New York (Hunter College) : 2 mars 1968 [Second concert]

New York (Hunter College) : 2 mars 1968 [Second concert]    


Titres :

1. Tax Free
2. Foxy Lady
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. Killing Floor
5. Red House

Source : "Hunter/Hilton" ATM 039


C'est un enregistrement "audience" de qualité moyenne au regard des critères de 1968. La balance serait relativement équilibrée si le chant n'était pas enterré - mais il en était sans doute de même pour les spectateurs du concert ! La définition du son n'est pas optimale : il y a de la distorsion.
Notre bootlegger a préservé au maximum la musique, ne gardant ni le bla-bla, ni les séances où Jimi s'accorde.


Pour Jimi, jouer à New York, c'est jouer à la maison. Il existe une photo de lui en compagnie de Fayne Pridgon, sa petite amie pré-Experience prise ce jour-là par David Sygall.

Dès les premières mesures de "Tax Free", on comprend ce qu'est une source "audience" : on entend les (heureusement rares) commentaires mieux que la musique ! Jimi se lance ici dans une improvisation sauvage où il maltraite sa wah wah... Contrairement à ce que pense notre commentateur, Jimi ne débute pas "Foxy Lady" durant cette jam (dont la fin est coupée)...

... mais il avait un bon feeling car c'est avec "Foxy Lady" que l'Experience enchaîne, dans une version sérieuse, où le chant semble appliqué. Le solo part sur les bases de la version studio.

Jimi présente ensuite "Like A Rolling Stone" comme un titre "écrit par un mec qui s'appelle Robert Zimmerman". Notre commentateur constate que Jimi est "un guitariste fabuleux" - ce qui n'est pas faux. Jimi semble chanter avec plus de retenue qu'à Monterey. La qualité audio est malheureusement insuffisante pour saisir les subtilités de l'interprétation, ou que l'émotion puisse vraiment percer.

Le groupe continue avec "Killing Floor", mais le chant est ici à peine audible...

Ensuite vient "Red House" - comme souvent le titre le plus intéressant du concert. C'est ici que Jimi improvise le plus, et où la qualité audio est la meilleure (le volume sonore du groupe étant ici plus réduit). C'est une version assez courte (le solo ne fait qu'un seul cycle de 12 mesures). Si le chant de Jimi semble moyen, il joue avec beaucoup d'autorité de superbes parties de guitare.

L'enregistrement ne se poursuit pas après : de moins d'une demi-heure et se terminant par "Red House", il va sans dire que celui-ci ne recouvre pas l'intégralité de la performance de l'Experience.

Au final ? Court... mais d'un bon niveau.

Un enregistrement réservé aux seuls accros... non pas que Jimi soit mauvais, mais la qualité audio est assez mauvaise. Y'a pire remarque !

Citation :

Notre bootlegger a préservé au maximum la musique, ne gardant ni le bla-bla, ni les séances où Jimi s'accorde.

D'ailleurs je trouve les "dérapages" de la bande (à chaque fois que le bouton Pause, Stop ou Play est enfoncé) assez pénibles...

"Tax Free" ne semble pas si mauvais mais il est difficile d'en apprécier toutes les subtilités tant le son est étouffé et lointain... Dommage, Jimi fait hurler son matos !

"Foxy Lady"... la scène semble s'être encore éloignée !!! Difficile de rentrer dans le show ! Le chant est quasi inaudible, et seule la guitare de Jimi semble légèrement surnager au dessus des autres...

"Like A Rolling Stone" : commence par une très belle introduction, posée, délicate... Dommage que la qualité ne nous permette pas de profiter pleinement de cette version qui semble très belle !

"Killing Floor" : une version qui semble tourner à merveille mais qui malheureusement à cause de la qualité sonore ne peut nous mettre la transe !

"Red House" termine l'enregistrement dans une version très courte, mais sympa. C'est surtout un des meilleurs moments du concert, et un des plus audibles...


Conclusion : au regard de sa qualité d'enregistrement, il ne sortira pas souvent de sa boite... Les versions ne sont pas les plus belles, ni les plus furieuses donc ce n'est pas non plus un drame...

Extrait d'un article de Libération :

C’est le 2 mars 1968 que John Scofield a décidé de devenir guitariste de jazz. Ce jour-là, ce garçon américain de 17 ans, qui bricolait sur son manche les accords d’Albert King et Otis Rush, assistait à un concert de Jimi Hendrix au Hunter College de New York. «Instantanément, j’ai cessé de vouloir devenir guitariste de blues. Car comment faire mieux que Hendrix ?» se souvient-il. Ce sera donc le jazz, où le jeune Scofield espérait qu’il restait des choses à inventer.

http://www.liberation.fr/musique/0101632882-john-scofield-tout-terrain-de-jeu

Le pied !
Merci Brume.

VARIETY:
“Many rock ‘n’ roll concerts these days, while drawing blockbuster response are handicapped by a theatrical amateurism that undermines any customer return potential. Viewers of the Jimi Hendrix Experience concert at Hunter College N.Y., Saturday night were assaulted by cacophonic bullet sprays of sound. To be sure, the noise made a lasting impression, but in the process it laid all the cards on the line to spell out why so many rock stars must base their success on the hit and run concept. Hendrix’s noise was greeted by two SRO (standing room only) houses in the 2,200-seat auditorium, for an estimated $18,500 gross at $4.50 top. Sound on sound, they go go go and where the rockers’ll stop, nobody knows- as long as youngsters keep shelling out top coin for fourth class showmanship.”

