Starting at Zero: His
Own Story – Jimi Hendrix (Bloomsbury Press)
Mix an unnaturally short life with a legendary musical
genius and an insatiable desire to cash in on that genius and you are bound to
end up with mountains of material that is half baked and certainly not well
done. Thus is the afterlife of Jimi Hendrix musical, documentary and written
output; a never ending search for ways to ruthlessly repackage and sell this
musical icon. It has lead to some amazing battles both legal and personal for
those trying to control the Hendrix empire and has often left his fans holding
the short end of the stick.
I have to give the folks who put together Starting at Zero: His Own Story by Jimi Hendrix some credit for a
bit of high concept. Alan Douglas, who met Hendrix backstage at Woodstock and
went on to become his producer and documentary filmmaker Peter Neal crafted
this book using Henrix’ own words from countless interviews collected over the
course of all-too-brief career; in a sense, giving us Hendrix story in his own
words.
There is a jigsaw puzzle quality to the book as Neal, the
film maker responsible for the 1967 30 minute documentary Experience, is charged with piecing together and editing the story
which follows Hendrix from his early life through his time in the military and
then on to musical heights.
Undoubtedly there will be cries of exploitation and cashing
in from some corners but there is a sense that this carefully crafted book is a
true labor of love for Douglas and Neal. While some parts will be a rehash for
Hendrix diehards, overall I get the sense that they tread very lightly on the
editing of things and truly left the sense and spirit of Hendrix in his own
words and story.
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