Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival
2015 live album by Jimi Hendrix
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Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival is a posthumous live album by Jimi Hendrix, released in 2015. It documents his July 4, 1970, performance at the Atlanta International Pop Festival. The festival's audience, subject to a wide range of estimates from 200,000-400,000, was the largest U.S. crowd to which Hendrix played during his career.[1][2][3]
| Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | August 28, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | July 4, 1970 | |||
| Venue | Atlanta International Pop, Byron, Georgia | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 82:06 | |||
| Label | Legacy | |||
| Producer |
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| Jimi Hendrix chronology | ||||
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Recorded around the middle of his The Cry of Love Tour, Hendrix is backed by Billy Cox on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.[3] The sixteen songs were recorded during their evening performance and include a mix of popular Jimi Hendrix Experience-era tunes, and his newer compositions, "Message to Love", "Freedom", and "Straight Ahead".[2][4] However, the album does not include his closing number, "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)"; biographer Keith Shadwick notes tuning problems with the song.[4]
Electric Church video and other releases
The album was released on August 28, 2015, and a video documentary, Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church, including Hendrix's performance premiered on the American cable television network Showtime on September 4, 2015, with a commercial DVD/Blu-Ray release on October 30.[2]
Prior to 2015, songs and video clips of Hendrix's performance had been released several times,[3] such as on Johnny B. Goode (1988) and disc four of Stages (1991).
Critical reception
In a review for AllMusic, critic Sean Westergaard gave the album four out of five stars. He notes that Hendrix falters a bit on the rarely played "All Along the Watchtower", but praises his performance of "Hear My Train A Comin'", which he calls "an absolutely incredible version ... a guitar performance nearly equal to "Machine Gun" on Band of Gypsys, [and] one of the greatest solos of his career."[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fire" | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Lover Man" | 2:59 |
| 3. | "Spanish Castle Magic" | 5:21 |
| 4. | "Red House" | 8:27 |
| 5. | "Room Full of Mirrors" | 3:19 |
| 6. | "Hear My Train A Comin'" | 9:32 |
| 7. | "Message to Love" | 4:54 |
| Total length: | 39:13 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan) | 4:19 |
| 2. | "Freedom" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Foxy Lady" | 4:30 |
| 4. | "Purple Haze" | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" | 7:58 |
| 7. | "Stone Free" | 5:25 |
| 8. | "Star Spangled Banner" (Traditional) | 2:47 |
| 9. | "Straight Ahead" | 4:52 |
| Total length: | 42:53 | |
Personnel
- Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals
- Billy Cox – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Mitch Mitchell – drums