Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time [Live]

Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time [Live]

ASIN: B00005M0N2

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Miles Davis took the stage of New York's Fillmore East with five other players on March 7, 1970. Leaning heavily on the soon-to-be-released Bitches Brew and looking back no further than 1962's "Masqualero," they rumbled, squawled, and stomped through two sets that might have surprised even fans of Davis's new rock-influenced sound. At times edgier than even the challenging Brew, the music was nonstop, polyrhythmic, and crashing while remaining groove-oriented. With Miles blowing one aggressive solo after another, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Jack DeJohnette rise to the moment while providing reminders of the angular sound of the '60s trio. While "Bitches Brew" itself appears in a drastically shortened but still relatively hushed treatment, the first of two versions of "It's About That Time" breaks away from In a Silent Way's midtempo meditation into full-tilt tumult. These 90 minutes capture Miles headed in the direction of Jack Johnson, stopping to give the rock audience a glimpse of himself working at another peak. --Rickey Wright

Tracks:

Volunteers
Good Shepherd
Plastic Fantastic Lover
Uncle Sam Blues
3/5 Of a Mile In 10 Seconds
You Wear Your Dresses Too Short
Come Back Baby
Medley: Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil
White Rabbit
Crown Of Creation
The Other Side Of This Life

Amazon.com

Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East 1969 features the definitive edition of Jefferson Airplane, icons of 1960s psychedelic rock and political agitation. Jack Casady and Spencer Dryden hold down the free-floating rhythms on bass and drums, Jorma Kaukonen launches feedback-laced guitar solos, and Paul Kantner adds rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Topping it all are the voices of Marty Balin and the '60s acid queen, Grace Slick. In concert, the Airplane were always more rough and ready than on their acid-hued vinyl. Outside the studio, they were ramshackle and punky, which is why they were sometimes referenced when talking about punk bands like X, who also had male and female lead singers. Despite having six albums under their belt, mostly consisting of original material, the Airplane's live set has a lot of mediocre blues and folk filler. Some of their more characteristic repertoire is sacrificed to workman-like renditions of "Uncle Sam Blues" and "Come Back Baby," albeit with some ripping Kaukonen guitar solos. Balin's raucous rant on "You Wear Your Dresses too Short" is embarrassing in its soul-singer aspirations. Assuming this was their set sequence, it takes a while for the Airplane to congeal on stage. They ride roughshod over much of their materiel, but pull it together two-thirds of the way through on one of their most complex tunes, "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil." With its shifting time signatures and overlapping vocal lines and harmonies, it's a challenge to pull off live, but they do, with soaring vocals from Balin and Slick and a long instrumental jam with a fractured guitar solo from Kaukonen and a feature slot for bassist Casady, the most innovative and powerful bassist from that era. That paves the way for a darker version of "White Rabbit," the mock celebration of "Crown of Creation," and their show closer, a hyped rendition of Fred Neil's ballad "The Other Side of This Life." As they always did, the Jefferson Airplane land high. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

You DO Know Jack.......2007-07-05

We can discuss whether or not this CD is as good as BIPLH or not. A couple things I'd like to mention from my perspective that make this CD different:
1) If you are a fan of Jack's, then you want this CD. He does a solo on Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil that is OFF THE FREAKING HOOK, my brothers and sisters. This solo--and Jack took way too few of them if you ask me-- feels like tectonic plates shifting. On the rest of the CD his playing absolutely ROARS as well. No one before or since has ever played bass like Jack. When Jorma joins in after the solo Jack even manages to feed on the energy and take it to still a higher level.

(Aside: To say the singing and harmonies are "uneven" is to be kind. Like so much of their live work, the vocal are just silly and indulgent.)

2) I really like how you can hear what Kantner was doing for a change. This must be a result of modern sound technology. It adds a dimension that we had to struggle to enjoy in the past and I am very glad they captured his work here.

Is it better than BIPLH? It's different. It's worth it if only for Jack's playing but there is so much more to enjoy too. Take care.

Yes, they were that good.......2007-06-29

I was born and raised in NYC and whenever the JA was at the Fillmore (Spring, August, and over Thanksgiving) I was there for both shows-- the early and late (the latter necessitating going back out after my parents went to bed)-- so I can say with certainty that I was at the performances that are on this disc.

Because of my experience at these shows, the JA was always THE band. Sometimes Mitch Mitchell of the JH Experience would sit in, often there was a free concert in the park on Sunday where the JA, the GD or Santana would blend together.

The creativity of the band, the depth and variety of its musicality, its emotional range, its intensity, its fearlesses (and sometimes they did crash!) and its passion all moved me greatly. And bass player Jack Casady , , , WOW.

The recorded output of the band, as brilliant as most of it is, never fully captured the Airplane live on a night when it was on-- not even "Bless its Pointed Little Head" fully got it-- not the best performance of Bear Melt or Rock Me Baby by a long shot and the other performances such as Its No Secret, 3/5ths of a Mile, Somebody to Love and Plastic Fantastic Lover are no where near the band's peak levels of creativity and intensity.

It is from this perspective that I say that this disc gets it TRUE.

This was the song of my youth (I'm now 54) and with this disc I touch the place in me that is always young.

That said, I teach martial arts for a living and I find that when I play this disc for a training session that my students often ask me "Who was that? That was really good, I want it get one, etc".

There is something here which resonates across time, , ,

The Adventure continues, , ,

Great live CD.......2007-06-27

This is a lot more entertaining than the hit and miss "Live at Filmore East" CD put out a few years ago. The band seems a lot more energetic and up for giving the audience a great performance. The sound quality is still not on par with "Bless It's Pointed Little Head", but far superior than the dismal sound of "Last Flight". The only song they could've left off was "You wear your dresses too short", which goes on far longer than needed. I could think of a dozen other JA songs they could've put in there that would've brought this up to a 5 star release.

Airplane at its Best.......2007-06-16

Hard to believe that this was not released in 1969-70--it's at least as good as the live Bless its Pointy Little head, and most of the cuts are as good as the best Airplane studio work. Other cuts are like a full metal jacket version of the first two Hot Tuna albums. Only live version of the Won't You Try/Sat. Afternoon from After Bathing at Baxters. Only less than stellar cut to my ears is Balin's You Wear Your Dresses too Short. While there are two cuts that were released on the expanded Volunteers, including them here preserves the integrity of the Filmore sets

I Was There!.......2007-06-11

When I saw the November 28 & 29th dates on the back of the CD for this Fillmore East live show I realized I was in the audience for at least one of these nights. My friend Selena & I took the R train from Queens to 8th Street & walked the two blocks to the Fillmore. Somehow we had two extra tickets, which we elected to give away to two out of towners, who repaid our kindness with party favors. As a result, other than remembering the band infront of the moving blobs of light show color, my memory is a little hazy.

Considering this concert was recorded back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the sound quality is outstanding. Also, this is NOT the Airplane at the end. This is them a couple of months after Woodstock, smack dab in the middle of their reign.

This will be considered sacrilege but I think I may like this live disc even better than Pointed Head. It is at least on par with it. Pointed Head is essence relaxed San Francisco jam music. This show is New York City battering ram. The Airplane is on fire. For once everybody in the band is on the same page - the vocalists are in tune, weaving in & out & inbetween one another. Everywhere there is a spare opening, Jorma sends out lightning bolts of guitar fire like a Norse god. Spencer Dryden was the band's secret weapon, even though shortly after this performance the band showed him the door. His inventive and authoritive backbeat kept the band on track during the guitar and vocal acrobatics. The Airplane suffered when they switched him out & went with the drummer-of-the-month club.

And then there is Jack. His bass-as-lead solo in the middle of Pooneil is jaw-droppingly brilliant. He just won't behave. I can still remember a free gig in Central Park where the vibrations from his bass rumbled up from the ground & thru my feet into my body. There never has been another bass player in rock that could touch him, probably never will. This concert lets him rock out and strut his stuff.

Nearly all the versions of classic Airplane songs are better represented here than previous incarnations - blasting off with the best version of Volunteers I've ever heard, thru a ripping version of Good Shepard that lays waste the acoustic version, a better organized Pooneil than usual, a sensuous & powerful White Rabbit, Crown of Creation on steroids, and core staple Other Side of This Life ripped & gutted by Jorma's blistering solos. Young & strong doesn't even begin to come close to describing the performances on this CD.

The only out and out cringer (and all live Airplane gigs always had a couple)is Marty Balin's excruciating vocals on You Wear Your Dresses Too Short. I wish somebody had turned his mic off. Great jam, embarrassing vocals.

If you love the Airplane, you need to own this. 40 years later, this CD documents that on a good night nobody could touch them. They tear the roof off.

Average customer rating:

Lower the price or finish the show!
Don't question the Master and buy it!
Live at the Fillmore East - Classic Crazy Horse
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Live at Fillmore East
Long Lost Neil Young Live Returns and SHINES!

