Wikipedia

Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969

Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 is a live album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded during the group's last North American tour and includes a mix of popular Experience album songs along with some instrumentals.[1] The album is the first full live release by the trio with Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell since 2013's Miami Pop Festival.

Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
Live album by
the Jimi Hendrix Experience
ReleasedNovember 18, 2022 (2022-11-18)
RecordedApril 26, 1969
VenueThe Forum, Inglewood, California
GenreRock
Length79:10
LabelExperience Hendrix/Legacy
ProducerJanie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer, John McDermott
Jimi Hendrix chronology
Live in Maui
(2020) 		Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
(2022)

Experience Hendrix and Sony Music's Legacy Recordings released it as a double record album and CD on November 18, 2022. It is the first time that the entire concert is available on an official album.[2] Longtime Hendrix audio engineer Eddie Kramer mixed the recordings, which were "sourced directly from the original eight-track master tapes", according to Experience Hendrix.[2]

Background edit

Since forming in October 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience released three highly successful albums and toured extensively throughout Europe and North America.[2] By 1969, the group had become one of the few rock attractions "with enough drawing power to sell out huge venues like the Forum and New York's Madison Square Garden".[3] In April 1969, they began yet another American tour.[4] Experience manager Michael Jeffery arranged for Wally Heider (who had recorded the Experience at Monterey Pop in 1967) to record some shows.[5] After promising performances at the Forum[a] on April 26 and San Diego Sports Arena on May 24, Eddie Kramer arrived at Heider's Hollywood studios to prepare mixes from the multitrack recordings.[5]

Jeffery was hoping to use a live album to satisfy a contract dispute with a former Hendrix manager.[5] Kramer and Hendrix spent three days at Heider's studio, "assembled a superb album of live performances", and delivered the tapes to Jeffery.[7] However, nothing was forthcoming and by June 15, 1969, plans for a live album were dropped.[7] In later years, the Forum concert recordings were released piecemeal:[b] "Foxey Lady" was added as a bonus track on the 1989 CD-reissue of The Jimi Hendrix Concerts (1982) and the following year, the rest of the tracks were included on disc four of Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story box set.[10] Other releases include "Red House" on Variations on a Theme: Red House (1992);[11] "I Don't Live Today" on The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000) box set[12] and the Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (2001) compilation;[13] and The "Star Spangled Banner" and "Purple Haze" on West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (2010).[14]

Performance edit

In 1969, rock concerts at large indoor venues, such as the Forum, were relatively new.[2] It was also a time of social unrest and popular concert events attracted their share of difficulties. Hendrix biographer Keith Shadwick commented, "As so often there was a troubled atmosphere in the arena reflecting the turmoil that continued to dominate America's social and political life; here it was exacerbated by the security personnel's reaction to provocation from unruly elements in the crowd."[12] In an effort to prevent the capacity crowd from rushing the stage, "the cops had lined up on the stage in front of him [Hendrix], in some mysterious police method of crowd control".[15]

Tensions heightened and those in charge threatened to cut the power;[16] Hendrix announced "Look, they're going to cut the show short if this keeps up. So just sit down and be cool so these other 'people' [coughs] will get off the stage."[17] During his performance of "Purple Haze", he changed "'scuse me while I kiss the sky" to "'scuse me while I kiss that policeman".[2] Some see his attempts as sarcasm,[18] however, Shadwick feels that with humor and common sense, Hendrix "repeatedly defuses a situation where more heavy-handed methods would only make things worse".[12]

Also, by 1969, difficulties between Experience bassist Noel Redding and Hendrix were coming to a head.[19] Hendrix had played bass on several songs that appeared on Axis: Bold As Love (1967[20] and Electric Ladyland (1968), and invited other musicians to record on the latter.[21] In his autobiography, Redding expressed his increasing frustration with Hendrix's habit of showing up late for recording sessions, sometimes accompanied by a group of hangers-on, and generally not being supportive of his role in the group.[22] Redding responded in part by forming his own band, Fat Mattress, where he returned to playing guitar, instead of bass.[23] During the Forum concert, Redding's approach to dealing with the security issue also showed the growing division, with his angry comments at odds with Hendrix's more conciliatory approach.[12] After riots during performances in San Diego (May 24) and Denver (June 29), Redding quit the Experience and returned to England.[24]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz     [25]
AllMusic     [26]
American Songwriter     [27]
Mojo     [28]
The Telegraph     [29]

