People like Jimi Hendrix come along only once every so often. If we’re lucky they enrich our lives with amazing, outstanding art for decades to come, but too often they fizzle out in their prime as Jimi Hendrix did. Although a lot of Hendrix is recalled through is iconic performance at Woodstock, Hendrix also pretty much blew everyone out of their seats in the equally important Monterey Pop concert in 1968. With his ability to take control of the crowd with his smooth words, sultry vocals and extraordinary guitar licks, Hendrix was in a league all his own.
Despite the concert being filled with so many artists, Hendrix is the spotlight of what is primarily a concert film. There are some looks back at his youth and his beginning as an aspiring guitarist, as well as his explosion in to the rock scene, but that only takes about three minutes out of this hour long set by Jimi and his group. Jimi is never about delivering a boring old cover of some of his favorite songs, offering up radical, and interesting interpretations of classics. Among the great performances there is a great reworking of The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” as well as an excellent take on the Troggs’ “Wild Thing.”
This famously (and some argue notoriously) ended in his almost ritualistic destruction of his axe ending with him setting it ablaze for the crowds. There are also performances of his iconic “Foxy Lady,” the wonderful “Hey Joe,” and of course one of my favorites “The Wind Cries Mary.” Probably his most peculiar but entertaining moment is his take on Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” which is a warbling, blues tinted version that really sets itself apart from Dylan’s masterpiece. “Jimi Plays Monterey” is a great celebration of Hendrix and his electricity that he brought to Monterey. It works beautifully as its own concert film and as a compliment to 1968’s “Monterey Pop.”