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Subject: Re: Help on Jimi Hendrix ( 5 of 22 )
Posted by crumb100



Part III
Next came The Band Of Gypsies, which retained Cox and added drummer Buddy Miles. Early performances were impressive, although they were deliberately toned down by a Hendrix intent on making his music speak louder than his showmanship. The album BAND OF GYPSIES, released in April 1970, yielded some of the most complex and introspective work of his career, but he was becoming incapable of dealing with his business manager, Michael Jeffrey, who insisted on taking more control over Hendrix’s artistic direction.
A frustrated Hendrix became more insular and sought an escape through more frequent drug use. Meanwhile, seeking to rekindle the money-making success of The Experience to finance Hendrix’s new Electric Lady studio in New York, Jeffrey set about firing Miles and rehiring Mitchell. Redding was originally slated to return too, but Cox was ultimately reprieved.

Opinions as to Hendrix’s state of mind at this point vary: some say Jeffrey’s restrictive management sapped his motivation; others felt that the opening of Electric Lady made him confident and optimistic. The recorded evidence of The Experience during the summer of 1970 does not dispel either possibility, demonstrating some of the very best (Berkeley) and very worst (Isle of Wight) extremes of Hendrix’s performances.
While the tour was in Europe, Billy Cox suffered a breakdown and the rest of the dates were cancelled. Hendrix went to London to see Chandler, possibly with a view to reinstate him as his manager, following which he planned to continue to New York to work in his new studio. Hendrix swallowed nine sleeping pills at around 7am on September 18, 1970, and crawled into bed. He never woke up. Instead, he vomited in his sleep, slipped into unconsciousness and suffocated. His girlfriend, possibly afraid that the marijuana in her apartment would be discovered by the emergency services, failed to summon medical help in time to save him. Though his system had been weakened by drug abuse, it had not, contrary to popular belief, directly caused his death.

He was just 27. In a career of scarcely four years’ duration, Hendrix had become a consummate master of the guitar, an adventurous explorer of different musical terrains, and an inspirational figure for black artists and for the civil rights movement. As the appetite for Hendrix reissues and rarities demonstrates, there is no argument about his place in the rock pantheon. Honoured in London in 1997 by a ‘blue plaque’ on the house he used while in town, and with the increased influence of the Hendrix Family Foundation on the back catalogue, fans can look forward to seeing his reputation -- somewhat damaged by years of poor-quality material slipping onto the market -- increase as his legend grows.

© Rough Guides
from amazon.com

hmm now y didnt i just post a link????
man am i tired...


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