Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969

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Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
Los Angeles Forum, April 26, 1969.jpeg
Live album by
the Jimi Hendrix Experience
ReleasedNovember 18, 2022 (2022-11-18)
RecordedApril 26, 1969
Venue The Forum, Inglewood, California
Genre Rock
Length79:10
Label Experience Hendrix/Legacy
Producer Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer, John McDermott
Jimi Hendrix chronology
Live in Maui
(2020)		Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
(2022)

Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 is a live album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded during the group's last North American tour and includes a mix of popular Experience album songs along with some instrumentals. [1] The album is the first full live release by the trio with Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell since 2013's Miami Pop Festival .

Contents

Experience Hendrix and Sony Music's Legacy Recordings released it as a double record album and CD on November 18, 2022. It is the first time that the entire concert is available on an official album. [2] Longtime Hendrix audio engineer Eddie Kramer mixed the recordings, which were "sourced directly from the original eight-track master tapes", according to Experience Hendrix. [2]

Background

Since forming in October 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience released three highly successful albums and toured extensively throughout Europe and North America. [2] By 1969, the group had become one of the few rock attractions "with enough drawing power to sell out huge venues like the Forum and New York's Madison Square Garden". [3] In April 1969, they began yet another American tour. [4] Experience manager Michael Jeffery arranged for Wally Heider (who had recorded the Experience at Monterey Pop in 1967) to record some shows. [5] After promising performances at the Forum [lower-alpha 1] on April 26 and San Diego Sports Arena on May 24, Eddie Kramer arrived at Heider's Hollywood studios to prepare mixes from the multitrack recordings. [5]

Jeffery was hoping to use a live album to satisfy a contract dispute with a former Hendrix manager. [5] Kramer and Hendrix spent three days at Heider's studio, "assembled a superb album of live performances", and delivered the tapes to Jeffery. [7] However, nothing was forthcoming and by June 15, 1969, plans for a live album were dropped. [7] In later years, the Forum concert recordings were released piecemeal: [lower-alpha 2] "Foxey Lady" was added as a bonus track on the 1989 CD-reissue of The Jimi Hendrix Concerts (1982) and the following year, the rest of the tracks were included on disc four of Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story box set. [10] Other releases include "Red House" on Variations on a Theme: Red House (1992); [11] "I Don't Live Today" on The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000) box set [12] and the Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (2001) compilation; [13] and The "Star Spangled Banner" and "Purple Haze" on West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (2010). [14]

Performance

In 1969, rock concerts at large indoor venues, such as the Forum, were relatively new. [2] It was also a time of social unrest and popular concert events attracted their share of difficulties. Hendrix biographer Keith Shadwick commented, "As so often there was a troubled atmosphere in the arena reflecting the turmoil that continued to dominate America's social and political life; here it was exacerbated by the security personnel's reaction to provocation from unruly elements in the crowd." [12] In an effort to prevent the capacity crowd from rushing the stage, "the cops had lined up on the stage in front of him [Hendrix], in some mysterious police method of crowd control". [15]

Tensions heightened and those in charge threatened to cut the power; [16] Hendrix announced "Look, they're going to cut the show short if this keeps up. So just sit down and be cool so these other 'people' [coughs] will get off the stage." [17] During his performance of "Purple Haze", he changed "'scuse me while I kiss the sky" to "'scuse me while I kiss that policeman". [2] Some see his attempts as sarcasm, [18] however, Shadwick feels that with humor and common sense, Hendrix "repeatedly defuses a situation where more heavy-handed methods would only make things worse". [12]

Also, by 1969, difficulties between Experience bassist Noel Redding and Hendrix were coming to a head. [19] Hendrix had played bass on several songs that appeared on Axis: Bold As Love (1967 [20] and Electric Ladyland (1968), and invited other musicians to record on the latter. [21] In his autobiography, Redding expressed his increasing frustration with Hendrix's habit of showing up late for recording sessions, sometimes accompanied by a group of hangers-on, and generally not being supportive of his role in the group. [22] Redding responded in part by forming his own band, Fat Mattress, where he returned to playing guitar, instead of bass. [23] During the Forum concert, Redding's approach to dealing with the security issue also showed the growing division, with his angry comments at odds with Hendrix's more conciliatory approach. [12] After riots during performances in San Diego (May 24) and Denver (June 29), Redding quit the Experience and returned to England. [24]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [25]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [26]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [27]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [28]
The Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [29]