EAST VILLAGE OTHER - interview by Jules Freemond:
In less than a year, Jimi Hendrix has become myth. The black Elvis come to grind the squirming white-hoppers into mush. Oh yes, Jimi won’t do you no harm. But to watch the audience explode into frustrated little girl screams at Hendrix’ electric frying show at Hunter College last weekend [2 March] was to see a myth being born.
EAST VILLAGE OTHER: I'm just curious as to whether these are songs you've written over a period of time,
or whether you just go into the studio.
HENDRIX: A lot of them are ideas I've had froin the Village, Some of them . . . like we just got around to
recording "Little Wing."
EAST VILLAGE OTHER; Noel. you do a lot of chording on the bass. Now, your bass lines are funny. I'm
used to either a standard walking jazz bass or counry-and-western 1/3 or a Chicago blues riffing thing. Some of the things on the album were complicated 4/4 time over.
REDDING: I like doing that . . . changing time.
MITCHELL: There you go—we don't think about time. If you want to be technically specific about it—wow!
The bass player’s and drummer’s roles are almost completely reversed. The drummer isn't the anchor, the bass is more of an anchor. But you've both got freedom whatever you're doing.
HENDRIX: As far as technical works of timing or trying to blow somebody’s mind with a strange time.
MITCHELL: You know, we're not doing this thing: wow, we can play a number in 19/8 or whatever it is. So
what . . . big deal . . . like Dave Brubeck . . . who cares? You know, you become aware of your time and forget all about it. Who wants to count time for the rest of your life?
HENDRIX: Yeah. but our music is like that jar of candy over there. Everything’s all mixed up. Regardless of what the scene might be—you don't put yourself in categories or else you find yourself really unhappy because then you might want to do something else. The best way to accept some of the things that we do—if it’s all that important—is to take every song for what it has to offer instead of trying to put it all in one big thing. Because our next LP is going to be completely different and, you know . . . strange. Someone from the Move sang background on “You Got Me Floating,” with Noel and Mitch and our manager’s footprints can be heard on the fadeout of “If Six Was Nine.” [Hendrix comments that the piccolo sound on Axis: Bold Asd Love was actually a Moroccan flute he bought for two shillings .] You can get that same sound out of a guitar. We’ve got a gadget call the Octavia that we use on a song called “One Rainy Wish.” It boosts the guitar twice as high.
As far as guitar (in terms of electronic gadgets), we use repeat echo, wah-wah, things like that. [Jimi used a hand wah-wah on Are You Experienced? Both Hendrix and Cream used the first wah-wah foot pedal at the same time.] On “Spanish Castle Magic” we used a guitar, bass, and drums and piano and a lot of things are in unison. Noel uses an eight-string bass plus I was playing the same thing on guitar. It didn’t come out as clear as we wanted but it was a hint of what we’re trying to do.”


RAT SUBTERRANEAN NEWS - by P. Dingle:
“This Saturday night Hunter College concert was like an abbreviated chronology of the rock and roll scene - a little typical old rock, a little typical new rock and much too little atypical Jimi Hendrix rock, which combines the best of the old and the best of the new with great talent and a unique, original sound.
With three extra guitars lined up on the floor, Jimi Hendrix strode on stage and took over the hearts, souls and heads of the Hunter College audience. Their first song, ‘Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire,’ punctuated by some pointed tongue and pelvic action by Hendrix, set most of the female and much of the male audience screaming, and when a tormented cry for ‘Foxy Lady’ pierced the air, Hendrix only nodded and whispered into the microphone, ‘Yes, I understand, baby.’ By ‘Hey Joe’ the Experience had created a growing emotional orgy as Hendrix played almost exclusively with one hand, his forearm or his teeth. Then, the Experience tore into ‘Foxy Lady’ and the audience went nuts Hendrix slammed his guitar back and forth against the microphone, Mitch beat the shit out of his drums, and fleet-fingered Noel Redding, bass man, Indian stomped around the stage and dug his amplifier The [2nd] concert closed with ‘Purple Haze’ complete with its three minute superspaced introduction and Hendrix playing the guitar between his legs. The great thing about the Jimi Hendrix Experience is that it can be reproduced, live, before your eyes and ears. Under all the electronic equipment is the music of three, count them, three, fantastic musicians, who need only plug in to get the full effect of what can’t usually be done even in multi-million dollar sound studios. The sad thing about the Jimi Hendrix Experience is that it was much too short and that the shouts for more were ignored. But there’s one more thing to be said: although the Experience was short, it was complete. Not one girl left the Hunter College Auditorium a virgin.”

Quelles magnifiques photos !

Merci Brume.

Superbe photo!

Mitch essayait peut-être de se faire embaucher par Daevid Allen dans Gong avec son look de pothead pixie.

une photo vue plus haut mais en couleur cette fois ci