Live in Maui is an album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience documenting their performance outdoors on Maui, Hawaii, on July 30, 1970. It marks the first official release of Hendrix's two full sets recorded during the filming of Rainbow Bridge (1971).[1] The two-CD and three-LP set was released on November 20, 2020, along with a video documentary titled Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix in Maui.[2]
Their performance on Maui was the trio's second-to-last in the U.S. during their final The Cry of Love Tour.[3] During the first set, they played mainly songs from the Experience studio albums and Band of Gypsys. The second set mostly contains new songs Hendrix was in the process of recording for a planned fourth studio album.
Background
Although both the 1971 Rainbow Bridgefilm[4] and album[5] identify the artist as "Jimi Hendrix", Live in Maui lists "the Jimi Hendrix Experience"[6] with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass.[7] Despite claiming to be a soundtrack, the Rainbow Bridge album did not include any of Hendrix's Maui performances.[2] Several heavily edited songs totaling 17 minutes were first released with the Rainbow Bridge film.[2] Additional songs were released on The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set (2000) (a medley of "Hey Baby" / "In from the Storm") and Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (2001) ("Foxey Lady").[8]
The trio performed two fifty-minute sets; however, there were technical problems partly due to the high winds in the unprotected former pasture.[2] For the portions used in the film Rainbow Bridge, Mitchell re-recorded his drum parts at Electric Lady Studio in New York City in 1971, but Hendrix had no further input.[2]
Critical reception
In a review for AllMusic, Mark Deming gave Live in Maui a rating of four out of five stars. He noted the less-than-ideal recording conditions and added:
The Maui recordings don't find him [Hendrix] exploring much in the way of anything new, but he's in excellent form, playfully relaxed and fully engaged at the same time, and Mitch Mitchell's drumming is, as always, an excellent foil for Jimi's melodies and instrumental attack, while Billy Cox's subtle but solid bass anchors this music better than his predecessor, Noel Redding.[7]
Hugh Fielder, writing for Classic Rock, also commented on the recording problems, which led to the Maui recordings being passed over for years in favor of Hendrix's performances at the Atlanta International Pop Festival (1970) (latest release Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival, 2015) and Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (Blue Wild Angel, 2002). However, he noted that "[n]ow the latest digital audio technology has enabled them to be brought up to scratch (almost)" and gave the album three and a half out of five stars.[9] But, he felt that "[t]he second set is looser and in danger of falling apart at times, before Hendrix wakes up and rips through "Stone Free".[9]
^ abOver the years, Hendrix biographers have used alternate names for some of the songs and medleys. For example, "Hear My Train A Comin'" has been identified as "Getting My Heart Back Together"; "Villanova Junction" as "Instrumental Solo"; and the medley portions of "Midnight Lightning", "Hey Baby" (second set), "Drum Solo", and "Hey Joe" have not been listed separately.[3][8][10][11]
