Jimi Hendrix
If any artist deserved a hagiography it was Jimi Hendrix, and Joe Boyd's  1973 "authorized" tribute adequately sanctifies the legend. Perversely for a  documentary, it achieves this simply through well-chosen concert footage rather  than through the insights of the various talking heads. Pete Townshend, Eric  Clapton, Mick Jagger, Lou Reed, and Germaine Greer are all wheeled out to wax  lyrical about their days with Jimi, but nothing is more eloquent than watching  and listening to him play. From "Hey Joe" in grainy black and white on theReady Steady GoTV show, classic footage of Monterey, Woodstock (yes,  "The Star-Spangled Banner"), and the Isle of Wight festivals to an acoustic 12- string rendition of "Hear My Train a' Comin'," Hendrix the musician speaks for  himself.But if Hendrix the musician shines through, this is not the most insightful  profile of Hendrix the man. The circumstances surrounding his death, for  example, are hardly touched upon (girlfriend at the time Monika Dannemann gets  only a few seconds of screen time). Interview footage with Hendrix himself plus  some occasionally rambling and incoherent comments from such intimates as his  father, army buddies, ex-girlfriends (including Linda Keith, who "discovered"  him in New York and brought him to England), and fellow musicians all take  second place to the music itself. The most sensible quote comes from Little  Richard, who proves once and for all that he's utterly bonkers when he says of  Jimi's music: "At times he made my big toes shoot up into my boot."--Mark  Walker, Amazon.co.uk