Jimi Plays Monterey

Jimi Plays Monterey

NR 1987 · 50 min · ★ 7.5 · Documentary, Music

Jimi Hendrix's debut American set at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival is generally considered one of the most radical and legendary live shows ever. Virtually unknown to American audiences at the time, even though he was already an established entity in the UK, Hendrix and his two-piece Experience explode on stage, ripping through blues classics "Rock Me Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," interpreting and electrifying Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," debuting songs from his yet-to-be-released first album and closing with the now historic sacrificing/burning of his guitar during an unhinged version of "Wild Thing" that even its writer Chip Taylor would never have imagined. Hendrix uses feedback and distortion to enhance the songs in whisper-to-scream intensity, blazing territory that had not been previously explored with as much soul-frazzled power.

Directed by Chris Hegedus

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Cast

John Phillips Narrator (voice)
Jimi Hendrix Self (archive footage)
Noel Redding Self (archive footage)
Mitch Mitchell Self (archive footage)
Art Garfunkel Self (archive footage)
George Harrison Self (archive footage)
Mick Jagger Self (archive footage)
Brian Jones Self (archive footage)
Janis Joplin Self (archive footage)
John Lennon Self (archive footage)
Paul McCartney Self (archive footage)
Charles Shaar Murray Self - Commentary

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