More Electricity From Newport


Recorded at the Newport Pop Festival in June 1969. There were crowd problems at this festival, you can hear Jimi cursing at them at points during the show. The show suffers because of this, the band never really seems to get into a good rhythm. They try however, and there are a few decent moments, especially with the blues numbers (Red House, Hear My Train A Comin'). But they can't bring this show to much more than an average grade (imho). I mainly chose getting this CD for the bonus tracks, an interview with Jimi on the Dick Cavett show, and a short version of Hear My Train A Comin'. Cavett's interviewing techniques leaves much to be desired; he thinks he's being funny when he in fact sounds stupid. Jimi sounds quite annoyed at times with Cavett, a wanna-be trying to pretend he's part of the scene. But at least there's a song out of the experience, though it's got to be one of the shortest versions of Hear My Train A Comin' on record.

I like Luna releases, so far every one I've gotten has been of very good quality. And this is no exception. I got this particular concert originally on the Wizard's Visions release, but the Luna release has the tracks in the proper sequence. And I'd say the quality is one or two generations better than the Wizard's Visions release. The bonus interview and track from the Dick Cavett show are a nice addition to fill out this CD.

Catalog #: Luna LU 9201