Product: Classic Albums: Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (1997)
Rating: 3.0
Okay, not outstanding
While this DVD is interesting and well-produced, it doesn't measure up to other releases in the "Classic Album" series. The great bulk of screen time is spent on talking head interviews. That in itself would be okay, but they focus more on praising Jimi than discussing the music and the nuts and bolts of its creation. There is a lot of material that didn't make it onto this DVD - extensive alternate takes and outtakes - that has been broadcast on the radio. That material would have provided a fascinating supplement and insight into the Electric Ladyland creation process, and the brilliance behind the compositions of the songs. But instead this disc shows too much reminiscing about Jimi and mourning of his early death.Once again, Eddie Kramer provides the meat of the subject matter, playing the mixer like a virtuoso. But even here his comments seem curiously attenuated. Electric Ladyland is a masterwork of studio recording, one of the striking achievements of 20th century rock music, and a complete treatment could fill several DVDs. Here we only get snippets. The same is true of the performances; this disc only shows brief clips, frequently interrupted, of various classic performances.This is a disc for completists, and you probably won't want to watch it more than once. It talks about Jimi a lot, but there just isn't much of him here.