LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

When Jimi Hendrix and The Experience headlined at L'Olympia, Paris in January 1968, it was only fifteen months since the band, then completely unknown outside England, had played the same venue as support to the "French Elvis", Johnny Halliday. In the intervening period, the Experience had become an international headlining act as well as successfully cracking the lucrative American market following an explosive performance at the Monterey festival in the summer of 1967.The Experience had played L'Olympia as recently as September of the previous year, but this particular concert, the second of two shows which included the New Animals on the bill, was the last time that Jimi Hendrix would play in France as the band spent most of that 1968 in America playing concert after concert to an audience eager to see and hear their new guitar hero. Despite the fact that the band had worked virtually non-stop for the proceeding fifteen months, Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding are all in unexpectedly good spirits. The playing is, not surprisingly, exemplary, as the incredible amount of live gigs ensured that the band was always incredibly tight. Every Hendrix fan has his or her favourite live show, but this particular performance ranks as one of the best-recorded examples of a band at the height of its power, and as such is an important addition to any aficionado's collection Track listing: 1. Killing Floor 2. Experience The Blues 3. Foxy Lady 4. Red House 5. Driving South 6. The Wind Cries Mary 7. Fire 8. Little Wing9. Purple Haze