Live at the Fillmore East
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Manufacturer: Reprise / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Live at Massey Hall (CD/DVD)
The Road to Escondido
West
Endless Wire
Neil Young: Under Review 1966-1975

ASIN: B000I5X80G
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Tracks:

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Winterlong
Down By The River
Wonderin'
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown
Cowgirl In The Sand

Amazon.com

For years, fans of Neil Young and Crazy Horse have been waiting for an official chance to hear Crazy Horse live with original leader Danny Whitten, the insanely talented guitarist who died of a heroin overdose in late 1972, inspiring Tonight's the Night. Tuned-in fans have been awaiting this very set for at least a dozen years, as it was originally to be tacked onto the end of a Decade-style triple CD of outtakes. Thankfully, this well-recorded live set from the infamous Fillmore East was well worth the wait. Here are scorching, extended takes of "Down by the River," "Winterlong," and "Cowgirl in the Sand," each propelled by guitar interplay so delightful you have to keep rewinding to hear it again. In fact, bits of it seem to prefigure the ways that Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine would feed off each other in the band Television, only with less of a sweet edge. But the world doesn't need any more arguments that Young was a proto-punk; what the world does need is at least a dozen more releases from Neil's archives! And hopefully, with this awesome live album, the floodgates have truly been opened and there are many more to come, in the vein of Dylan's Bootleg series. This disc is worth it alone for the version of "Wondering," a tune not officially recorded until many years later in Neil's weird '80s rockabilly phase. --Mike McGonigal

Album Description

The first release of Neil Young's archive performance series.

Customer Reviews:

Lower the price or finish the show!.......2007-06-09

I don't care how many times I've blasted "Everyone Knows This is Nowhere" and "Down By The River" from this CD and thoroughly enjoyed them or how it's such a great look into a critical period of so many critical periods of such an amazing aritist...it's either over priced or more profoundly too lacking in sheer length. As a Neil fan I had to get it but it's hard not to feel slightly ripped off. Makes me skeptical about buying further such releases.

Don't question the Master and buy it!.......2007-05-30

I also have the 2-10-70 bootleg and feel that a comparison is in order to appreciate this Fillmore show. Neil's very intimate with the crowd at the Cincinatti show, but frustrated at times, even asking two people to be quiet so he can "get into it" for the rest of the audience. Then, at the beginning of the electric set Neil complains about a shock that he's getting from the equipment, and in the middle of "Down by the River" (18 minutes long!) he clearly says "I quit" during the chorus. So, that show is not going to be one of his favorites even if the music is amazing. It is a shame that this Fillmore release is missing the acoustic set and the ubiquitous "Cinnamon Girl" closer, which I heard was not as well preserved. However, what is here is the best sounding live Neil you have ever heard! It's not just the quality of the recording, either, which is rich, but the band itself. Let's take the "River" as our vehicle of comparison. Neil's voice has more inflection, his solos are more varied and aggressive, and despite being 12 minutes long it is a superior version. Also, instead of "It Might Have Been" from Cincinatti we get "Cowgirl" which blows the studio version away. Obviously, Neil felt better at the Fillmore show, so don't question the Master and treat yourself.

Live at the Fillmore East - Classic Crazy Horse.......2007-05-13

If you want a piece of Neil Young and Crazy Horse History, this is the ticket. Sure it might not be the whole concert and it is short compared to most CDs today, but I'll take quality over quanity anyday! The sound quality is fantastic!

Neil Young and Crazy Horse Live at Fillmore East .......2007-05-06

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are brilliant. It is a live version of " Everybody Knows this is Knowhere" The version of "Winterlong" is superb" There is little crowd noise. I would have enjoyed more tracks on the CD. All in all well worth the purchase price

Long Lost Neil Young Live Returns and SHINES!.......2007-04-12

Amzing this collection is. A must have along with Live at Massey Hall. Neil sounds like you remember especially if you saw him with Crazy Horse at the late Bill Graham's Fillmore East a favorite with the hippies in New Yorks Greenwich Village in the late sixties time of flower and beads! . A young Neil Young voice, rather than the mature version that comes with age and mileage. An incredible collection of well produced and well performed live tracks that can only bring you back to thw Woodstock era. Well worth the listen!

Average customer rating:

I just spent seven bucks too much for this
edicion MUY, MUY recomendable!!
How Alvin Lee should be heard
Ten Years After - 'Live At The Fillmore East' (Capitol) 2-CD
Ten Years After Live

Live at the Fillmore East
Ten Years After
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Pure Blues
Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore
A Space in Time
Cricklewood Green
Anthology 1967-1971

ASIN: B00005K1ZD
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Tracks:

Love Like A Man
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Working On The Road
The Hobbit
50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain
Skoobly-Oobly-Doobob/I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes/Extension On One Chord

Tracks:

Help Me
I'm Going Home
Sweet Little
Roll Over Beethoven
I Woke Up This Morning
Spoonful

Amazon.com

With its devotion to '50s rock and blues coupled to a manic, if decidedly middlebrow performance tack, Ten Years After could seem positively Jurassic, even by late-'60s standards. This collection culls magnificently recorded performances (kudos to Hendrix/ELP engineer Eddie Kramer) from a February 1970 weekend stand at the Fillmore East, capturing the band at its post-Woodstock performing peak. The running times of most of the tracks (three-quarters of which clock in at seven-plus minutes) will tip listeners to the show's jam-heavy take on covers of Sonny Boy Williamson (an ominous, revamped "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"), Willie Dixon (a slow, 16-minute burn through "Help Me"), and Chuck Berry (atypically economic romps of "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven"). But with the band's own primordial originals (the titles "Skooby-Oobly-Doobob" and "Extension on One Chord" speak for themselves) there's an elemental, effusive--and, dare we say it--Ramones-like stoopidity to the tracks. Even Alvin Lee's trademark fret-burner "I'm Going Home" is hard to resist. This set perfectly captures one of the era's hardest working bands in a concise, double-disc time capsule. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

UK live compilation for the British blues-rock quartet. Featuring 12 tracks recorded during two nights at the legendary venue, September 27th & 28th 1968. Highlights include, 'Spoonful' & 'The Hobbit'. 2001.

Album Details

Double disc digitally remastered set from Alvin Lee & Co.'s heyday. These recordings from the classic Fillmore East venue showcase the band at their best from their formative years. Includes 'The Hobbitt', which appeared in an evolved form on the 'Recorded Live' album many years later as well as 'Spoonful', 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl', 'Sweet Little Sixteen', 'I'm Going Home and so many more. Essential for fans of boogie rock!

Customer Reviews:

I just spent seven bucks too much for this.......2007-05-02

which really, really bites. The sound quality is great. The band is tight. Just keep in mind that Alvin Lee has one solo that he plays in every frickin' number the band does. You'll know it when you hear it, trust me. The songs themselves are great, and of course Lee is a tremendous guitarist, but Ritchie Blackmore he ain't. Still, if you were to make a choice between this and "Recorded Live," take this. I've always thought "Recorded Live" sounded uninspired, mostly. This has got many of the same pieces, but done better. You don't get "Choo Choo Mama," but you get a much better "Hobbit" and an "I can't keep from crying" that doesn't sound like it was recorded under a bathtub full of water.

edicion MUY, MUY recomendable!!.......2007-03-02

lo mejor que alguien puede hallar en una placa en vivo es esa sensacion de "haber estado alli" y con estos 2 discos te aseguro que la sentis! gran sonido, grandes canciones, una guitarra fuera de control pidiendo pista...crudeza y sentimiento autentico...el fraseo y la garra de alvin lee son impresionantes..booklet digno con el relato de esas actuaciones...concluyendo, una edicion gratificante, que nos regala la actuacion de una banda que seguramente merecio mejor suerte que la que tuvo!!

How Alvin Lee should be heard.......2007-01-09

Alvin Lee had his own sound and if you are old enough to remember it, get this cd and remember the high--if you have never heard Alvin Lee on guitar you are missing the rocker before Mark Knofler. They even due spoonful.

Ten Years After - 'Live At The Fillmore East' (Capitol) 2-CD.......2006-12-04

Fantastic two disc archive live release from a true music legend,the British blues rockers Ten Years After. 'Live At The...' took place over a two-night stand on September 27-28,1968.My only regret is not ONLY wasn't I there myself,but I've never seen these guys play live.Twelve track concert,with a duration of a little under two hours.You can't go wrong by picking up a copy of this title. Sound quality is great.Also priced pretty nice. Most memorable cuts are "Love Like A Man", "50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain" (one of my personal favorites), the bluesy (also fun)"Skoobly-Oobly-Doobob", "I'm Going Home", "I Woke Up This Morning" and their two Chuck Berry covers, "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven". Would make a great gift for an old school fan. Highly recommended.

