The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 10, 2018

Is there a future for Blu-ray audio? Well, to quote a certain seventies “mystic”, I’m no prophet and I don’t know nature’s ways, but I can state this with some authority: if the future of Blu-ray audio is maybe a bit questionable, its present seems to be relatively healthy, as evidenced by my review queue. Just over the past couple of weeks or so there has been a relative glut of really interesting audio Blu-ray releases, including Eagles: Legacy, The Beatles and this Jimi Hendrix release, which is coming out in two versions, the one with three CDs reviewed here and another, significantly spendier, version with six long playing vinyl discs (150 gram according to both our and the Amazon listing). Now, Sony may be "cheating" just a bit here since the Blu-ray disc included in this deluxe package also includes a video element (more about which below), but I suspect the real calling card for audiophiles is going to be the lossless audio versions of one of Hendrix's most iconic albums.

This release sports deluxe if potentially problematic packaging, at least for those who like to shelve all of their Blu-ray discs together. The release comes housed in what amounts to a hardback book which measures around 10.5" high by 12" wide by 1/2" deep. Inside the front cover are two pockets holding the first two CDs (the original Electric Ladyland and At Last. . .The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes), with the back cover holding the final CD (Live at the Hollywood Bowl) and the Blu-ray disc. (The Amazon listing, available by clicking on the "Buy now" link above, has complete track listings for all the CDs, so I won't repeat them here.)

The book itself is beautifully put together, with a ton of archival photos of not just Jimi and the band, but Jimi's handwritten lyrics and other notes he made during the making of the album. There are what amount to complete "liner notes" on all of the audio included in the package, with track by track accountings in some instances. Eddie Kramer also contributes some writing about the 5.1 remixes. All in all, this makes for a spectacular package that should certainly be appreciated by any Hendrix fan.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Electric Ladyland's video content proves that our specs can only go so far in describing some releases. As mentioned above, while many (maybe even most) will consider this an "audio Blu-ray", it does have a concert video included on the Blu-ray disc. The actual album features a slideshow (see screenshots 11 - 19 for examples) which is encoded via AVC in 1080p. On the other hand, the documentary is delivered via MPEG-2 in 720i (the first time I remember ever seeing an interlaced presentation in this particular resolution, though I admittedly may be forgetting something I've reviewed along the way). The stills that cycle through the "audio" presentation all look reasonably sharp and well detailed, as hopefully the above referenced screenshots can help to show. The documentary (seen in screenshots 1 - 10) definitely has the look of upscaled video, with some pretty prevalent combing artifacts and/or aliasing on things like guitar strings and the like, as well as occasional haloing and other signs of digital processing. Nothing is downright horrible, but the video element of this release is probably best appreciated as a "bonus", rather than one of the selling points of the package.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Electric Ladyland features three 96/24 audio mixes, LPCM 2.0, LPCM 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This is one release where, after having listened to all three versions, I highly recommend those who pick up this release do the very same — i.e., listen to all three versions, since there are manifest differences between them and in some cases some kind of unusual anomalies that I can't really account for. Listening to all three is especially warranted given that Sony has authored the Blu-ray disc a little clunkily so that audio options can't be changed on the fly. You have to either exit to the Main Menu and pick an audio option there, or utilize Pop Up Menu, which unfortunately starts whatever track you're on over from the beginning with whatever "new" audio choice you've made. While "purists" will probably want to stick with the original stereo version, as Eddie Kramer gets into in some of the notes included in the hardback book, he's absolutely convinced Jimi would have loved the surround mix strategy, especially since he was already pushing the sonic envelope in terms of some of the more outré effects like out of phase instruments he used. The stereo track actually at least occasionally offers some panning that isn't that discernable in either of the surround mixes, as in the opening of Crosstown Traffic. The surround mixes typically offer brilliant clarity and separation, giving new brilliance to elements like the cool guitars that start off Little Miss Strange. All of this said, there are a couple of pecularities I noticed that I can't quite explain. Compare, for example, just the opening second or two of And the Gods Made Love between the three versions, and there's a clear if momentary "buzz" on the LPCM 5.1 track that is nowhere to be heard on either the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 track. Similarly, on Have You Ever Been (to Electric Ladyland)?, there's a brief "cycling" frequency that can be heard on the LPCM 2.0 version that I personally didn't discern on either of the surround tracks. All three tracks offer typically superb clarity, and some of the overdubbed guitar effects are especially spacious sounding in either of the surround versions.

Note: For those who are, like I am, occasionally slow on the uptake, the Main Menu for the Blu-ray disc actually has audio of Jimi and the boys playing. I actually thought for a moment the album had started automatically at disc boot, as it tends to do on some audio Blu-ray releases, but it hadn't; you have to hit the "Play Album" selection to actually start it.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In a package like this, one man's "supplement" may be another man's "main feature", so to speak, and so it's a little hard to give an accurate detailing of bonus content, other than to list everything in this package. Above is a brief detailing of the three CDs included, as well as the printed material found in the hardback book, but the Blu-ray disc includes the following in addition to the three audio mixes of the original album:

• At Last. . .The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland (720i; 1:26:52) is listed as an "extended" version of the documentary, but having never seen it before, I can't authoritatively talk to what may or may not have been added. This is a consistently interesting "behind the music" type affair that offers a bunch of talking heads discussing the album, along with some appealing archival material featuring Jimi himself. I have to say I had a genuine "LOL" moment when it's revealed that part of the album was written in my birthplace of Salt Lake City, hardly the "environment" I personally would think of as inspiring Jimi, at least given its kind of "white bread" reputation (which in fact may not be completely deserved).

Note: My 5.0 score for supplements is based on the entire package, not just the video "supplement" (if you're describing it as such) included on the Blu-ray disc.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As an unrepentant audiophile, one who regularly takes "regular" Blu-ray releases to task when they don't include lossless audio, I'm more than thrilled with the sudden appearance of so many high profile audio Blu-rays, even if in this particular instance there's at least a bit of a video element as well. Hendrix fans should be over the moon with this release, which is sumptuously packaged and comes with a veritable glut of audio on the three CDs. There are a few passing peculiarities on the Blu-ray disc that some may find momentarily a bit odd, but otherwise this is a sterling release that easily comes Highly recommended.