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Here's the first complete, definitive account of the career, music, and legacy of Jimi Hendrix, based entirely on first-person recollections and new, exclusive interviews with musicians and key figures in the Hendrix inner circle. Authors John McDermott and Eddie Kramer (Jimi's longtime producer) take readers inside the studio and on tour to reveal the creative process of a true rock pioneer. Two 8-page inserts.
Who cares!Reviewed by S. R. Sopha, 2009-10-19
If you are interested in Jimi's business managers, read this book. If you are interested in a biography of Jimi, don't. After about 100 pages of babble referring to travel, paperwork, and who knew who, I ripped this book in half and threw it in the trash can (not recycling bin). I was expecting to learn something about Jimi, not his bosses, and I held on as long as I could. I kept hoping, after 15, 20, 25, 45, etc. pages, that the authors would get to something of substance in regard to Hendrix's psyche, life, ambitions, shirt size, something, but it never happened. It just kept going with record/business "data", so I lost faith. Who knows, maybe if I would have read up to page 250, the interesting stuff would have started.
Hendrix by the techsReviewed by A. A. Aoki, 2009-05-06
I read some books about Hendrix's life and this one is a valuable pursue to guitarrists who looks for chalenging setups and rigs from the most original guitar player in the planet.
bootlegsReviewed by A. Berger, 2008-08-28
I encourage all those interested in Hendrix to find and listen to
as much "rare" recording as possible, despite sometimes terrible
sound quality. The official recordings are mostly great, but to
develop an appreciation for the direction he was going and the
awesome development of his talent into 1970, when he died, you must
hear things like "Captain Coconuts" from the vinyl "Crash Landing",
a timeless studio instrumental posthumously mixed, "Hear My Train"
on the commercially produced "Jimi Plays Berkeley", and even "Come
On: Part 2" from Gothenberg, Sweden, late 1970, after which Jimi
satirically says, "Thank you anyway". Send me a note if you need
further recommendations.
alexberger@earthlink.net
Solid, informative readReviewed by Troy Tatters, 2008-01-20
Setting the record straight isn't intended to tittilate, or even
amuse the reader. (At least I hope not) It is a collection of hard,
believable facts that lay out the whens and whys of events in
Hendrix's abbreviated stint as a rock n roll God and enduring
legend in a loose chronological fashion. (Whew!)
There are other books out there with wild stories from dubious
sources that may be more entertaining. But if you're looking to
find out precisely what Jimi and his handlers did to create the
legend. And to get 1st hand opinions from those who worked closest
with him and to his mindset in noteable situations, Then this is a
must read. There's a lot of "what not to do" to be gleened from it
as well.
Lots of Input for Sources Close to the Man HimselfReviewed by Talking Wall, 2006-12-05
I've read three different Hendrix biographies and each came at the
subject of Jimi Hendrix from a different direction. Setting the
Record Straight is good because there is a lot of input from people
who were close to Hendrix, especially people who were part of his
organization, but who were not particularly well known. Like all of
the Hendrix biographies, this book does have its faults, I mean,
how many times should an author state that Jimi was growing wary of
Michael Jeffries, Jimi was trying to keep his distance from Michael
Jeffries, Jimi was avoiding Michael Jeffries. I found one spot
where there were at least 4 references in a 2 page span about how
Jimi as getting tired of Michael Jeffries. Ok. We get it.
Yawn.
The book is very good in explaining how the Hendrix "image" was
deliberately created to be controversial (most of us grown-ups had
already figured that one out). It tells us how the "real" Jimi
started to emerge after the release of Electric Ladyland. It tells
us the story of the Electric Lady studio and how it came about from
the initial idea of creating a club much like Steve Paul's Scene
club. It also tells us about when and why Chas Chandler excused
himself from the organization. Actually Chas turns out to be one of
the few really classy people in the Hendrix organization.
You also learn about a host of disasterous gigs and shows where
Jimi just didn't want to play. In some ways you feel sorry for him
and in other ways you begin to understand that the guy's work ethic
really sucked. If you lived through the era I guarantee you will
end up feeling pretty embarrassed about your generation's
behavior.
Unfortunately, this book doesn't tell some of the stories that I am
interested in. I wanted to read about the jam session in the studio
that produced Voodoo Chile for example. There really isn't much
emphasis about how the music was made. In my opinion, when it comes
to Hendrix, that's a no-brainer; that's what people want to read
about.
From a musical perspective, I would have to say that Crosstown
Traffic is a much better biography as it does much to show Jimi's
importance within the context of American art and culture. Really,
I don't care about Jimi's business and I don't care about his
depraved social life either. I just love his music. Setting the
Record Straight is really more about the business side of Jimi
Hendrix and the Hendrix "product". Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky
is probably the least interesting of the three I've read, it's more
about Jimi's social life than anything. That particular book tries
to be sensational by asserting that Jimi was murdered and then
downplaying that idea in the same paragraph. That was rather like
when a lawyer coaches a client witness to blurt something out on
the stand that they know the judge is going to strike down, but the
jury is going to hear it anyway. Shabby.
I would pick up both Setting the Record Straight and Crosstown
Traffic if you really want to get to know Jimi and his signficance
with respect to American art and culture.
Oh yeah, one little factual nugget I finally learned after years
and years and years (decades really) of wondering... It was Jimi
who played the freaked out recorder solo at the end of If Six Was
Nine. Hooray! Mystery solved! That was driving me nuts!