Ten Years After Live.......2005-12-23

This is one of the best live albums that I have. Alvin Lee is one of the must unterrated lead players in the world. His solo on HELP ME is simply the best the speed that he plays some on some of the songs is breath taking. Their verson of SPOONFUL is better then CREAM did on their live album. You can't go wrong buying this album. Also I would compare Alvin Lee's lead playing to Jimmi Hendrix and Eric Clapton any time He is one of the best in the world.

Average customer rating:

jimi hendrix live at the filmore east cd
Essential if you already have Band of Gypsys 1
No Need to be Wary At All!
Varying performances and quality, but good overall!
ANOTHER GREAT LIVE COMPILATION BY HENDRIX'S "BAND OF GYPSYS!"

Live at the Fillmore East
Jimi Hendrix
Manufacturer: Experience Hendrix
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Band of Gypsys
Jimi Hendrix: Live At Berkeley
BBC Sessions
Live at Woodstock
First Rays of the New Rising Sun

ASIN: B00000I5JT
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Tracks:

Stone Free
Power Of Soul
Hear My Train A Comin'
Izabella
Machine Gun
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
We Gotta Live Together

Tracks:

Auld Lang Syne
Who Knows
Changes
Machine Gun
Stepping Stone
Stop
Earth Blues
Burning Desire
Wild Thing

Amazon.com

Though it was made largely to help disentangle Hendrix from a thorny contractual dispute, 1970's live Band of Gypsys LP--six tracks pulled from four concerts recorded over New Year's Eve and Day in 1969-70--stands as one of Hendrix's most remarkable guitar statements, and an integral part of his recorded legacy. This two-CD set accounts for a large portion of the remainder of those concerts, and though uneven and ragged in spots, it offers some minor revelations. Highlights include a stunning jam in a revamped "Stone Free," "Auld Lang Syne" as only Hendrix could have played it, a playful "Who Knows" with an improvised New Year's lyric, alternate versions of the guitar showcases "Machine Gun" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and a downright weird "Earth Blues." Drummer Buddy Miles (with bassist Billy Cox, the Band of Gypsys in full) takes the spotlight on the funky--if very out-of-tune--"Stop." Clearly, Hendrix did well to select the cream of these gigs for the far more consistent original Gypsys album. Still, as his legend deepens, thirsty Hendrix devotees will find plenty of refreshment here. --James Rotondi

Customer Reviews:

jimi hendrix live at the filmore east cd .......2007-06-30

ook if u are a fan of hendrix u already own this u proly already own the band of gypsys on record to its the same show with more songs better one would think it would be i gess he did three or to shows there this is only the highlights come on theres more stuff in the vaults if other bands can relases the full live cd then why cant hendrix like i said get it if u are a fan if not then pick up band gypsys

Essential if you already have Band of Gypsys 1.......2007-04-02

I don't understand some of the low votes for this great album, even if some just don't like the editing. As others have said, bootlegs exist for those who want the shows in their entirety but this more commercially viable 2 CD set provides a sensible alternative. Because it is so much longer than the original classic, which also has a version of 'Machine Gun' which is undisputably better, it does not seem to have the same impact as that one does, but the music's just as good, if unsurprisingly with a different, but equally good sound mix. I'm surprised at complaints about sound quality. I have hundreds of live music CDs from this era and the sound quality is up there with the best. To anyone considering getting this, first try the original Band of Gypsys, preferably the 3 track extended version if you can track it down without paying too much. As it's a matter of taste, and many people who enjoy plenty of other Hendrix concerts may not like this one, see if you enjoy the single disc first before investing in this one. And if you're not outraged by the sound quality of the 3 bonus tracks (I believe 'Hear My Train' was lifted from videotape) of the original, you'll be more than pleased with the sound quality here.

I'm astonished that some people criticize the fact that some songs on the first album are not on this one. I would have been annoyed to find too much overlapping of songs on the 2 releases, and the choice as to whether to put an unheard version of a song on the album as opposed to a classic version available everywhere for over 30 years should be a no-brainer.

Whatever one may say about Buddy Miles, whose singing personally I find great but vocal scat singing and screaming intrusive, the fact is that there is far greater, more sophisticated playing from Hendrix here than on many earlier Experience concerts like Monterey for example, which were really exciting visual experiences but whose audio tracks may not contain as much great playing as a show when he was focusing more on the audio than the visual side. Even the version of 'Wild Thing' presented here has more in it musically than the early ones.

Some may have problems with Experience Hendrix, but one must admit that their releases have been light years ahead of most of those released since Hendrix died. Remember the awful mixes and edits of the Alan Douglas era, the space cadet liner notes of Michael Fairchild, Douglas's sidekick who wrote a book that pulls quotes out of Hendrix songs to prove that Jimi was on a mission to Earth to warn us of our impending destruction by a giant asteroid, and even some of the weird cover art. Now we have great clean mixes, no horrible echo or obtrusive studio effects, sensible informative liner notes, and great photos and overall artistic sensibility, extending also to their Dagger Records range of releases. So thank you Experience Hendrix, you're doing a great job, and are criticized only by those who have forgotten or have no memory of how the Hendrix legacy was handled in the past.

No Need to be Wary At All!.......2006-12-21

I put off buying this CD because of the negative reviews I had read. What a load of rubbish.

Band of Gypsys is one of the great live recordings released in the 60's and 70's. I always loved the Gypsys rhythm section as opposed to the Experience and always wanted to hear more from this line-up. On these Fillmore concerts, Buddy Miles is right there on the beat, there's no hesitation, no pussyfooting around, he's commital and right there on the beat, rock steady - folks in the Hendrix circle used to call him "the funky cememt mixer". Anyway, I figured if Band of Gypsies was so stunning, how bad could the out-takes from these concerts be?

I'm really amazed that it took until 1999 to get this material out to the public, especially considering all the marginal material that was peddled off to the fans. This is a great, great find for Hendrix fans. If you enjoyed Band of Gypsys then you definitely want to purchase this. I really have no criticisms at all. I am "tickled" that this is so good. Sure, Machine Gun isn't quite up to the same standard as the landmark version that appeared on Band of Gypsys, but both versions are still good. Stone Free is incredible, the "New Rising Sun" material sounds great live and the band is very tight. The Gypsys are a far tighter sounding band than Experience sound on their live releases. This is not just a jam band folks. Michael Jeffries was a complete idiot for working to destroy this lineup.

Let's face it, Jimi's live releases, apart from Band of Gypsys, are very much hit or miss affairs, track back track, CD by CD. Band of Gypsys is the fantastic exception and Live at The Fillmore isn't that far off the mark. It's grrrrrrrrreat! Buy at once!

Varying performances and quality, but good overall!.......2006-12-13

"Live at the Fillmore East" was one of those long-awaited purchases for me. After having heard "Band of Gypsys" almost 20 years ago on cassette and again on CD, I was excited to hear about the release of more footage from one of my favorite concerts ever.

When I finally did get it, I felt disappointed at first. Edits sounded clumsy, the microphones are way off on some tracks (because of technical problems, I learned later), and the performances are variable or take some getting used to, at least.

Highlights: my favorite is the jam on "Auld Lang Syne", even though the sound quality is bad and takes some getting used to, Jimi and company bring the 1970's to New York in style. "Hear My Train A Comin'" is the most intense version I've heard yet of Hendrix's deeply personal song, and "Izabella" has more life than his version from Woodstock. "Who Knows" takes some getting used to if you've heard the excellent version on the "Band of Gypsys" CD, because it departs quickly into a jam session, with Jimi even apologizing to the crowd. But on its own, no apologies are necessary, and you call tell that the band is tight and having fun. "Stepping Stone" also translates well with vibrant intensity on stage.

Indifferent: Two versions of "Machine Gun" are interesting to hear, and good performances, but nowhere near the version on Band of Gypsys. (Then again, how can you come close to that definitive version?) "Earth Blues", "Stop", "Voodoo Child" and "Changes". The last one ("Changes") starts and sounds almost identically to the "Band of Gypsys" CD version until it reaches a part where Buddy Miles improvises vocals. I prefer the other version with fewer vocals.

Not so good: Sound quality and the remaining tracks. Even the weakest songs aren't that bad though.

Overall, I have to say that I prefer the Band of Gypsys ensemble over The Experience. Nothing against Noel Redding or Mitch Mitchell, but Billy Cox and Buddy Miles provided a more cohesive sound and I always got the impression that Hendrix-Miles-Cox love the blues, which is a must if you were to play with Hendrix. In addition, with the Band of Gypsys group, the music is more 'simple' (if you want to call it that), but it is the music, rather than showmanship, that take center stage. I think that Buddy Miles made an excellent foil to Hendrix, with the additional talent of having lead and backup vocals that worked well with the music, allowing Hendrix to focus more on his guitar.

