Live at Berkeley
| Live at Berkeley | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | September 16, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | May 30, 1970 | |||
| Venue | Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 67:47 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Abe Jacob | |||
| Jimi Hendrix chronology | ||||
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Live at Berkeley is a live album by American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. It documents his second performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre on May 30, 1970, and was released by MCA Records on September 16, 2003.
Background
Hendrix performed in Berkeley about one month into his The Cry of Love Tour with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell. The set list was fairly typical for the tour – a mix of popular tunes and some newer material. "Hey Joe", "Foxey Lady", "Purple Haze", and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" had been in Hendrix's concert repertoire since he first recorded them. "Machine Gun" was released two months earlier on the live Band of Gypsys album, and "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" was in development for his planned fourth studio album. Portions of some of these songs were included in the 1971 concert film Jimi Plays Berkeley.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |
 
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| All About Jazz |
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| AllMusic |
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| Blender |
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| Q |
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| Tom Hull – on the Web | A− |
| Uncut |
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Rob Fawcett of BBC Music called Live at Berkeley "the strongest newly-released Hendrix material in a long time". Robert Christgau cited "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" and "I Don't Live Today" as highlights and deemed it "the Cox-Mitchell band at its most documentable" in his consumer guide for The Village Voice. In his review for Blender, he said Cox was a significant improvement over Noel Redding in a group that was Hendrix's best. Uncut magazine was less enthusiastic and felt "there are still better versions of these tracks elsewhere."
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction" | 1:47 |
| 2. | "Pass It On (Straight Ahead)" | 6:58 |
| 3. | "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" | 6:07 |
| 4. | "Lover Man" | 2:59 |
| 5. | "Stone Free" | 4:08 |
| 6. | "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) | 4:49 |
| 7. | "I Don't Live Today" | 5:26 |
| 8. | "Machine Gun" | 11:22 |
| 9. | "Foxy Lady" | 6:30 |
| 10. | "The Star Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key, John Stafford Smith) | 2:45 |
| 11. | "Purple Haze" | 3:48 |
| 12. | "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" | 10:49 |
| Total length: | 67:28 | |
Personnel
Musicians
- Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals
- Billy Cox – bass guitar
- Mitch Mitchell – drums
Production
- Janie L. Hendrix – compilation production
- Eddie Kramer – compilation production, mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- John McDermott – compilation production
- Pete Scriba – assistant engineering