BAND OF GYPSYS

To fully appreciate this album you have to consider time of the release.Recorded on New years eve 1970,this is,IMHO,best guitar live album ever,and I'm probably being absolutely biased for a simple reason:this was my FIRST lp-album I owned.And what a stunner that was for a 13-year old flower-pop filled ears !Sabbath were yet to enter my world and Band of gypsys were the ones to bridge that gap from pop-era of the sixties to something new and exciting that will come in early 70's.Forget about The Experience,Band of gypsys was the ultimate Hendrix power trio,with excellent vocals&funky drumming courtesy of Buddy Miles and thunderous bass work of Billy Cox. Jimi's solos onWho knows and (especially)Machine gun are out of this world,and rest of the material is also very strong.In my view,Hendrix was ultimate live performer,his studio material was always better performed in front of the audience , his improvisations and extended solos were never boring,unlike some of his contemporaries(Cream?). Eddie Kramer's restored version of this album sounds better than ever before adding aura of immortality to one of the best live records in history of popular music.Essential stuff!