I'd recommend this to fans of later Hendrix, but I'd recommend people to get the "Band of Gypsys" CD first, since it contains the definitive performances and is also less expensive, being one disc versus two. Only then should you venture into "Live at the Fillmore East", and with the strong caveat that the sound travels into uneven territory that is unexpected from a digitally remastered release.

ANOTHER GREAT LIVE COMPILATION BY HENDRIX'S "BAND OF GYPSYS!".......2006-10-03

I will be doing a review on the legendary historic landmark 2-CD live compilation set entitled "Jimi Hendrix - Band Of Gypsys - Live At The Fillmore East" by the late great guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. As always, I will be editing this review from time to time so that you the consumer will get the best and most accurate review possible. In case you haven't read my previous review on the "Band Of Gypsys" DVD documentary, this is actually a continuation review of the "Band Of Gypsys" saga, this time focusing and highlighting on some of Jimi's unreleased song performances that were performed "Live At The Fillmore East" on 31 December 1969 and 1 January 1970. This latest 2-CD set, like the DVD documentary, were both separately released in 1999 and includes additional unreleased song performances that were not included in the original partial six song live compilation released in 1970 entitled "Hendrix - Band Of Gypsys." In case you don't remember, there was another live compilation (a sequel) of additional unreleased performances that was released by Capitol Records on vinyl and cassette in 1986, but not on CD, entitled "Jimi Hendrix - Band Of Gypsys 2."

With this new latest 1999 2-CD live compilation collection, along with the original 1970 and the then latest 1986 collection, these new unreleased performances shed a new light in the "Band Of Gypsys" saga and legacy resulting in bringing these partial Fillmore East concerts to life. With this being fact, these newly released performances add much more to the "Band Of Gypsys" legend and is clearly becoming more evident of being a truer testament in showing the further advancement of the band's fully creative side while performing live, in how mixing and combining Rock n' Roll, Soul, R&B, Blues and Funk can result in a new powerfully explosive sound of music.

Before I go any further, I would like to go way back to the beginning. In my DVD documentary review, I have stressed many contributing factors on the ideas and beginnings resulting in the birth and formation of the "Band Of Gypsys," along with the many contributing factors and incidents that would fatally prove disastrous and eventually break up the "Band Of Gypsys." In this latest 2-CD release, I will go further and stress another important contributing factor that was not discussed in my previous DVD documentary review. This is another one of many contributing factors that would result in the birth of the "Band Of Gypsys."

According to numerous Hendrix biographies and the attached liner booklet that accompanied this 2-CD live compilation set, the genesis, the root of the beginning that started all of this actually evolved from a serious problem Jimi neglected which began back in 1965. In 1965, Jimi was then, a typical hungry musician, who would sign any contract or any piece of paper in hopes that it would further advance his career. Having signed numerous contracts and many pieces of paper to many, unfortunately, for Jimi, there was one piece of paper that Jimi signed that would haunt him after he became famous. Since Jimi did not fulfill his obligations with this particular company, as was the case for the many others Jimi forgot about, the plaintiff's and attorneys representing this opposing company would file a lawsuit against Jimi demanding satisfaction. With this lawsuit pending, Jimi figured that the only way to resolve and settle this lawsuit was to give them something that would satisfy and resolve this issue. With this in mind, Jimi would contact and approach his long time friend and Army buddy named Billy Cox and explained what had happened. It was at this point, when it was decided by Jimi to settle out of court by giving the company plantiff's a new studio album recording for them to release. Cox's reply to this statement was, "lets go for it!" Also during this time, while Hendrix and Cox were discussing these matters further into details, and Jimi's Drummer Mitch Mitchell taking a break in England, Buddy Miles was a frequent visitor as well as a spectator in the studios with Jimi and Billy. When Miles was told about Jimi's misfortunes and his circumstances surrounding his situation, Miles decided the same fate and results as Billy. Miles reply was, "lets help our friend in need." With Jimi sharing and explaining his new ideas for a new sound with Cox and Miles, the two would agree on liking Jimi's new ideas and would help in fulfilling these goals by playing a mixture and a combination of Rock n' Roll, Soul, R&B, Blues and Funk. With these new goals and the stage now being set, this newly born trio would eventually become known as, the "Band Of Gypsys." With Cox's and Miles' full cooperation and their loyalty to Jimi, Jimi now felt a little at ease and believed that a resolution would soon be in the works in his legal matter.

In order to create this ultimate new sound for this new album, Jimi elected in preparing fresh new original material. Jimi really wanted to record these fresh new original songs in the studio for the sole purpose, and hopes, of fulfilling his legal obligations to this company by giving them a new studio album recording for them to release, and resolve and close this legal matter. But with the Fillmore East shows coming up, preparations such as practicing and rehearsing the new song material as well as the familiar songs for the upcoming shows, and with little time remaining, would soon become the main priority resulting in the postponement of the studio recordings of the new songs and therefore, laid aside.

With Jimi and his Management being harassed and subjected to increasing pressure from the company plaintiff's attorneys, in order to satisfy the Capitol / PPX settlement, a new decision was made by Jimi's Manager Mike Jeffery to record all four of the forthcoming Live Fillmore East Concert Performances. This decision was rendered in hopes of releasing a live compilation album rather than a studio album. With all of this in mind, and showtime about to commence, ALL FOUR concert performances spanning two evenings, were recorded onto tape on 31 December 1969 and 1 January 1970. Sadly, these 2-CD live compilation performances contain only sixteen of the many numerous songs that were performed in those four shows. However, it is also evident that these sixteen live song tracks do clearly audibly indicate and show the brilliance and expertise of some of the new genuine original and well-performed song material besides the regularly well known popular Hendrix songs. These sixteen live song tracks sounded EXCELLENT! The sixteen live song tracks contained and listed in this 2-CD live compilation set are reviewed as follows: DISC 1 (1.) "Stone Free," (1 January 1970, second show) (EXCELLENT SONG!) (2.) "Power Of Soul," (1 January 1970, first show) (EXCELLENT SONG!) (3.) "Hear My Train A Comin'," (31 December 1969, first show) (EXCELLENT WELL PERFORMED slow blues song!) (4.) "Izabella," (31 December 1969, first show) (EXCELLENT SONG!) (5.) "Machine Gun," (1 January 1970, second show) (one of the very first live recordings of this legendary song. It is a POWERFUL and EXPLOSIVE song WELL PERFORMED! EXCELLENT! OUTSTANDING! As I've stressed in my other past reviews concerning this legendary song, I've described this song in this manner; "Jimi actually presents and brings the Vietnam war to the Fillmore East audience crowd resulting in firing rounds of machine gun bullets through his powerfully explosive and violent guitar and ending with an EXCELLENT BREATHTAKING GUITAR SOLO from Jimi.") (6.) "Voodoo Child" (Slight Return) (1 January 1970, second show) (an EXCELLENT VERSION of one of my favorites) and (7.) "We Gotta Live Together." (1 January 1970, second show) (EXCELLENT SONG! WELL PERFORMED!) DISC 2 (1.) "Auld Lang Syne," (31 December 1969, second show) (Well performed the Jimi Hendrix and "Band Of Gypsys" way) (2.) "Who Knows," (31 December 1969, first show) (EXCELLENT! OUTSTANDING! GREAT SONG!) (3.) "Changes," (31 December 1969, first show) (EXCELLENT SONG!) (4.) "Machine Gun," (31 December 1969, second show) (another EXCELLENT WELL PERFORMED VERSION. Refer to DISC 1 for my review of the other version of "Machine Gun." My opinions of these two songs are the same. This version is also EXCELLENT! OUTSTANDING!) (5.) "Stepping Stone," (1 January 1970, first show) (EXCELLENT SONG!) (6.) "Stop," (1 January 1970, first show) (another EXCELLENT SONG!) (7.) "Earth Blues," (1 January 1970, second show) (another EXCELLENT SONG!) (8.) "Burning Desire" (1 January 1970, first show) (EXCELLENT SONG!) and (9.) "Wild Thing." (1 January 1970, second show) (the Troggs classic song performed the Hendrix and "Band Of Gypsys" way. an EXCELLENT WELL PERFORMED VERSION!)

As story has it, and according to the attached CD liner notes and numerous Hendrix biographies, Technical problems RUINED the two New Years Eve concerts. A malfunctioning microphone at the outset of the first show rendered energetic versions of "Power Of Soul" and "Lover Man" UNUSABLE. Similar problems hampered the start of the second concert set, compromising the fidelity of the "Auld Lang Syne / Who Knows" medley. Nonetheless, these minor trifles made little impact on Jimi and the "Band Of Gypsys."

