BBC Review
Jimi may have been a shy boy, beset with as many worries as the next cosmic guitar...
Chris Jones 2002-11-20
Originally released in 1973, and compiled by legendary producer, Joe Boyd: A Film...is saved by the power of the music alone. For every cringeworthy recollection by Germaine Greer (Germaine Greer?!?) or Jimi's old girlfriend, we get footage that could possibly burn a hole in your TV screen.
Assembled from the by-now-familiar footage filmed at Monterey, Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, this film conclusively proves that Jimi may have been a shy boy, beset with as many worries as the next cosmic guitar wrangler, but on stage he nearly always delivered transcendence.
Interviews with noteworthy rockers like Pete Townsend and Eric Clapton, due to the time in which the film was made, are invariably mightily chemically assisted. Former boss, Little Richard for instance makes little sense other than that Jimi was 'freaky'. But somehow this all adds to the quirky sense of history.
It's by no means the definitive tale of Seattle's favourite son, but it's never less than engaging and highly recommended...
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