Hearing the performance 56 years later, it's hard to not kind of understand all that unacceptable behavior. Anyone without a ticket missed a manic, brilliantly performed show. Hendrix sings and plays with possessed power, making even hoary old warhorse "Johnny B. Goode" sound vital. It wasn't all his gig either. Mitch Mitchell punishes his kit with equal fire, and Billy Cox attacks his bass with the fuzzed ferocity and nimble ingenuity of John Entwistle. Seeing the band billed as "The Experience" without Noel Redding feels a bit disrespectful to the departed bass player. It also feels disrespectful to Cox because they sound like such a different band with such a different bassist.
Although bits of this gig have been released over the years, it has never received an official and complete release. Live At Berkeley First Show is now making its debut as a double-LP package, that extra disc necessary for a mere eleven-song set because the band stretches half the numbers to epic length, culminating in a version of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" that stretches to the twelve-minute mark despite its rapid tempo. There is also quite a bit of chatter from the frontman between songs, and its interesting to hear how Hendrix had shed his soft political stance to address contemporary injustices and unrest in the U.S., even if he did so in his usual trailing-off, spacey manner. He also delivers a brief but hilarious synopsis of the film of the (almost) same name before unveiling a chaotic "Ezy Rider".
The original multi-track tapes have been newly remixed by Eddie Kramer. Mitchell's drums are spread across the stereo spectrum with Hendrix's guitar and voice and Cox's bass all centered. The drums are slightly trebley, but overall this is a very well recorded concert with punchy bass guitar and great clarity. The vinyl is reasonably flat and well centered without a hint of distortion or surface noise.
