This album definitely needs to be reviewed. It is one of the most famous and necessary listens of one of the greatest guitarists to walk this planet, none other than Jimi Hendrix himself. The Monterey Pop Festival in California was a major event at which Jimi played on 18 June 1967. Fans of Jimi Hendrix claim that it was one of his best and most inspiring live performances, which, at the time, was an amazing event to be part of. This live performance is divided roughly 50/50 between cover songs and The Jimi Hendrix Experience originals. Nonetheless, this ought to be an interesting listen. Jimi Hendrix was playing (guitar and vocals) with Noel Redding (bass guitar) and Mitch Mitchell (drums). Let’s take a trip back to 1967 and hear Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey.

1. Introduction By Brian Jones is a brief section in which Brian Jones (of The Rolling Stones) struggles to be heard over the crowd after a crowd announcer does a real introduction anyway. A bit weird, but yeah.

2. Killing Floor begins with some fast and furious Fender Stratocaster playing, which sounds awesome and fantastic. Jimi Hendrix and his band play a supercharged and interesting tune that is definitely worth hearing. This traditional Blues Music number doesn’t get enough love, and Jimi Hendrix lightens up the music scene with his awesome instrumentation and playing. The Strat comes alive in Jimi’s hands, and he shows how it is such a wonderful instrument. All in all, a very amazing and fantastic listening experience throughout. Jimi plays in such a unique and original way that he is inimitable. All in all, this music is very sweet and powerful to listen to. It ends with a fantastic hammer-on section and some neat whammy work as well. Brilliant. Jimi briefly speaks before leading into the next song.

3. Foxey Lady begins with some rather good riffing, albeit somewhat a little out of tune per se. Even so, this is a sensational-sounding performance. Jimi puts on a very decent show throughout, and he sounds awesome as a guitarist. The rest of the band, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, were as tight as nails behind him, and they kicked some serious you-know-what. The guitar solo is insanely great sounding, and has Jimi doing a masterclass of brilliant performance and playing. A really cool tune to listen to, this music sounds really amazing and different. A great and punchy piece of music, the outro sounds insanely awesome. Good job, Jimi. He tells the crowd to wait a minute as he gets ready.

4. Like A Rolling Stone is a Bob Dylan cover, of course. Jimi does a brief introduction and mumbles for a bit, before launching into a seismic and massive sounding guitar riff intro, kicking into a glorious tune at hand. This is seven minutes of stunning guitar playing. Jimi shows his best and pleasant side musically, and he plays majestically and beautifully. This may be a Bob Dylan cover, but Jimi Hendrix puts his heart and soul into this music. Even if you are not a huge Bob Dylan fan, this will likely resonate well with your ears. An absolutely awesome and well-driven tune that has class and gorgeous guitar playing. This shows the world that Jimi Hendrix was the definitive mystical Hippie of Rock Music. A really top listen, Jimi and friends play with a glory and determination that very few could match. Great and interesting. Even if you are not a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix, this will likely appeal to you. The guitar playing is excellent and powerful throughout. In the second half, this goes into some more subtle verses and pleasant Fender Stratocaster licks to match it all. Jimi Hendrix was often considered to be the greatest guitarist of all time. Performances such as this one add to that reputation for many listeners out there. A decent and interesting seven-minute-long cover that wraps up with some neat guitar playing and drumming, with the crowd approving of it. Jimi talks a little as we lead into the next tune.

5. Rock Me Baby launches into another cover song that sounds electrifying and furious throughout. Jimi sings sweetly over the top of it all. This may be a cover song, but it rocks hard and sounds like a masterclass in energetic Fender Stratocaster-based music. Jimi Hendrix was indeed a great Fender Stratocaster player, and he shows that very few could match him on his Strat. The solo section on this song is impressive as well. This is a 12 12-bar blues that has some deeper and thunderous appeal to listen to. Jimi shows the world of music that he could cut it live as well. It ends fairly quickly with some wicked drum rolls and insane guitar and whammy bar work. Nice. Jimi tunes up his guitars, and the band eventually launches into the next song.

