Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis at Monterey

Another one of my Criterion Collections’ 50% off purchases was “Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis at Monterey” which documents each artists’ performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. This is directed by D.A. Pennebaker - for the most part, straight concert footage is used, a credit to Pennebaker’s taste. One point where this strays during the music is during Otis’s “Try a Little Tenderness” where Pennebaker cuts in shots of various women in the audience and outside of the venue with children, lovers, etc. It’s short, very sweet, and manages to get beyond all the negative hippie mystique of the era and show the truly beautiful aspects of the 60’s - all in a short 2-3 (?) minute sequence. Very well done.

Both of these are historic performances and important documents of the history of rock and rhythm and blues music. There are many highlights, not the least of which is seeing a very young Donald "Duck" Dunn spasm all over his bass in glorious fashion.

I’m glad they’re in my collection.

Top 20 Guitar Solos - #5: All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

The video and audio is a little crappy, but the solos on this are, indeed, amazing. From the Atlanta Pop Festival, summer of 1970, apparently - the original poster didn't put it in the title, but the comments on the YouTube post seem to nail down the show - can't be sure.



FWIW, I dedicate every song to the girl with the purple underwear.

Top 20 Guitar Solos - #18: Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix

This video pisses me off with it's pot-induced leanings, but it's the best live version I could find. This is from Hendrix's 1968 Royal Albert Hall concert.



Here's a link to a nice Wikipedia article on Jimi.

Since that video is so poor, I can't help but to also post Stevie Ray Vaughan doing an amazing performance of Little Wing. I also like Tommy Shannon's bass lines on this one. SRV throws in a nice Third Stone from the Sun piece at the end, too, though the video cuts it off abruptly. Enjoy.