Jimi Hendrix – Isle Of Wight

This is the way that entire Isle of Wight concert should sound. I much prefer the sound of this album to the Blue Wild Angel release. I think they used too much reverb or processing on that release. It fatigues my ears. I actually love the mono unprocessed version too, found in underground circles. I wish they redid the whole concert to sound like this album.

Same matrix but I dont have stamp on front cover and instead have stamp on back saying LIMITED EDITION BOX SET. any help

Same matrix but I dont have stamp on front cover and instead have stamp on back saying LIMITED EDITION BOX SET. any help

This lp EXPLODES off the turntable! It really does sound like you're at the show. AMAZING mix, mastering, and pressing!

I agree with TimBucknall below, to this day, I have never heard a better live recording. The sound presence is staggering, with Mitchell's double bass drum, set up, Cox's low-end bass guitar tone, and Hendrix's cutting Stratocaster, all working in harmony with each other. The engineer Carlos Olms has done an exemplary mixing job, by bringing about a wide angle stereo field, along with maximum separation. Polydor's vinyl from the 1970s never seems fail, even when they were producing vinyl for the RSO label.

the kind of record that make people say "my 71 original LP sounds waaay better than than your new very limited half speed remastered definitive exclusive 45 rpm collector 180 grams audiophile version"

This LP sounds amazing!, its almost like listening to a surround sound system!
whatever was done with the mixing/recording of this album its like being there. do the full releases sound this immersive?
Jimi's amp is picking up what sounds to my ears like Radio Moscow, I love how it sounds when Jimi lays out and the babble of shortwave voices is left to accompany the drums, very cool indeed! like how a modern band would use samples

Jimi returns back to a more "Experience" sound with this concert recorded shortly before his death. Hendrix was quite frustrated with the show's equipment not working correctly at times and even allowing for radio feedback to come in on the PA! It would almost be amusing if this wasn't Hendrix in his last moments, as it were. The playing here is superb, and we're treating to versions of classic songs that when removed from their studio albums are given enough room for Jimi to go deep with his solos and approach. Billy Cox on bass handles the bottom rhythms nicely. For a PA recording, this mix doesn't sound all that bad, and three musicians come through nicely (even if Mitch Mitchell's drums are occasionally buried). This album would largely be nullified much later by the complete concert release (Wild Blue Angel), but supposedly 'Isle of Wight' uses a different mix, plus it's how the world originally heard the Isle of Wight concert. Curiously only available in North America by import. And also curious is that the photo isn't even from the concert.

One lf the best renditions of the mighty watchtower! Awesome album!

Recorded just weeks before his death, this is one of his very last concerts. Apparently there were all sorts of issues with the organisation of the festival, and there were equipment problems, the most obvious being them occasionally picking up the security's walkie talkies through the monitors. In some ways it's a bit of a disappointing finale to his career, he's seems a little tired or to be just going through the motions on much of this, maybe he was just getting tired of the band screaming out for Fire and Wild Thing, but at times the playing is as sublime as ever, and it's interesting to see how the band with Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell continues to expand their style. Billy Cox makes the ensemble work much better than Noel Redding ever did, a fine example being where Hendrix sits out for some time on what is easily the longest of my 20 versions of Foxy Lady. The full set is available on the album "Blue Wild Angel: Live at The Isle of Wight" and I'm not sure why they didn't release a double album first time around. I don't think is necessarily even the best selection of songs from the gig so I'd recommend getting Blue Wild Angel instead. This isn't his finest performance, but they're all unique, so if you haven't heard it, and you're a Hendrixphile, you need to.