In closing, My DVD documentary review stressed on the MANY main incidents and problems that resulted in disasters and the MANY contributing factors which would lead Jimi into a deep depression and therefore, begin his demise and decline of his health. Sadly, the "Band Of Gypsys" era would prove to be , SHORT LIVED, courtesy of the EVIL CROOKED PLOTTED SCHEMES of Jimi's Manager, Mike Jeffery. It may have also been at this point; (despite all of the incidents and disasters that unfolded in the past, the most recent and the MANY NUMEROUS ones STILL TO COME) that bitter tensions and bad differences would develop, intensify and continually worsen the relationship between Hendrix and Jeffery. Despite all of the tensions and disasters, Jimi Hendrix IS STILL UNDOUBTEDLY, THE GREATEST GUITARIST THAT EVER LIVED. Also, despite being held back and limiting his masterful creativity by Jeffery, Jimi STILL PERFORMED AND PLAYED HIS GUITAR AT A PEAK UNMATCHED BY MANY OF THE GREAT GUITAR LEGENDS. Jimi Hendrix is quite simply, EXTREMELY RARE, UNIQUE AND IRREPLACEABLE. Jimi Hendrix's mark in Rock n' Roll history is FOREVER SECURED. There will NEVER be another Jimi Hendrix. Thanks for your time in reading my long lengthy review and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for all of you. I also hope that you will read all of my other reviews in the near future when time permits. JIMI LIVES! LONG LIVE ROCK N' ROLL! Rock out always. Take care, J.L.

Average customer rating:

Bottom line: DVD is a ripoff
A big Improvement
Great CD-DVD ???
Some people just don't get it!!!!!!!!!!!
A Pretty Good Run

Live at the Fillmore East (CD/DVD)
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Manufacturer: Reprise / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Live at Massey Hall (CD/DVD)
Living with War - "In the Beginning"
If I Could Only Remember My Name (CD + DVD-Audio)
Neil Young: Under Review 1966-1975
Voyage

ASIN: B000IU3Y3W
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Tracks:

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Winterlong
Down By The River
Wonderin'
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown
Cowgirl In The Sand

Album Description

The first release of Neil Young's archive performance series. DVD version includes high-resolution audio of album plus a photo montage.

Customer Reviews:

Bottom line: DVD is a ripoff.......2007-06-20

C'mon, get real for a minute. How many of you bought the DVD for the better sound quality? Now, how many of you bought the DVD version simply thinking that it had concert footage (and I don't mean "still" pictures)?

A big Improvement.......2007-05-13

This release is a big improvement to what was already largely available in the bootleg arena. These dates didn't circulate heavy but there was material available from this era. The sounds quality is excellent. Much has been made of the DVD imagery lacking, and it does, its rolling B&W pics. The DVD is all about the sound. The playing is just as good and its really nice to have vintage version of Winterlong and Wonderin'.

Great CD-DVD ???.......2007-05-12

The music's fantastic-the dvd is not much-just the same few photos over & over & over-c'mon!

Some people just don't get it!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-05-08

All of the people who have dissed the dvd in this set as not being worth it, don't understand what the intent is. it is not a bonus extra with photos on it. it is a higher resolution music version of the cd.
cd's are recorded at 16 bits resolution and at a sampling rate of 44.1khz. the dvd is recorded at 24 bits of resolution and sampling rate of 48 or 96 khz. it does sound better!!!. i understand some people wont care, but for those of us that want the utmost in fidelity will want this version (provided that you have a dvd player instead of a cd player in your "music" system.) neil has been releasing albums in this form since warner brothers dropped the "dvd-audio format"(i wont even go into what that is, suffice it to say another specialized audio format) that neil embraced as well

A Pretty Good Run.......2007-04-30

Neil Young has been having a pretty good run these past few years. First, in the shadow of a medical crisis, Young created PRAIRE WINDS--one of the finest records he ever made and a more fitting companion to HARVEST than the otherwise excellent HARVEST MOON. M.S. then put together a good film of Young and his friends performing and the Ryman in Nashville. (This comes from someone who rarely cares for music videos.) These accomplishments were then followed by the dreadful LIVING WITH WAR.

Whether you share Young's passion or politics, LIVING WITH WAR had all the artistic grace of a political commercial one week before an election. Yes, album was the critics darling and it ended up on several *best album lists* for 2006; but the whole album has none of the power and cogency of Young's 1970 single *Ohio*. The artist is perfectly entitled to act as Young the pamphleteer. Nonetheless there is little of interest that will draw new listeners in the future.

2006, however, also saw a brighter highlight with this release from Young's massive archives. Like much of the folklore surrounding him, these recordings are so behind the scenes, so personal, so promised and hopes unfilled that fans and critics alike have began to suspect they would have to await Young's demise before these recordings would be released to the public at large. Therefore, Young faced the prospect that the *real thing* could not measure up to expectations.

First, we have to get the negative out of the way. The DVD is a complete disappointment. I thought we were going to be treated so some archival video footage. What we get is a series of about a dozen black and white photographs looped to the same audio tracts found on the CD. Who actually thought this would make anyone happy? These photographs can be found from several available sources. Less than zero points here.

Like many, I also have a bootleg copy of same live performance. Sonically LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST is vastly superior. Bootlegs tend to be clear as mud--especially those from the early 1970's. Unlike others, I do not complain about the missing songs that can be found on the unauthorized releases. In all likelihood, we will see these missing performances one day. More significantly, the improved clarity and definition really are that important.

By design or accident, this particular selection of songs draws one to focus on the interplay between Young and Crazy Horse. Aside from the odd love/hate musical relationship with Steven Stills, Young has had few partnerships as powerful as that he had with Danny Whitten. It was Young's great misfortune that Whitten would die of an overdose soon after these performances. Young would go on to create HARVEST. He would gather for himself a short lived household name; but he blamed himself for Whitten's death. This resulted in a depression he would endure for much of the rest of the 1970's.

*Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere* is a striking beginning to this electric set. Originally a minor but important song from the album of the same name, it has been translated well into a lively reinvention. To my ears, it has a similar arrangement style that would be found on HARVEST.

*Winterlong * has never been a favorite of mine. The lyrics are something of a dud with no emotional resonance. The power interpretation here does little to make it better.

*Wonderin'* is a better song in a goofy sort of way. Not great; but fun. Strangely, it would be given a rockabilly treatment on 1982's EVERYBODIES ROCKIN'.

*Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown* is a jaunty song that I am ambivalent about. Given its subtext of searching for a heroin fix, there is much to hate about it. This song would resurface on Young's most difficult album TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT as a centerpiece. On TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT it would have more power in context of the rest album than it does here. The best thing about it here is Young's introduction of the members of the band.

The cream of this recording belongs to both *Down By The River* and *Cowgirl In The Sand*. Several hours of close listening and enjoyment are found on these two cuts alone. The intense interplay between Young and Whitten as they fire walk across their respective fletboards creates a musical wind shear in front of the bass and drums. We don't hear extensive guitar soloing much like this in our time. This kind of instrumental display in a traditional rock setting began with Cream about 1968 and tapered off around 1975--perhaps because that particular vein had been all mined out or because a newer rock audience sought something else. It was an oddity of its time that began with the British blues revival and ended with the passing of Southern/Country rock. Depending on your sensibilities, either you mourn its absence or relieved one doesn't have to endure one more guitar solo before you get to the good stuff.

Be that as it may, this recording finds Young at the dawn of the 1970's with the future of rock before him and the rock "kinship" at its most communal. In some ways he was at the peek of his creative powers and stood as a pioneer to what was to come. Young has been regarded these days as proto-punk and the godfather to grunge. These would be nice compliments if it wasn't for the fact that both punk and grunge could be found in their infancy in the garage bands in the 1960's. Never mind...another subject...another day. If your musical christening began with Nirvana or (God forbid!) Justin Timberland, you owe it to yourself take a bite from this feast. There really was a time when the battle cry of "sex, drugs and rock and roll" actually meant something more than sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Average customer rating:

No-point landing
Wow!!!
Flashing back
...ABX
Poor Performance

Live at the Fillmore East
Jefferson Airplane
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Bless Its Pointed Little Head
Crown of Creation
Cleared for Take Off
After Bathing at Baxter's
Volunteers

ASIN: B000006380
Release Date: 1998-04-28

Tracks:

Intro/The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil
She Has Funny Cars
It's No Secret
Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
Greasy Heart
Star Track
Wild Tyme
White Rabbit
Thing
Today
The Other Side Of This Life
Fat Angel
Watch Her Ride
Closing Comments
Somebody To Love

Customer Reviews:

No-point landing.......2007-01-15

Many '60s bands were great in concert- but not all. Some played their hits very much like the original recordings, while others used a live performance setting to experiment, expand, expound and expose their material to fresh ideas, both vocally and instrumentally. If you enjoy the latter, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE LIVE AT FILLMORE EAST will not disappoint you.

