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)

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.

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

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[lower-alpha 1] 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:[lower-alpha 2] "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

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

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

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

Charts

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

  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

  1. ↑ Harvey, Kubernik (11 November 2022). "Kubernik: Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum 1969". Music Connection. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 1 2 3 McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 163.
  6. ↑ McDermott, Kramer & Cox 2009, p. 265.
  7. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 3 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

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