Band Of Gypsys | 
 enlarge | Artist: Jimi Hendrix
Label: Capitol
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $4.87
You Save: $12.11 (71%)
New (43) Used (26) Collectible (6) from $3.39
Rating:  211 reviews
Sales Rank: 2812
Format: Live, Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 93446
UPC: 724349344624
EAN: 0724349344624
ASIN: B000002UVX
Release Date: January 13, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ***NEW AND FACTORY SEALED***All discs are 100% guaranteed from condition to delivery. We ship 1st class M-F.
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| Tracks:
| • | Who Knows | | • | Machine Gun | | • | Changes | | • | Power to Love | | • | Message of Love | | • | We Gotta Live Together - Jimi Hendrix, Miles, Buddy |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential recording
Tired of the showboating image that his early live performances had saddled him with--and that his black audience viewed as demeaning and degrading to his musical talent--Hendrix dissolved his Experience in 1969 in search of a more terra-firma-grounded, blues-oriented persona. On New Year's Eve, Hendrix, his old Army buddy bassist Billy Cox, and ex-Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles performed a loose, jam-filled set at New York's Fillmore East (completists will want the panoramic though uneven Live at the Fillmore East). Released a few months after his New Year's Eve 1970 concert, Band of Gypsys underscored Hendrix's desired return to basics--even if his basic was at a level most guitarists could never attain in a lifetime of playing. --Billy Altman
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| Customer Reviews:
Absurdling Amazing November 16, 2008
A. Frippirf (Orlando, Florida)
Hello!
Machine Gun alone is a reason for buying this CD. It is well worth the price of admission!
Don't bypass this album October 25, 2008
John B. Buchanan (Perth, Australia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Band of Gypsys was released in the US in 2 CD versions - the first was released in 1995 as the 25th anniversary CD (Capitol 96414 jewel case or the mini-vinyl card version Capitol DPRO 79534). Both contain the same CD as issued under the Alan Douglas control of the Hendrix Estate. In 1997, after the Hendrix family took control of the estate, Experience Hendrix released the Experience Hendrix/Capitol CD release (72434 -93446). The mixes used are the same but they appear to have been remastered from different stereo tapes.
The 25th Anniversary CD issue was sourced from a copy of the master tape, not the original Eddie Kramer-mixed stereo master tape. The original master tape had been marked "Do Not Use" by EMI-Capitol Records (possibly because it was deteriorating while the copy was in good condition), so the copy-master was used for any versions on vinyl after the initial green label Capitol version and the 25th Anniversary edition CD. They sound like it - obvious bass and vocal distortion abounds (especially in Who Knows), along with very slight treble phase shift.
The new version by EH/Eddie Kramer uses the "Do Not Use" tape (the original stereo master) and sounds much better than the Douglas version. The bass is excellent now and the treble and vocals are much clearer. The uneven fade up of the original Bill Graham introduction has been changed to a drop-in, and Eddie Kramer mentioned in an interview with Michael Fremer in Stereophile that some tape splices were retrimmed. A minor caveat is the appearance of occasional soft crackling noises on the new release (e.g. at about 5 and 11 secs into Machine Gun in the left channel). I seem to remember these on the original 1970 Capitol (green label) vinyl (STAO 472 - released in April 1970), and bought several copies thinking - wrongly as it turns out - that they were pressing faults. These noises weren't present on the Australian Polydor vinyl release (2406-002), nor later Capitol (purple or red label) pressings. The copy-master, therefore, appears to have been used for most versions of Band of Gypsys beyond the original US issue, despite its inferior sound. I guess the crackling noises on the original Capitol vinyl release and the EH/Capitol release are sounds caused by the original master tape deteriorating.
Must Have August 6, 2008
Bryan C. Rombalski (Sanford, Mi United States)
This is one of the most important rock/soulful CD's you can have in your collection. It's like a beautiful and intense painting that you have to engage with. A rock mantra. For all guitar players to enjoy.
 Good live album, but I prefer Hendrix in his rock phase May 29, 2008
R. Kyle (USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Growing up, I loved Jimi Hendrix's Experience. I had never tried his Band of Gypsies vinyl back in the day. I bought this on sale to add to the Hendrix collection and I'm not sure if it will stay. This album is the first after his breakup with them and it's a live recording from 1969.
Some say it's the beginning of the end, I cannot say that. It's good, solid blues, but I prefer hearing Hendrix rocking.
This is a six song collection, that is almost 46 minutes long. You get a lot of live jamming on this CD, which is mostly worth hearing. Vocals on "Who Knows" just annoy me; however, "Machine Gun" is excellent--good strong playing and one of my favorites of all his work.
I don't regret hearing this CD, but I think I'd rather remember Jimi rocking with the Experience than bluesing with the Gypsies.
Rebecca Kyle, May 2008
Banned Gypsies May 19, 2008
El Lagarto (Ambler, PA)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
I yield to no man when it comes to admiring Jimi Hendrix - indeed, watching and listening to him perform in a tiny club, way back in '67, was one of the highlights of my life. It was transformational. That said, let's be honest about Band of Gypsies - it's a mess. Of course, the failures of Hendrix transcend the triumphs of mortals, but still.
Hendrix freely admitted that he was no great singer, and his limitations have never been more evident. Even Buddy Miles, who was better, sounds awful. Perhaps the live concert environment meant they couldn't hear themselves. Indeed, this album would have been much better had there been no vocals at all. The jams, naturally, smoke like a southbound train, Hendrix is in great form. But play the CD again and imagine how much better it would sound purely instrumental.
Swapping out Mitch Mitchell for Buddy Miles was like trading in a Rolls Royce for a Yugo, Miles is particularly unexceptional here. The bass contribution by Billy Cox could have been handled just as well by a table lamp. Most egregious of all is the material itself. From a song-writing point of view there is little to cheer, particularly when it comes to lyrics. This would be more palatable if the singing were expert; unfortunately, the awkward vocals Hendrix delivers draw attention to the inadequacies of the lyrics.
Of course it's worth owning and listening to, but, for a variety of reasons, it is just not up to the standards of the 3 "Experience" albums.
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