Give this group credit for the willingness to mold and morph their songs improvisationally and in public, but subtract points where these well-intentioned efforts made a mess out of what had previously been nicely structured works. The latter results occur far too often in the 1968 concert songs presented here. Grace Slick's "What?" during the start of "Wild Tyme" almost says it all for me. Not only would I ask "What?" of the Airplane, I'd follow that up with a big "Why?" Neither question gets answered here.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 76:22

Wow!!!.......2007-01-10

Often when we are exposed to something from our youth we wonder just what it was that we saw in something.

This music is the music of my youth-- indeed the JA was my favorite band and I saw EVERY concert that they ever did at the Fillmore East, so I was at every performance on this CD! (I would return home to make curfew after the early show and after my parents went to bed I would sneak out and take the IRT subway back down to the Village for the late show.)

With this CD I find out how utterly right I was about this band. The musicianship, the diversity of styles and musical structures, the creativity and the sheer passion are all here. They were as good as I remember!

I put this CD on in my car and soar down the road.

Flashing back.......2006-12-20

With the advent and progresssion of electronics and mixing it is refreshing to be taken back to the Fillmore, once again, and to bands and sounds (the recordings for the Fillmore were done from under the stage) that became so polished they lost there brightness that was reflected in this revolutionary time period. Unique sounds like Quicksilver, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Spirit etc and in some respects the Dead brought forth this wonder that consisted of fuzzy guitars, hyponotizing lyrics and mixtures, that reflected the events (revolution) of the period that felt like all of them were performing just for you not for the money, (brought out in Pink Floyds "Welcome to the Machine) the glory and the complete narcissistic reflection that has given us slop today. Ahhhh this was a refreshing collection that anyone that has seen them understands exactly what was said in the liner notes that "you never knew what or how they were going to play" and always turned into a gig. Bless digitizing and bless those that have kept this music over the years so we can go back in time. What would we hear if recordings were made during the masters days of Beethoven, Brahms, etc and gathering but the basic of what we have come to respect as classic music. This is our fortune that some of the 60's early 70's music are brought to us and whether it is exactly as we might remember it, (and those of us that lived through it have a problem remembering exactly what happened) we are able to bath in it's coseptualized greatness. Whoa that was quite a rush

...ABX.......2006-04-30

In May of 1968, when Jefferson Airplane performed the four concerts that have yielded this 'Live At the Fillmore East' release, I was all of 14 years old, and one of my favorite listens was the underground FM radio station in Detroit, WABX. Aside from playing the cutting edge psychedelic music of the era, it was a trip in itself to take in the spaced-out DJ's this station let loose on the airwaves. It wasn't unusual, for instance, to hear a couple minutes of dead silence while the chemically altered spinmeister tried to decide what to play next, or to accomodate the station identification regulation with a quick "...ABX". This Airplane disc made me harken back to those days, what with the obviously random, spontaneous, and unrehearsed between-songs banter offered up by singers Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, and Marty Balin. They meander through conversations about when songs were written, to a discourse on a recent bust of the Grateful Dead in New Jersey, to a Slick monologue on a chocolate cookie that had been handed to her. And yes, there are a couple minutes of dead silence to be had. Surrounding the nostalgia, however, is a host of great psychedelia.

Aside from Grace herself, the slickest moment on 'Live At the Fillmore East' is the opening minute, featuring a deafening recording of a Boeing 707 taking off. As the wail of the jet engines subsides, we hear "Thank you for coming..." echoing about the Fillmore, and the opening, feedback-drenched strains of 'The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil'. It's a great opener, with its fat, fuzz-tone guitar leads from Jorma Kaukonen, and a several minute pounding bass bridge solo courtesy of Jack Casady. It's one of four tracks that break the seven minute barrier, in addition to the stealth rocker 'Star Track' (an homage to James T. Kirk?), featuring a great wah-pedal lead from Kaukonen, the instrumental 'Thing', which slowly builds in tempo, intensity, and complexity into a flat-out rocker with many guitar variations on its theme, and a cover of Donovan Leitch's 'Fat Angel', a typical Donovan flower-powered ("Fly trans-love airways, get you there on time...") yet funky compostion. The only other cover is Fred Neil's 'The Other Side of This Life', which along with 'It's No Secret' and 'Watch Her Ride' are rather generic rockers, undistinguished but doing no harm here either. For me, the standout tracks are those drawn from my favorite JA disc, 'Surrealistic Pillow', and those featuring Grace Slick, the finest female vocalist from the psychedelic genre. Her talents are front and center on 'Greasy Heart', 'White Rabbit', and 'Somebody To Love', and the performances are fresh, vibrant, and intense. Add to this list of highlights a worthy electric rendition of the acoustic beauty, 'Today' from 'Surrealistic Pillow', and you have the core of one outstanding, even historic performance. The only weak tracks on the disc are 'Wild Tyme', whose lyrics are embarassingly dated, and 'Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon' which comes off sluggish and pressured.

Given that the year was 1968, these recordings are of astounding quality. It's truly a wonder than such a fine document of the Airplane's live persona remained buried for three full decades. Brilliant graphics and several pages of interesting liner notes from Jeff Tamarkin make for a complete, informative package (lyrics would be too much to ask from a live disc, since you so seldom are blessed with them even from studio productions). If you're a fan of early Jefferson Airplane studio discs, you should find this production both entertaining and enlightening. It's truly one of the better live testaments from the psychedelic era.

Poor Performance.......2006-01-15

I saw The Airplane many times at live shows at the Fillmore, winterland and Avalon ballrooms. All shows were exelent. There is something missing on this CD. Very dissapointed. If you like Jefferson Airplane, you will be dissapointed.

Average customer rating:

Good but could have been a little better with some editing
Still the Definitive Dead
Get this for the jam on disc two
Pigpen at his best
Let your mind out of the bottle.

Live at Fillmore East 2-11-69
Grateful Dead
Manufacturer: Grateful Dead / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Two from the Vault
Fillmore East: April 1971
Fillmore West 1969
Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72
Hundred Year Hall: 4-26-72

ASIN: B0002SPPVY
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Tracks:

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Cryptical Envelopment
Other One
Cryptical Envelopment
Doin' That Rag
I'm a King Bee
Turn on Your Love Light
Hey Jude

Tracks:

Introduction
Dupree's Diamond Blues
Mountains of the Moon
Dark Star
St. Stephen
Eleven
Drums
Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)
Feedback
We Bid You Goodnight

Customer Reviews:

Good but could have been a little better with some editing.......2007-04-28

The Grateful Dead was the warm-up band for Janis Joplin at the Fillmore East. They did two seperate 1 hour shows with mostly different audiences. (Bill Graham used to schedule two complete shows a night to maximize profits). Being the Grateful Dead, they did not do any repeats from one show to the next.

Being constrained to a one hour show, the Dead played a little bit differently than they would do in a normal concert. Some of the songs are a little truncated. But, in some cases, it turns out to be a good and interesting thing. I love the long, rambling jams, but it is good to sometimes hear the band play in a tighter, more concise mode.

The one song that really benefits from the shorter time is Turn On Your Lovelight. It is very energetic and there is a searing guitar that is highlighted. Many of the other songs are also very good.

The sound quality is fair to good (by professional standards). The sound is a little rough in spots. The audience noise is a little to high at times (the other Grateful Dead live albums were great, because you almost never had audience noise interferring with the music). There are other Grateful Dead live CD's from this time period that have much better sound.

The thing I really don't like is that they included the complete concerts. Each concert has a couple of minute introduction. Included is all of the chatter between songs. They even included the whole time the band was down while a guitar string was being changed, so there is a long period in the middle of the CD of just silence.

at the end of the second show, after We bid You Goodnight, there is a several minute pause, and then the band breaks into Cosmic Charlie. About 2 minutes into Cosmic Charlie it sounds like the tape went bad, the song is cut off and the CD ends.

Some people love thses complete concerts, with everything kept in "to give you the feel of the concert". Me, I just want to enjoy the music.

Still the Definitive Dead.......2007-04-02

If you have never heard the Dead, or if you have wondered what all of the "Deadhead" hype was over, this is the first GD album you should buy.

Get this for the jam on disc two.......2006-10-14

A nice show, however, the only real noteworthy stuff is Intro(cd2), Mountains Of The Moon, The Eleven Jam -> Caution. Get it for this.

Pigpen at his best.......2006-02-04

A nice 2 disc set from the early days of the Dead. They were opening up for Janis Joplin that night and there were 2 shows so each disc represnts a different opening hour long set. Disc one is very much dominated by Pigpen with a very rare set closer of Hey Jude Pigpen style. Set 2 and Disc 2 is more of a group effort with early Dead material. A lot of great material was recorderd at this venue (Allman Brothers LIve at Fillmore East)and this is one of them. A ticket to see Janis Joplin and the Dead that night cost $4.00 and I bet nobody asked for their money back!

