Jimi Hendrix recorded live Band of Gypsys album

Band of Gypsys Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: January 1, 1970 – live at Fillmore East in New York City Released: March 25, 1970 Peak: 5 US, 6 UK, 5 CN, 4 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 7.81 EAS Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Who Knows [9:34] Machine Gun [12:38] Changes [5:11] Power of Soul (aka “Power to Love” and “With the Power”) [6:55] Message to Love (aka “Message of Love”) [5:24] We Gotta Live Together [5:51] Hear My Train A Comin’ * [9:02] Foxey Lady * [6:33] Stop * [4:47] * bonus tracks on 1991 Polydor Europe and Japan CD rerelease Total Running Time: 45:16 Other Songs Recorded in This Era (12/18/69 to 1/1/70): Burning Desire Hoochie Coochie Man Earth Blues Baggy’s Jam The Players: Jimi Hendrix (guitar, vocals) Billy Cox (bass, vocals) Buddy Miles (drums, vocals)

Rating: 3.854 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Forming a New Lineup Following the breakup of the Experience, Hendrix took a sabbatical in Woodstock, New York, hooked up with bassist Billy Cox, his old Air Force running mate, and began jamming with a wide variety of musicians, including R&B drummer Buddy Miles. Hendrix had become self-conscious about his image as a showman and rocker, and about the limitations of thrashing through the same repertoire night after night. His new trio, known as Band of Gypsys, was an attempt by Hendrix to redefine himself, and in a way heralded his return to the ethos of the blues and R&B. Live Shows During their brief tenure as a band, Band of Gypsys played four shows at the Fillmore East to close out the 1960s. Hendrix and Co. mixed newer songs alongside material he’d done with the Experience. “The reading of Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) starts out in a straightforward enough manner before Hendrix begins destroying worlds with a high-flying style that dances around the edges of self-indulgence into a place of pure genius.” CD-F “Newer songs such as Earth Blues and Who Knows ooze with synergy, particularly between Cox and Hendrix.” CD-F “Message of Love and Power of Soul demonstrate [Hendrix’s] remarkable ability to provide a simultaneous rhythm accompaniment and melodic counterpoint to his vocals, in the blues tradition of Robert Johnson.” CD-F “Machine Gun is a gut-wrenching masterpiece that Hendrix never had a chance to perfect in the studio.” WA “It features a “long, intensely emotional improvisation” CD complete with “the screeches of bombs and gunfire.” CD “Unlike his tenure with the Experience, Hendrix shares the spotlight with his new trio, with Buddy Miles performing a mini-set of We Gotta Live Together, Changes, and a cover of Howard Tate’s Stop.” CD Buddy Miles: Pro or Con? Miles “lasted only a few months thanks to” WA “second-rate R&B entertainer's vapid showmanship” WA and “having none of Mitch Mitchell’s startling technical proficiency.” WA Mixed opinions of Miles lead to one stance that this recording “is mired in a derivative, monotonous soul/R & B style that is totally uncharacteristic of Hendrix’'s other work” WA and another opinion that this “was markedly different from Hendrix’s work with Experience, but rivals it in terms of scope, vision, and beauty.” CD An Album The original Band of Gypsys was “released to meet contractual obligations.” WA “In 1999, the Hendrix family released two discs worth of selections from the same concerts (apparently leaving off some of the original takes) and retitled the collection Live at Fillmore East.” WA The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Burning Desire Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City Released: Loose Ends (1974), The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.25 streaming About the Song: A

Hoochie Coochie Man Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Willie Dixon Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City Released: Loose Ends (1974), The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song: A

Earth Blues Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City; 12/19/69 at Record Plant Studios Released: The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002), People, Hell and Angels (2013) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.39 streaming About the Song: A

Baggy’s Jam Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City; 12/19/69 at Record Plant Studios Released: The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002), Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song: A

Changes Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Buddy Miles Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City; 1/1/70 live at Fillmore East in New York City Released: Band of Gypsys (1970), The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002) Peak: 19 CL Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.53 streaming About the Song: A

Power of Soul (aka ‘With the Power”) Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City; live: 1/1/70 at Fillmore East in New York City; studio: 1/21/70 and 2/3/70 Released: live: Band of Gypsys (1970); studio: Crash Landing (1975), South Saturn Delta (1997), The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002), Both Sides of the Sky (2018) Peak: 23 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.00 streaming About the Song: A

Message to Love (aka “Message of Love” and “Message to the Universe”) Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City; studio: 12/19/69 and 1/20/70 at Record Plant in New York City; live: 1/1/70 at Fillmore East in New York City Released: live: Band of Gypsys (1970); studio: Crash Landing (1975), South Saturn Delta (1997), The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002) Peak: 31 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.04 streaming About the Song: A

We Gotta Live Together Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Buddy Miles Recorded: 12/18/69 or 12/19/69 at Baggy’s in New York City; 1/1/70 live at Fillmore East in New York City Released: Band of Gypsys (1970), The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions (2002) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.94 streaming About the Song: A

Machine Gun Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: studio: 8/29/69 at the Hit Factory in New York; live: 1/1/70 at Fillmore East in New York City Released: live: Band of Gypsys (1970); studio: Midnight Lightning (1975) Peak: 14 CL Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 27.32 streaming About the Song: A

Who Knows Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix Recorded: 1/1/70 live at Fillmore East in New York City Released: Band of Gypsys (1970) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 11.44 streaming About the Song: A

Stop Jimi Hendrix

Writer(s): Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman Recorded: 1/1/70 live at Fillmore East in New York City Released: Band of Gypsys (1970) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.0 streaming About the Song: A

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review of Band of Gypsys AZ Amazon.com review of Valleys of Neptune CD-B CD Universe review of Band of Gypsys CD-F CD Universe review of Live at Fillmore East WA Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews MM Matt Melis, Consequence of Sound review of Valleys of Neptune WK Wikipedia page for Valleys of Neptune JZ Jonathan Zwickel, The Seattle Times review of Valleys of Neptune Related DMDB Pages: First posted 1/26/2009; last updated 7/31/2026.