AllMusic reviewer Mark Deming gave the album a rating of four out of five stars. [26] He writes:

If this isn't the most tightly focused Jimi Hendrix Experience performance of all, it shows the group was still capable of delivering exciting, remarkable music even under difficult circumstances ... both [Hendrix and Mitchell] were in an inspired fashion this evening, while Redding's bass gives the music a simple but steady foundation ... the depth, detail, and sense of space in the audio serves this performance well. [26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted

Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 track listing
No.TitleNotesLength
1."Introduction"Spoken (no music)2:27
2."Tax Free" (Bo Hannson, Janne Karlsson)Instrumental with drum solo15:34
3."Foxey Lady" 4:56
4."Red House" 11:25
5."Spanish Castle Magic"Includes improvised solo guitar11:58
6."Star Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key arr. Hendrix)Solo guitar instrumental2:31
7."Purple Haze" 6:44
8."I Don't Live Today" 7:04
9."Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (first part)Tracks 9–11 are a medley9:16
10."Sunshine of Your Love" (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown, Eric Clapton)Instrumental4:16
11."Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (second part) 3:20
Total length:79:10

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [30] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [31] 114
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [32] 68
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [33] 65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [34] 40
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [35] 23
Japanese Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [36] 40
Scottish Albums (OCC) [37] 27
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [38] 70
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [39] 19
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [40] 65
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [41] 3
US Billboard 200 [42] 164

Notes

  1. ↑ The Forum in Inglewood, California, is frequently called the "Los Angeles Forum" or the "Forum, Los Angeles, California" because of its proximity and association with Los Angeles. [6]
  2. ↑ Recordings from the May 24, 1969, San Diego Sports Arena concert had a similar fate, with tracks appearing on various live albums and disc three of the live Stages box set (1991). [8] [9]

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References

  1. ↑ Harvey, Kubernik (11 November 2022). "Kubernik: Jimi Hendrix Experience –Los Angeles Forum 1969". Music Connection . Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Experience Hendrix (September 8, 2022). "Jimi Hendrix Experience Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 to Be Released November 18". Jimihendrix.com (official website). Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  3. ↑ Lifelines 1990, p. 2.
  4. ↑ Shadwick 2003, p. 184.
  5. 1 2 3 McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 163.
  6. ↑ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 265.
  7. 1 2 McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 164.
  8. ↑ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, pp. 543–544, 552.
  9. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Jimi Hendrix: Stages –Review". AllMusic . Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  10. ↑ Lifelines 1990, p. 4.
  11. ↑ Wheeler & Gore 1992, p. 3.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Shadwick 2003, p. 185.
  13. ↑ Loder 2001, p. 12.
  14. ↑ McDermott 2010, p. 32.
  15. ↑ Pates 1982, pp. 2–3.
  16. ↑ Pates 1982, p. 2.
  17. ↑ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, p. 355.
  18. ↑ Waksman 1999, eBook.
  19. ↑ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 148.
  20. ↑ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, pp. 73, 75.
  21. ↑ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, pp. 531–533.
  22. ↑ Redding & Appleby 1990, pp. 86, 128.
  23. ↑ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, p. 324.
  24. ↑ Redding & Appleby 1990, pp. 131–132.
  25. ↑ Collette, Doug (November 20, 2022). "The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Los Angeles Forum April 26, 1969 –Review". All About Jazz . Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 Deming, Mark. "Jimi Hendrix: Live at the L.A. Forum, April 26, 1969 –Review". AllMusic . Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  27. ↑ Horowitz, Hal (November 15, 2022). "Review: Do We Need Yet Another Hendrix Live Performance? When It's This Powerful, Why Not?". American Songwriter . Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  28. ↑ Simmons, Michael (December 2022). "Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The LA Forum". Mojo . No. 349. p. 98. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  29. ↑ Woods, Cat; Johnston, Kathleen; Hall, James; Thomas, Jen; Harrison, Emma; Hobbs, Thomas; Shutler, Ali (18 November 2022). "The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969". Telegraph . Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-11-28/p/3" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of November 23, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae . Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  41. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Jimi Hendrix Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

Bibliography

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