Let your mind out of the bottle........2005-12-28

This is classic Grateful Dead for the old fan, or the new one. The Dead had worked hard to have this sound nailed down. 1969 was a great year for them. Pigpen steals the show here with his raw power. Check it out.
Eastcoast Phil. TCBRN. 12-28-05 Simpsonville, SC

Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time

Average customer rating:

A furious barrage of free jazz and intense performances
The Lost Quintet Live - The Power & Dynamic is just AWESOME!
Miles Moves Forward
A Smokin' Performance
Better than Bitches'

Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time
Miles Davis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Jazz Funk | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
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Dark Magus: Live At Carnegie Hall [2-CD SET]
Live-Evil
Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West
Pangaea
Agharta

ASIN: B00005M0N2
Release Date: 2001-08-21

Tracks:

Directions
Spanish Key
Masqualero
It's About That Time/The Theme

Tracks:

Directions
Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
Bitches Brew
Spanish Key
It's About That Time/Willie Nelson

Amazon.com

Miles Davis took the stage of New York's Fillmore East with five other players on March 7, 1970. Leaning heavily on the soon-to-be-released Bitches Brew and looking back no further than 1962's "Masqualero," they rumbled, squawled, and stomped through two sets that might have surprised even fans of Davis's new rock-influenced sound. At times edgier than even the challenging Brew, the music was nonstop, polyrhythmic, and crashing while remaining groove-oriented. With Miles blowing one aggressive solo after another, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Jack DeJohnette rise to the moment while providing reminders of the angular sound of the '60s trio. While "Bitches Brew" itself appears in a drastically shortened but still relatively hushed treatment, the first of two versions of "It's About That Time" breaks away from In a Silent Way's midtempo meditation into full-tilt tumult. These 90 minutes capture Miles headed in the direction of Jack Johnson, stopping to give the rock audience a glimpse of himself working at another peak. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

A furious barrage of free jazz and intense performances.......2006-09-07

This live March 7, 1970 release is burning hot and intense. Oddly enough, Miles was warming up for the Steve Miller Blues Band and Neil Young and the response from the audience is halfhearted and lukewarm. It seems likely that fans of the comparatively more straightforward material of those two bands were in no way shape or form prepared for this wild barrage of free jazz, jazz-rock, and unfettered experimentation. It's too bad too - this is easily the best set I have heard from this period of Miles (1969-1971) and reinforces in my mind the incalculable impact he had on music.

Alongside Miles (trumpet) is a virtual who's who of the jazz rock scene: Chick Corea (Fender Rhodes electric piano); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Dave Holland (electric bass guitar and acoustic bass); Wayne Shorter (soprano and tenor saxophone); and Airto Moreira (percussion). These guys are all top shelf musicians and turn in some of the most "out there" performances I have ever heard. Chick Corea is especially wild and simply tears the electric piano up - the furious, free-form barrage with Dave Holland during the first set is simply unbelievable. Speaking of the bassist, I happen to like Dave Holland quite a lot - a lot more in fact than Motown bassist Mike Henderson (who played on the Live Evil album, 1971). Dave is a technically superior player and he truly interacts with the other players rather than just laying down an ostinato. Jack DeJohnette is also in top form and churns out a swirling mass of impenetrably dense rhythms, while Wayne Shorter cuts loose with furious torrents of notes that recall free jazzer Eric Dolphy at his most intense. Whew. Let us just say that the performances on this live recording are hot.

Tracks 1-4 comprise a 42 minute jam that holds your attention all the way through, while the second set provides more of the same. Musically, the pieces incorporate elements of free jazz, although some influences taken from James Brown and other soul/funk musicians can be heard as well - even though they really take a back seat to the free jazz and experimental jazz rock.

If you enjoyed this live album, you might also like Bitches Brew (1970); Live Evil (1971); A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1971); and On the Corner (1972). This is all simply amazing stuff and Miles was an extremely forward thinking musician. Very highly recommended.

The Lost Quintet Live - The Power & Dynamic is just AWESOME!.......2006-09-03

The playing on these two discs is masterful and intense. The Fillmore audience full of stoned teens and college students must have been taken aback by this sonic assault. There's some polite applause here and there but they must have been wondering "WTF was that?"

Holland and DeJohnette provide a punishing, pulsing, swinging foundation to the other players to improvise upon - Shorter and Miles go wild. As usual, I am not wild about Corea's distorted electric Fender Rhodes with that Ring Modulator gadget (not a particular good effect in my opinion but it must have been "trippy" at the time), but his playing is fabulous. I will say this disc is probably only for the die-hard Electric Miles collector. Some listeners are going to hate it because there's a lot of "free jazz" (in the Ornette Coleman sense of the expression) going on in here and the cacauphony will be a bit overwhelming at times. This is not a collection I can listen to at any ol' time and it certainly isn't "background music", but I am glad I purchased it.

Just because you like Bitches Brew, Big Fun, Jack Johnson, and On the Corner doesn't mean you are going to like this. The playing is very hot but it's also very free form in places. Some of it even reminds me of Holland and Corea's Circle - The Paris Concert with Anthony Braxton. Fidelity is a little muddy for bass and drums but don't let that put you off. Apparently, according to the Cellar Door Sessions booklet, the engineers were still trying to figure out how to record this band with this concert took place.

Miles Moves Forward.......2006-08-30

Miles Davis' 1969-1970 performances, which saw - or rather heard - the trumpeter fusing the eerily open-ended logic of BITCHES BREW with the screaming stagecraft of the then-burgeoning arena rock scene, represent one of the most exciting links in the solid gold chain of breakthroughs which was his singularly stellar career. Long unavailable in the US, these shows have hit the shelves in a big way over the past nine years as Columbia Records continues its hell-for-leather efforts to get every note Miles ever recorded for the label out to the public. Happily, IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME, like other releases from the same era, more than justifies such a policy.
With saxophonist Wayne Shorter here playing his final gig with Miles, TIME could easily get by on historic importance alone. But riding atop one of Davis' - indeed, one of jazz's - greatest rhythm sections (Chick Corea on electric piano and assorted bizarre circuitry, Dave Holland on bass guitar and Jack DeJohnette on drums and on fire), the two great blowers and composers are given no chance to rest on their laurels. Tunes from BREW and IN A SILENT WAY here coalesce into forty-five-minute suites of crashing, keening, thundering improvisational elan and fearlessly forward momentum. Whether this sort of thing is your cup of tea or not, it's impossible to dismiss; few if any acts in either the jazz or rock sphere could have offered a more powerful concert experience than this in what must surely rank as the absolute peak period for live music of any sort. Never once sinking into either the safety of convention or the lethargy of chaos, this version of the Miles Davis Quintet/Sextet was and remains a formidable unit.
And IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME is a formidable pair of discs. Whether it's the best way to hear Miles and Company at this juncture, however, is rather hard to say. I'd actually call the long-deleted Japan-only release 1969 MILES, recorded in Antibes a month before BITCHES BREW itself, a somewhat more interesting document, as it applies the scorched-earth logic of this band to a broader cross-section of Davis' repertoire, including such pre-electric classics as "'Round Midnight" and "Footprints." By the same token, Shorter's departure, regrettable as it may have been, didn't prevent his bandmates from continuing to jell and explore, with the result that BLACK BEAUTY, recorded a month after this set with Steve Grossman on soprano sax, seems to my ears to achieve the impossible by reaching an even more torrential level of intensity, if only in a few spots.
Nevertheless, with no other recording of this particular combo tackling this particular program currently available, IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME meets five-star criteria for both the sound and significance of its content. Miles forever!

A Smokin' Performance.......2006-06-08

There are numerous official and bootleg albums dating from the early electric phase of Miles Davis. But It's About That Time is the best that is currently available. The material features a band operating loud and proud, with the solos by Davis and Shorter nothing short of brilliant.

Looking back more than 35 years later, one can easily hear why jazz fans/critics were critical of Davis (in actuality, what else was new) while he took "fusion" into major rock venues, while opening for popular rock acts of the time.

The music is as thrilling to hear today as it certainly was live in 1970. The CD is an essential part of a collector's library who wants to hear Davis and his band tearing it up and get a real understanding in what fusion meant at its inception.

Better than Bitches'.......2005-09-28

I'm a neophyte to Fusion in general, but I think that the rumours are true - this CD set is much better than the legendary Bitches Brew.

My favorite track is "Bitches Brew" itself, in a version that is shorter, harsher and more focussed than the album version. Besides, it doesn't have all those bizarre edits and tape loops that made the album so hard for me to digest.

"Spanish Key", in two versions, is also funkier than the album version, with fine soloing by Wayne Shorter. I prefer the second set's version.

Note that both sets end with the "Go-Go" theme, with which Miles Davis ended all his sets in the 1950s-60s - that and the tune "Masqualero" are the only remnants of Miles' pre-electric past.

