vocals really add a nice touch too. It's too bad Jimi's manager put the cabash on BOG...

 

[mikeguy53]

Michael Jeffery, that guy would be a whole other thread.

 

[Hand of Doom]

Fantastic playing and tone.

Another is the Berkeley version of Hear my train a comin', the full 12 minutes, not from the concert film.

He sets up a grove and Mitchel and Cox bog it down, but he adjusts and kills it!

 

[Structo]

I had this LP when I was a kid.
Loved it and Jimi and Buddy really seemed to click together.