"JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: LIVE AT WOBURN" Gets July Release

MUSIC NEWS - Dagger Records, the official ‘bootleg’ label, has announced the July 28, 2009 release of  Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Woburn.  Live At Woburn gives the Hendrix connoisseur a searing chronicle of the band’s original line-up – Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – live and in concert at one of the UK’s first open-air rock festivals. This, the 11th Dagger Records release will be available only on-line at the Hendrix website.

The Woburn Pop Festival was held on July 6, 1968 on the grounds of the Duke of Bedfordshire’s Woburn Abbey estate. More than 14,000 music fans turned out to see The Experience headline a bill that included John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Alexis Korner, T Rex, and many others.  Doing double duty by constantly appearing on the road in the USA while also laying down the tracks that Hendrix would pull together to form his masterwork, Electric Ladyland, the Woburn Festival was The Experience's first UK gig in more than seven months. 

Beginning with DJ Emperor Rosko's of BBC Radio One's introduction, the band's set offered a glimpse of Electric Ladyland's power and depth with the first live performance of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” , the signature song that Hendrix would eventually use to close nearly all of his performances. The set also includes a ten-minute rendition of “Tax Free,” a personal favorite of Jimi's, written by the Swedish songwriting duo, Hansson & Karlsson who taught him the tune when he was touring in their home country. The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, an eleven and a half minute version of “Red House”, “Foxey Lady,” “Fire” and “Purple Haze” round out the band's blistering set list.  Jimi's performance at this early version of the type of 'festival' concert that would come to define the sixties, also proved to be an exhibition of his decision to let his 'freak flag fly' with more open-ended, jam-oriented displays than had been typical of earlier, more structured gigs. Jimi had every intention of staying on the bleeding edge of the eclectic sixties music scene and the dynamic, experimental offerings at Woburn simply confirm the truth of that proposition.  

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Woburn was produced by Janie Hendrix, John McDermott and Eddie Kramer and features a special essay and never before published photos of the concert.  The album was mastered by

George Marino at Sterling-Sound. It represents, the latest entry in the Experience Hendrix's acclaimed series created to service the continued interest in newly discovered recordings by the legendary guitarist.  The audio source for Live At Woburn was drawn from the stage soundboard and is in keeping with Dagger’s policy of releasing historically significant Hendrix recordings that are properly annotated and offer reasonable sonic quality, such as the recent Paris ‘67/San Francisco ’68 releases. 

Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix, LLC, co-producer of Live At Woburn explains, "with my father's enthusiastic blessing, Dagger Records was devised as an avenue to fulfill the request of all the 'Jim worshipers' out there for material that may not meet the highest sound quality standards but more than satisfies their need for an even deeper insight into Jimi's creative process.  We think Live At Woburn is a perfect addition to the Dagger catalog and we are confident that fans will agree."

More on the release at DaggerRecords.com.  

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Woburn track listing- Introduction                                                   1:07

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band           1:11

Fire                                                              3:19

Tax Free                                                      10:11

Red House                                                    11:30

Foxey Lady                                                   4:55

Voodoo Child (Slight Return)                           6:38

Purple Haze                                                  8:10