The story of Jimi Hendrix's most "flowery" album ...

"Live in Maui" - this was the title of the album recorded at a performance of Hendrix's band in Maui in the summer of 1970. The performance was arranged especially for the filming of "Rainbow Bridge", which was released after the guitarist's death... The album was released only in autumn 2020: its release was accompanied by the video "Music, Money, Madness ... Jimi Hendrix In Maui".

Before Maui, the trio performed in the United States as part of their latest The Cry of Love Tour. While the first set featured tracks from Experience and Band of Gypsys, during the second set Hendrix and his crew used tracks that were to be included in the musician's fourth studio album... Speaking about the film Rainbow Bridge, it is worth emphasising a rather interesting detail: it was not a commercial success, and did not include any of the songs from Hendrix's album of the same name (which positioned itself as a soundtrack!) Also during the performance on Maui, the musicians encountered an obstacle in the form of strong winds, which blocked any sound...

By the way: everything took place in an open former pasture. Actually - let's talk about everything in more detail!

Where did it all begin? About the film Rainbow Bridge...

At the end of his life, Hendrix managed to record several of his live performances. The material became the basis for the ill-fated Chuck Wayne film, which was a failure more than ever... As for the performance on the Hawaiian island, for a long time the recording was listed as missing... Fortunately, in the end, the material turned out to be a charming album "Live in Maui"! True - it was not without difficulties.

In the early 70's Jimi Hendrix was a real superstar! The musician released 3 great albums, toured extensively and took part in major festivals on both sides of the Atlantic as a headliner! So it's not surprising that Michael Jeffrey, the manager of the now iconic guitarist, decided to take advantage of his mentee's big name: Jimi was to take part in the filming of one of the most pointless films in history, namely Rainbow Bridge... The young and apparently inexperienced Chuck Wayne was hired as director. It was decided to film in Hawaii... However, even such a beautiful and romanticised (as well as the participation of Jimi Hendrix Experience) place did not save the "film" from failure: there was neither a well-thought-out plot, nor a rudimentary script (the fact that instead of professional actors there were absolutely ordinary people, hippies, we can not even talk about...). As a result, the work failed! Critics described the film as "The dumbest hippie film in history". And the only decoration of all this ugliness was a 17-minute performance by Hendrix.....

About the album: the difficulties of producing...

As mentioned above, the film was shot on the site of an old, windswept pasture... Of course, first class sound was out of the question! The performance of Hendrix and his crew was recorded, and after listening to the recording in New York it became clear that the wind had literally drowned out Mitch Mitchell's drums! Not the most pleasant news... But Mitchell should be given credit: he did a truly heroic thing, agreeing to re-record the whole 17 minutes (!) from scratch, in the studio!

By the way: another mishap was that the local audience had no idea about the concert... So, it was attended by about 400 people, which is really not enough... The film itself was released a year after Hendrix's death. Together with it the label released the album of the same name - the announced soundtrack to the film, which ironically did not include any of the songs recorded during the performance in Hawaii... That's what "good marketing" means.

And so, in November 2020, Jimi's fans received a great gift in the form of the album "Live in Maui" - the very live recording made on the island of Maui! The clear sound, without noise and other interference, was achieved with the help of modern technology.

"Jimi's genius is his unique ability to turn even terrible things into something unreal... And that's perfectly demonstrated both in that concert and in Live in Maui itself..." - said Janie Hendrix, the legend's sister.

Content...

Bright bluesy numbers and hurried runs of hits are juxtaposed with very loose jams that stumble, jumble, almost dissolve, and then suddenly skyrocket - that's how one might characterise 'Live in Maui', an album that has remained anticipated for half a century.... The first set boasts a little more clarity, while the second has a more subdued mood... Rather than start loading up on hits beforehand, the trio take their time, putting together a dozen new songs that haven't made it onto any album yet... Perhaps this extended time in Maui has calmed Hendrix down? So the set begins with "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" rather than ending with it, as has often been the case in previous concerts.

What could have been the title track of Jimi Hendrix's next record blossoms with a gorgeous shimmering guitar tone like a wild waterfall...

https://youtu.be/_zn8lLphi3c

Effortless guitar heroics abound, from the sliced chords of "Sunshine of Your Love" turned into "Fire" to a quote from "Star Spangled Banner" teased into the final moments of "Purple Haze."

When it seems like the rarely performed "Villanova Junction" is about to dissolve into silence, it turns into an assaulting version of "Ezy Rider"!

Hendrix reaches a frequency close to serotonin release at some point in every song, reminding us why his music is ambiguously linked to euphoric peaks from real life... And what's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" worth when it feels like his guitar is falling from miles above the stage? "I kept thinking a spaceship was landing," an audience member of the documentary later recalled.

And that doesn't sound like an exaggeration... "Red House" appears here in an unusually short but still powerful version.

But it's "Hear My Train A-Comin'" that shocks the most: sad, unruly and evil sounding, as if his guitar is wiping out everything in its path!

Critical reception

Critics noted by no means the best recording conditions... Thus, the following note appeared in AllMusic:

"Although this recording doesn't show Hendrix's new research, it proves that Jimi was in great shape! He was playful and relaxed, but at the same moment - fully engaged!"

Many critics also pointed out the recording difficulties that caused the album to be released only in 2020! Not overlooked was the fact that the second part of the set (starting with the song "Dolly Dagger") is more free and relaxed...

Conclusion...

A black genius who once played all-black music has paved the way before the now particularly white world of rock (the footage of a crowd consisting mostly of blissfully blonde flower children before the musician himself appeared seems even more absurd in the present) This is a man who transcends rock to something new and untenable. As for the album, perhaps it would be correct to call it "an experiment in vibrational colour sound".