Average customer rating:

Live at Fillmore East & Winterland
Virgil Fox
Manufacturer: MCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000DWBO
Release Date: 1989-10-02

Average customer rating:

Do not buy
On the Cutting Room Floor
AT FILLMORE: interesting but flawed
Where are they?
FIRST STEPS INTO THE LOST YEARS OF JAZZ

At Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East
Miles Davis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time
Dark Magus: Live At Carnegie Hall [2-CD SET]
Live-Evil

ASIN: B000002AH4
Release Date: 1997-07-29

Tracks:

Wednesday Miles: Directions
Wednesday Miles: Bitches Brew
Wednesday Miles: The Mask
Wednesday Miles: It's About That Time
Wednesday Miles: Bitches Brew/ The Theme
Thursday Miles: Directions
Thursday Miles: The Mask
Thursday Miles: It's About That Time

Tracks:

Friday Miles: It's About That Time
Friday Miles: I Fall In Love Too Easily
Friday Miles: Sanctuary
Friday Miles: Bitches Brew / TheTheme
Saturday Miles: It's About That Time
Saturday Miles: I Fall In Love Too Easily
Saturday Miles: Sanctuary
Saturday Miles: Bitches Brew
Saturday Miles: Willie Nelson/The Theme

Customer Reviews:

Do not buy.......2006-07-14

I am a huge fan of Mile's electric stage. That said, please do not buy this album, it is absolute trash. It basically gives you 2-5 minute clips of songs that should have gone on for 20 minutes, and tries to make it seem like it was part of the same song. Get the Columbia release of this same show, it is 10 times better, although not so great itself. Again, please save yourself the 15 dollars.

On the Cutting Room Floor.......2006-02-09

I've heard the full concerts that made up this two cd set and they are brilliant. However, the concerts have been butchered so much on this album you'll never really get to listen to a coherent song. If Columbia officially released a box set of these concerts, many jazz fans (including myself) would be more than willing to buy it. Unlike Live at the Fillmore East, Live-Evil also involved splicing but it makes sense but it was still great to have the full Cellar Door Sessions released. Fillmore could use the same treatment. All the players on the concerts are in peak form (I just wish Keith Jarrett would stop dissing Miles' electric bands when his electrified playing on them is far more creative than his solo career) and the concerts deserve to be heard the way they were supposed to be.

AT FILLMORE: interesting but flawed.......2005-09-25

this album is an interesting experiment in tape splicing live performances from a four night run at the famous new york city venue. Bitches Brew had recently just come out at the time of this live show and most of the selections are from that grand and sprawling monster of a record. these performances were probably well worth their weight in gold without the meddling of the tapes. alot of the power and transitions are just lost because of the splicing. at times, it seems like the song just ends abruptly right when it was getting started. it's a confusing record and not one i can recommend except to the die hard fans. thankfully, there is a recording available that took place at the fillmore just a few months before these shows. Miles Davis "Live At The Fillmore East (March 7, 1970) It's About That Time" is a far superior recording that shows the band in all it's glory (and thankfully leaves the tape splicer at home).

Where are they?.......2005-05-25

Somewhere on the planet Earth, probably in some dusty warehouse in New York, is a box or metal canister containing about a half-dozen 2-inch magnetic tapes. On those tapes, in their pure form, are four nights of recordings of Miles Davis' stupendous band at the Fillmore East. Where are they? Why have they not been found?

It seems every outtake, every demo, every alternative version of every Miles recording of the electric era has been found and stuck onto a "complete....sessions" compilation.

Everyone seems to agree that the main complaint about Miles Davis at Fillmore is the unfortunate (if necessary) editing. Fix it!

Columbia/Sony, FIND THOSE TAPES! The performances were outstanding, the material excellent, the recordings top-notch. Let's finally hear the entire performances. THERE IS A MARKET.

FIRST STEPS INTO THE LOST YEARS OF JAZZ.......2004-11-16

The average layman can be forgiven looking at Miles Davis' sudden profusion of "live" albums in the early 1970's wondering what that was all about. Indeed, just what was it all about? Davis released several "live" albums before 1970-that is true. But for the years leading up to his 1975 retirement, Davis expressed himself to the listening public mostly through his concert appearances.

It is not that Davis abandoned the recording studio. It just that the most reliable way to document Davis' musical explorations (which had always shifted frequently but now had assumed terminal velocity) was to be sure the tape was running during concert appearances:

This typically exhausted the average jazz fan. No more than once he had digested Miles' last "live" double LP another hefty album was released. As much as Davis' spacey and "progressive" music dismayed the jazz community, the sheer weight of all these releases overwhelmed even the most dedicated fan. Miles "lost" his listeners in more ways than one.

But there was another factor that broke Miles connection to his audience. Miles was in trouble with the IRS. He owed a lot of money and they were working their way through the legal system to get him. Whether it was true or not remains an open question. But many began to suspect that Davis' issued these releases because he needed the money. There was a suspicion that Miles was trading in on his fame by flooding the market and taking advantage of his available audience for cash. More than one critic complained out loud that for all the high falootin' talk of "art" and "challenges" the bottom line was garbage for hard currency.

In Davis' defense, one would only have to point to his pre-1970 album catalogue to show that Miles always was a prolific artist who spun out records at a furious rate. But all this begs the question: was any of it any good? Here we come to a whole different matter. The trouble is many of Davis' defenders for this period in his creativity seem to be defending the "idea" or conception of the music rather than the execution of that idea. In theory, there is nothing wrong with using electronic instruments in jazz music (Wynton Marsallis will argue with you on that.) and for many of Davis's defenders it is this "idea" they are actually fighting for. Some would argue that the very presence of electronics means it's bad jazz right off the bat. But if we get past that prejudice, what are we really left with?

The most common complaint for AT FILLMORE: LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST is the editing. To accommodate the LP format of the time, each of the four evenings of performance were pared down to 25 minutes so that one evening's "recital" would fit on one side of the LP. (We have no such problem today. In fact, each CD has so much room for music that to fill up the disc artists feel compelled to record pieces which are under-rehearsed and undigested.) So edits sometimes jump unintuitively and Steve Grossman's solos on sax are missing in the mix. In my judgment, however, the strange editing is not an insurmountable defect.

The first section, labeled "Wednesday Miles", kicks off with Joe Zawinul's "Directions" and then eases into a very short version of "Bitches Brew". "The Mask" runs only a minute and a half. Then the band settles down into "It's About That Time". Up to this point Miles has been blowing his horn to lead us on the way. Both Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea trade off against each other on keyboards--which is entertaining at first but all too soon becomes irritating. Like a little kid, they use their keyboards' capacities to throw in the odd, weird noises that at least reminded me of low budget science fiction movies' background music. Then their actually playing resembled that of a child's first hammering at the family piano. This continues through a much longer rendition of "Bitches Brew". The overall sense of this night's performance is one of a fresh, self-conscious, new band pensively introducing itself to a strange audience. This was a band holding back more than just a little as it explored just what its mysterious new listeners would take.

"Thursday Miles" is more self-assured and relaxed. The set list is also shorter: "Directions"/"The Mask"/"It's About That Time"; but soloing and improvising abound in each piece. The same complaints, unfortunately, against "Wednesday Miles" hold for this set as well. But overall "Thursday Miles" is a marked improvement.

"Friday Miles" is the best set on the album. The list gets shaken up with only "It's About That Time" remaining. Instead are included "I Fall In Love Too Easily" And "Sanctuary" with a return to a much longer "Bitches Brew". Here the spirit of the band is much freer and delightful. It is difficult to account for these things; but it seems that there is less keyboard "nonsense" on this set than in the previous two sets.

"Saturday Miles" tries to duplicate "Friday Miles" in some ways. The selections are the same as "Friday Miles"; but each piece is shortened for the inclusion of "Willie Nelson" at the end. While "Willie Nelson" is a welcome addition to the set, overall "Saturday Miles" is comparatively "repressed" and not as enjoyable.

Compared to the rest of the "live" albums from this period AT FILLMORE: LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST is a second best to LIVE-EVIL. Your reception to it will depend on how you relate to Miles' whole "fusion" period. BITCHES BREW presented the music world with a new challenge that is still being absorbed to this day. Unfortunately BITCHES BREW also remains one of those records people have in their collections but rarely listen to.

Others may prefer LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST (MARCH 7, 1970): IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME. This is a set that was recorded earlier in the same years as AT FILLMORE: LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST; but was just released in 2001. It is even more challenging and is not plagued by the same editing "eccentricities".

Many regard the 1970's as Jazz's "lost years". Such a judgment is not fair to a whole host of jazz records from that time; but the direction Davis trail blazed nearly ended up killing jazz as a commercial entity. . Miles Davis opened a musical door to a path many of us (myself included) still are not all that eager to go down. Perhaps my grandchildren will come to see things differently. But I doubt it.

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