Jimi Hendrix’s Acclaimed Live Album Band Of Gypsys Set for 50th-Anniversary Vinyl Reissue

By Daniella Boik  |  February 6, 2020 | 12:01pm
Photo by Joe Sia/Wolfgang's
Music News Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix’s Acclaimed Live Album Band Of Gypsys Set for 50th-Anniversary Vinyl Reissue

Band of Gypsys, the iconic live record by legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, is set to be re-released by Capitol/UMe on March 27 as a special 50th-anniversary edition.

The album has been remastered from all original analog stereo tapes and Quality Record Pressings have pressed it on 180-gram black vinyl, as well as limited-edition color pressings on 180-gram translucent cream, red, yellow and green swirl vinyl for the special edition.

All editions of the Band of Gypsys 50th anniversary LP will include a booklet filled with rare shots from the concerts, as well as a replica of Capitol Records’ original promotional Band of Gypsys poster.

The six-track record is a collection of two historic performances at New York’s Fillmore East on New Year’s Day 1970. Made up of funky, R&B sounds from bassist Billy Cox, an old friend from Hendrix’s early days, and the fusion of rock ‘n’ roll drumming from Buddy Miles and the slaying away on the electric guitar by Hendrix, Band Of Gypsys is made up of three very talented musicians coming together to create live album magic.

The six then-unreleased songs feature album favorite “Machine Gun,” a 12-minute anti war piece in which Hendrix, who served time in the U.S. Army, shouts out all those fighting in the Vietnam War.

Janie Hendrix, sister of Jimi Hendrix, and President and CEO of Experience Hendrix, explains in a statement, “He demonstrated that there was no limit to his musical landscape. It was broad and beautiful, and like the leader of a true band of gypsies, Jimi could go anywhere on the spectrum of genres and be at home there musically! This is our way of celebrating that part of Jimi’s journey.”

When the album was originally released on March 25, 1970, it peaked at #5 during a 61-week run on the Billboard album chart and after Hendrix’s death in September 1970, it was his bestselling U.S. album since Are You Experienced, which was his first-ever studio album. Band of Gypsys was the last album Hendrix released, and in just six songs, it shows off how his guitar skills were and still are unmatched.

Check out the reissue’s full tracklist and packshot below, beneath a 1970 Jimi Hendrix Experience performance from the Paste archives. You can preorder Band Of Gypsys now here.

Band Of Gypsys Tracklist:

SIDE A
01. Who Knows
02. Machine Gun

SIDE B
03. Changes
04. Power To Love
05. Message To Love
06. We Gotta Live Together
Hendrix-BandOfGypsys-Packshot.jpeg

 
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