Guitarded: The Jimi Hendrix Movie

This documentary was made three years after Jimi Hendrix's untimely death. It's by no means the definitive tale of Seattle's favorite son, but it's still engaging and highly recommended. Jimi Hendrix comes to vivid life in funny and touching recollections by family, friends and other legends of rock like Eric Clapton, and Mick Jagger.

Oh yeah, and there's Lou Reed, interviewed in his all-white leisure style suit with his tight 'fro. Yes, this film was definitely made in the 70s.

And, there's also priceless and hyperactive Little Richard footage where he talks about how he never got to tell Hendrix he knew he'd make it. Check it out here, guaranteed to crack you up:

This movie is fantastic because of all these memories and stories that paint Jimi Hendrix as an actual person-- not just an axe-wielding, drug addicted God. Some of the musical footage in the film we've seen a zillion times now, but if you get your head back to 1973, when the movie was made, you realize footage was not as readily available as it is now.

Movie crowds back then were eager to take in Hendrix' spectacular guitar work at Monterey and Isle of Wight, which sadly for many of us has paled only because in our era of instant gratification we have been completely oversaturated with it. Watching this movie made me wish I had lived during that time and also brought new depth to Hendrix's genius.

The musical portions of the film show Hendrix at Monterey ("Rock Me Baby," "Hey Joe," "Like a Rolling Stone," "Wild Thing"), Berkeley Community Theater ("Johnny B. Goode," "Purple Haze"), Woodstock ("Star Spangled Banner" again), Fillmore East ("Machine Gun" with the Band of Gypsies), Isle of Wight ("Red House," "In From the Storm"), the Marquee Club in London ("Purple Haze") and a fine acoustic solo on 12-string guitar ("Hear My Train a-Coming") filmed in London in 1967.

and here it is here for your viewing pleasure, enjoy.