6. Hey Joe sounds fantastic from the start. Jimi Hendrix plays some insane guitar leads, and although this is in a slightly different guitar tuning than the recorded version on the first album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, this is definitely a winner. Jimi and his friends play with a decency and fluidity that few could match. This version is somewhat longer than the recorded version, being over five minutes long. A supercharged and sweet listen to hear, this music is a fantastic representation of the heavy Psychedelic Blues that Jimi Hendrix could pull off so well. A really awesome and tripped-out sounding song. Jimi wasn’t the greatest singer out there, but nonetheless, he gave us his best. He is full of delightful and fiery energy on this song, and delivers where needed. It finishes fairly quickly and has the band tuning up, which is not really needed here. Jimi eventually talks some absolute jibberish (the dude was probably high out of his mind) and eventually takes forever to tune up.

7. Can You See Me is another early song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This is not a good rendition of it, however. It sounds like an awkward tuning, despite the band playing very nicely otherwise. This is a shame, Jimi Hendrix and friends would have been better off setting up this one a bit longer. In any case, it is a deep and interesting listen throughout. Jimi’s use of guitar techniques, especially hammer-ons and whammy guitar work, does sound different. A really far-out tune, although it could definitely have been done better. It ends after two and a half minutes in length.

8. The Wind Cries Mary sounds much better than the song before it. Jimi Hendrix and friends play super nicely and sweetly throughout. This is a better example of the music and magic of Jimi himself. The Jimi Hendrix Experience play a neat tune which is beautifully and powerfully magical. All in all, this is a true winner. Sure, it is not as good as some of the studio stuff that Jimi Hendrix was delivering around this time (1967). Still, this is a cool and excellent musical winner. Jimi himself is a real star here, and he sounds absolutely awesome throughout. A superb and good listen, flaws, warts and all. It ends after three minutes. Decent. Jimi nicely introduces the next upcoming tune.

9. Purple Haze sounds rather awful from the start. It is a flawed listen and points out that Jimi perhaps relied too much on sound effects and alternate tunings musically to get his point across. His singing is atrocious on this song as well. Seriously, Jimi Hendrix sounds like he was drugged out of his mind here, not good. You can hear his singing as an indication of this. Despite that, the entire band play really powerfully and excellently throughout. This is a decent performance by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, even if Jimi was drugged up by this song. It has some interesting conclusions before ending at the three-minute mark. There is then an intermission as the band prepares for the next tune at hand. This obviously could have been edited out. Mitch Mitchell does some excellent marching drum fills, and Jimi Hendrix talks to the crowd, likely as high as the sky. He does thank the crowd for their presence. Jimi eventually gets into the final song after much rambling on the microphone.

10. Wild Thing is the last track and lasts for nearly eight minutes in length. This is not overly impressive from the start. It has some rather awful guitar work, and Jimi Hendrix does not reveal his best musical talents on this song. This goes on for a while and is rather stupid to hear, eventually launching into a cover song originally by Chip Taylor. A decent song, but it is quite clear by this point that this is not the greatest Jimi Hendrix live performance of all time. Sadly, these songs could have (and often were) bettered over this. Even so, one can appreciate the power and majestic nature musically that is Jimi Hendrix. This is a bit ordinary of an interpretation as well, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience aren’t the greatest musical listening experience ever, especially on this live album. It just falls flat fairly quickly, and Jimi sounds mashed through this whole live performance (he probably was). There is an extended solo section in the second half, which sounds rather naff. By this stage, one could likely hit stop. Most of the album is done anyway. Some furious soloing continues for some time, and eventually wraps up with a load of noise and drum fills. Decent and interesting, but not very good. This drags on for far too long as well. The outro is horrible.

This is a fairly average performance, to be fair. It is a less inspired sounding show and clear evidence that drugs are not good for people (although this is debatable). Jimi in particular sounds like he is majorly high or drunk on this live gig, and his rambling on the microphone also does not make sense. Therefore, this is not as good as people make it out to be. It’s not outright bad, but there are better Jimi Hendrix performances out there. Should you listen to this album? Probably not, finding something else instead to hear, be it by Jimi Hendrix or otherwise.

Barely passable music.

5/10