AllMusic reviewer Mark Deming gave the album a rating of four out of five stars.[26] He writes:

If this isn't the most tightly focused Jimi Hendrix Experience performance of all, it shows the group was still capable of delivering exciting, remarkable music even under difficult circumstances ... both [Hendrix and Mitchell] were in an inspired fashion this evening, while Redding's bass gives the music a simple but steady foundation ... the depth, detail, and sense of space in the audio serves this performance well.[26]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted

Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 track listing
No.TitleNotesLength
1."Introduction"Spoken (no music)2:27
2."Tax Free" (Bo Hannson, Janne Karlsson)Instrumental with drum solo15:34
3."Foxey Lady" 4:56
4."Red House" 11:25
5."Spanish Castle Magic"Includes improvised solo guitar11:58
6."Star Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key arr. Hendrix)Solo guitar instrumental2:31
7."Purple Haze" 6:44
8."I Don't Live Today" 7:04
9."Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (first part)Tracks 9–11 are a medley9:16
10."Sunshine of Your Love" (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown, Eric Clapton)Instrumental4:16
11."Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (second part) 3:20
Total length:79:10

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Chart performance for Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 114
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 68
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] 40
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[35] 23
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[36] 40
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 27
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] 70
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 19
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[40] 65
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[41] 3
US Billboard 200[42] 164

Notes edit

  1. ^ The Forum in Inglewood, California, is frequently called the "Los Angeles Forum" or the "Forum, Los Angeles, California" because of its proximity and association with Los Angeles.[6]
  2. ^ Recordings from the May 24, 1969, San Diego Sports Arena concert had a similar fate, with tracks appearing on various live albums and disc three of the live Stages box set (1991).[8][9]

References edit

  1. ^ Harvey, Kubernik (11 November 2022). "Kubernik: Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum 1969". Music Connection. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Experience Hendrix (September 8, 2022). "Jimi Hendrix Experience Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 to Be Released November 18". Jimihendrix.com (official website). Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Lifelines 1990, p. 2.
  4. ^ Shadwick 2003, p. 184.
  5. ^ a b c McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 163.
  6. ^ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 265.
  7. ^ a b McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 164.
  8. ^ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, pp. 543–544, 552.
  9. ^ Prato, Greg. "Jimi Hendrix: Stages – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Lifelines 1990, p. 4.
  11. ^ Wheeler & Gore 1992, p. 3.
  12. ^ a b c d Shadwick 2003, p. 185.
  13. ^ Loder 2001, p. 12.
  14. ^ McDermott 2010, p. 32.
  15. ^ Pates 1982, pp. 2–3.
  16. ^ Pates 1982, p. 2.
  17. ^ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, p. 355.
  18. ^ Waksman 1999, eBook.
  19. ^ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 148.
  20. ^ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, pp. 73, 75.
  21. ^ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, pp. 531–533.
  22. ^ Redding & Appleby 1990, pp. 86, 128.
  23. ^ Shapiro & Glebbeek 1991, p. 324.
  24. ^ Redding & Appleby 1990, pp. 131–132.
  25. ^ Collette, Doug (November 20, 2022). "The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Los Angeles Forum April 26, 1969 – Review". All About Jazz. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  26. ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "Jimi Hendrix: Live at the L.A. Forum, April 26, 1969 – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  27. ^ Horowitz, Hal (November 15, 2022). "Review: Do We Need Yet Another Hendrix Live Performance? When It's This Powerful, Why Not?". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  28. ^ Simmons, Michael (December 2022). "Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The LA Forum". Mojo. No. 349. p. 98. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  29. ^ Woods, Cat; Johnston, Kathleen; Hall, James; Thomas, Jen; Harrison, Emma; Hobbs, Thomas; Shutler, Ali (18 November 2022). "The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969". Telegraph. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  30. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  32. ^ "Ultratop.be – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  33. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  34. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  35. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-11-28/p/3" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  36. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of November 23, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  39. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  40. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  41. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  42. ^ "Jimi Hendrix Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

Bibliography edit

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