Jimi Hendrix's Fillmore East concerts of December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970 have become the stuff of legend. With Billy Cox and Buddy Miles matching him in intensity and power, Hendrix pushed the envelope of heavy rock, R&B, and funk. The original 1970 release of Band of Gypsys offered a tantalizing taste of the concerts, and over the years other songs from the concerts have emerged on various releases (most recently 2016's Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69). Now, Experience Hendrix, LLC and Legacy Recordings are about to offer all four concerts in expanded form for the very first time.
Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts arrives on CD and digital formats November 22, with a vinyl release to follow on December 13. This collection assembles all four Fillmore East shows "in their original performance sequence" per the press release. The 5-CD or 8-LP set presents over two dozen tracks that have either never before been released commercially or have been newly pressed and newly remixed.
The funk-fuelled, highly improvisatory stylings of Hendrix, Cox and Miles were first released by Capitol Records on March 25, 1970 as Band Of Gypsys, which featured six songs from the two January 1, 1970 concerts including the powerful "Machine Gun." Tragically, it would be the final album Jimi Hendrix personally authorized for release before his untimely death that September. The 1999 2-CD compilation release Live at the Fillmore East drew on all four gigs including three tracks from the first show ("Hear My Train A Comin'," Izabella," "Changes"). The Fillmore gigs were the first performances of Band of Gypsys, and audiences couldn't have been prepared for what they had planned. The very first show, released by Experience Hendrix/Legacy as Machine Gun, featured eleven songs - none of which had been previously released on any Hendrix album. The remaining three shows would return to already-classic material like "Purple Haze," "Fire," "Hey Joe," and "Foxey Lady," but the adventurous spirit remained.
By the end of January 1970, Band of Gypsys had disbanded, but their incendiary work inspired such artists as Parliament-Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, and The Isley Brothers, friends of Hendrix with whom he once played. The sets on Songs for Groovy Children have been newly mixed and are free of edits. The upcoming box set's lavish packaging befits the treasures within. It's adorned with previously unseen photos from Fillmore East house photographer Amalie Rothschild, Jan Blom (whose images provided the original artwork for 1970's Band of Gypsys) as well as Marshall Amplifier representative Marc Franklin, who had backstage access to the band. The booklet features remembrances from bassist Billy Cox and liner notes by Nelson George. Songs for Groovy Children was produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott, and mastered by Bernie Grundman.
This deluxe set is due on November 22 from Experience Hendrix/Legacy. You'll find the complete track listing with discography and pre-order links below!
Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts (Experience Hendrix/Legacy, 2019)
5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
8LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
* previously unreleased. ** previously unreleased on CD. All tracks newly mixed by Eddie Kramer
CD 1/LP 1-2: December 31, 1969 - First Set
- Power Of Soul
- Lover Man
- Hear My Train A Comin'
- Changes
- Izabella
- Machine Gun
- Stop
- Ezy Ryder
- Bleeding Heart
- Earth Blues
- Burning Desire
CD 2/LP 3-4: December 31, 1969 - Second Set
- Auld Lang Syne
- Who Knows *
- Fire
- Ezy Ryder *
- Machine Gun
- Stone Free
- Changes *
- Message To Love *
- Stop *
- Foxey Lady
CD 3/LP 5-6: January 1, 1970 - First Set
- Who Knows
- Machine Gun
- Changes **
- Power Of Soul **
- Stepping Stone **
- Foxey Lady **
- Stop **
- Earth Blues **
- Burning Desire
CD 4-5/LP 7-8: January 1, 1970 - Second Set
- Stone Free
- Power Of Soul
- Changes
- Message To Love
- Machine Gun
- Lover Man *
- Steal Away *
- Earth Blues
- Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
- We Got To Live Together
- Wild Thing
- Hey Joe *
- Purple Haze *
Disc 1 previously released as Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 - Experience Hendrix/Legacy 88985 35416-2, 2016
Disc 2, Tracks 1 and 5; Disc 3, Track 10 and Disc 4, Tracks 1, 5, 8-9 and 11 released on Live At The Fillmore East (Experience Hendrix/MCA MCAD2-11931, 1999)
Disc 2, Tracks 3, 6 and 10 released on West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (Experience Hendrix/Legacy 88697 76927-2, 2010)
Disc 3, Tracks 1-2 and Disc 4, Tracks 2-4 and 10 released in edited form on Band Of Gypsys (Capitol STAO-472, 1970)
Disc 3, Tracks 1-8 released on Band Of Gypsys DVD (Experience Hendrix/MCA MCADV-12008, 1999)
Shaun says
Well THIS is a (pleasant) surprise!
This instantly went on my holiday list, along with the Abbey Road and new Dylan boxes.