Jimi Hendrix Experience ‎– Live In Cologne CD

From the fantastic Jimi Hendrix Record Guide: http://hendrix.guide.pagesperso-orange.fr/live2010.htm

After a long wait came a new Dagger release. I knew this would appear one day and came out on what would have been Jimi's 70th birthday. The recording was in the audio streaming section of the official site a few years ago. It was the best sounding show that they had on streaming so that's why it was quickly pulled, to keep it aside for an eventual Dagger release. So it's a familiar show that has also been circulating for years as a bootleg.
This was initially a double vinyl only release a CD version followed later.

This recording of the performance at the Sporthalle, Cologne Germany (13 January 1969) from the short North European tour has quite good sound. It's from a very good quality audience tape but it sounds more like a rough soundboard recording. There are some fluctuations but on the whole, all instruments come across well and Jimi's guitar is nice and raw.

It's great to hear Jimi blast in with "Come On (Part 1)" (as it was titled on "Electric Ladyland") and this is the first appearance of a live version of the song on an official release. The rest is the regular repertoire of the 1969 tours with Jimi still leaning heavily on his 1967 material. It's a standard tour date for the band who were falling apart at this stage (they had announced their up-coming split in order to persue personnal projects). So it does sound a little "routine" here and there, with Jimi sometimes hurrying things along. As usual however, the performance is loaded with some stunning guitar playing. "Red House" is fantastic but has slight drop in loudness at one point. "Purple Haze" features a simply amazingly frantic and extreme finale from Jimi.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live In Cologne, the twelfth release in the Dagger Records official bootleg series, documents this spirited, January 13, 1969 performance at the Sporthalle in Cologne, Germany.

Hendrix kicked off the proceedings with a scalding “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)” from Electric Ladyland. This Earl King chestnut had long been a favorite of Jimi’s and here he began with a driving solo introduction before signaling Redding and Mitchell to join. Next followed a blistering version of “Foxey Lady,” a perennial stage favorite.

An abrupt tape cut precedes a memorable rendition of “Red House.” Thankfully the performance is essentially complete lacking only Jimi’s prefacing stage banter, offered as he likely changed guitars before starting. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” followed next, not yet established as Jimi’s closing number as it would become later in 1969 and remain so throughout his career, but no less muscular.

Jimi then shifted directly into “Fire” and then a thunderous “Spanish Castle Magic.” The Experience were clearly locked in sync, pushing each other throughout all to the delight of their audience. The Experience never backed off, launching next into their first single “Hey Joe.” Jimi had to do some quick tuning on the fly, but he pressed on undaunted, boldly dashing off a lick from the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” as he barreled through this uptempo rendition. This driving intensity built up after the solo, underscored by Jimi’s rhythm guitar work and Mitchell’s superb drumming before culminating in a rousing finale.

“Sunshine Of Your Love” was offered in tribute to Cream, all to the delight of the audience whose howls of approval can be heard even during Redding’s bass solo. “Star Spangled Banner” and “Purple Haze” capped off a truly memorable night and then the Experience were gone, whisked off to the next city and another unsuspecting audience.

Label: Dagger Records ‎– 88883747962
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2013
Genre: Rock
Style: Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock

Tracklist

1 Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) 5:30
2 Foxey Lady 5:08
3 Red House 12:33
4 Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 6:42
5 Fire 2:56
6 Spanish Castle Magic 4:29
7 Hey Joe 4:10
8 Sunshine Of Your Love 6:41
9 Star Spangled Banner 2:53
10 Purple Haze 5:04