The Jimi Hendrix Family and Trust (Experience Hendrix LLC), in conjunction with Legacy Recordings, has been reissuing the Jimi Hendrix catalogue. They will drop a big one on September 13^th, when the four-disc box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Winterland will be released. For purists, it is also available as an eight-disc, 180 gram vinyl audiophile LP deluxe box set. If you just want a taste, there will be a single highlight disc as well.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience pulled into San Francisco for six shows at the historic Winterland Ballroom, October 10-12, 1968. This latest box set finds the Experience at the height of their performing powers. Each of the first three discs in the set are devoted to one days music, covering two shows. Yes, there is a repetition of material, but there are some differences as well. Disc one contains a cover of Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love,” which is replaced on the second disc by Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.” Disc three contains both songs in the set. “Killing Floor,” “Are You Experienced,” and “Wild Thing” only appear on one disc apiece.

On the other hand, staples such as “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” “Lover Man” and “Fire” appear on all three discs, but given the improvisational nature of Jimi Hendrix’s live performances, there are always differences and it’s interesting to compare.

The fourth disc contains performances from all three days that were not previously contained on the first three discs. It is an odd approach, and while the music is always welcome, it is the least satisfying of the four discs. It does not have the flow of a real concert experience, but rather is a series of live tracks bundled together. The highlight of the disc was an interview with Hendrix backstage at the Boston garden a couple of weeks before the Winterland concerts.

The deluxe edition comes with a 36 page book, which contains a number of unpublished photographs by Robert Knight, Allan Tannenbaum, and Jim Marshall. It also contains an essay by journalist David Fricke of Rolling Stone Magazine.

The music has been remastered and the quality is much better than I remember when some of the material was previously released. The guitar sound has a better clarity as each individual note can be heard in detail. While the instrumental focus is still on Hendrix’s guitar, the volume of Mitch Mitchell’s drumming and Noel Redding’s bass work has been enhanced and is not lost in the mix. This is most important for Mitchell as his interplay with Hendrix was always an important component of the overall sound.

Many of the songs can be considered highlights. Hendrix’s take on “Sunshine Of You Love” is interesting to compare with Clapton’s. He twists Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” in just about every way possible. “Foxey Lady” is an example of his guitar phrasing. “Wild Thing,” “Manic Depression,” and “Are You Experienced” contain hidden guitar lines that are seeing the light of day for the first time in years.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Winterland contains a lot of music. Hendix has been gone for over 40 years now, and it is a tribute to his genius that his music and guitar playing has withstood the test of time so well. This is an essential release for anyone even remotely interested in Hendrix's music.

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