Jimi Hendrix - Live At Monterey (2007, DVD)

This is the long awaited DVD version of a film that I've had on VHS for many years.The three disc Monterey Pop DVD box set does have a version of this film,but also on that DVD is the performance by the great Otis Redding and it doesn't have the extras that this DVD has.It seemed only natural that Experience Hendrix,the company run by Jimi's half-sister,would release their version of it and,by including the extras,make it enticing to the buyer that already has this footage.The concert itself is the same as on previous releases with no additional footage(except,perhaps,Brian Jones' introduction and Jimi's between song stage banter)and any filmed performance footage of the song,"Can You See Me" is still missing(reportedly,the filmmaker's(D.A. Pennebaker)crew ran out of film during this performance and the cannisters weren't loaded quickly enough to capture it,but,thankfully,the audio survived).So if you've already seen this movie you won't be seeing anything different,but one of the extras on this DVD is the access to multiple,previously unseen camera angles for a few of the songs.Also included is a documentary on the rise of Jimi Hendrix in England before performing at Monterey(where he was virtually unknown).This documentary includes a new interview with Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell as well as previous interviews with the late Chas Chandler(the Jimi Hendrix Experience's first manager)and the late Noel Redding(the Experience's first bassist).In addition,there is also the earliest known filmed footage of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in concert on February 25,1967,in Chelmsford,England.Lastly,this DVD includes a rather boring interview with Lou Adler,one of Monterey Pop's co-founders.It's good that he survived the '60s,but he isn't particularly appealing to look at or listen to.Oh yeah...the obligatory booklet filled with notes and photos is included too(something a collector like me really appreciates).One thing that struck me as odd about this release was the way that it was packaged.The inside plastic that holds the DVD was made for two discs and this is a single DVD release.I read a review about this film on Amazon.com and the reviewer pointed this out,so I knew to expect this when I purchased my copy.He went on to say that perhaps the manufacturers had intended the buyer to also purchase the Hendrix Monterey CD and to put it there.I now have both the DVD and the CD and that is what I've done.