Come On And Get Live (Axis-04A/B)
Sporthalle, Cologne, Germany. 13th Jan 1969 + Second show live in Frankfurt, Germany. 17th Jan 1969 + bonus track, Live at “BEAT BEAT BEAT”, Germany TV 1967
Disc 1 Sporthalle, Cologne, Germany – January 13th, 1969: Come On (part 1), Foxy Lady, Red House, Voodoo Child (slight return), Fire, Spanish Castle Magic, Hey Joe, Sunshine Of Your Love, Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze
Disc 2 Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany (2nd show) – January 17th, 1969: Come On (part 1), Fire, Red House, I Don’t Live Today, Little Wing, Foxy Lady, Sunshine Of Your Love, Hey Joe/Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (final song cut after a couple minutes). Bonus tracks, “Beat Beat Beat” German TV – 1967: Stone Free, Hey Joe
The first disc is another soundboard recording liberated from the vaults. Just like on Electric Church Magic, Axis thanks Eddie Kramer for the tape. It is very good and enjoyable (most of the time) but is filled with drop outs, cuts (between songs) and distortion which would not be appropriate for an official release. It sounds like Axis simply downloaded the show from the Experience Hendrix website.
The show begins with Jimi telling the crowd to forget about what happened outside before the show and to sit down, and then the heavy show begins. Compared to the Stockholm shows here Jimi is much more tight and adventurous. Just hear the solo in “Come On”. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” is very good (without the drum solo this time), and “Sunshine Of Your Love” is extended with a funky jam that is unbelievable. The set closes with the “Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze” medley.
The second disc with the evening show from Frankfurt similiarly came from a download from the Experience Hendrix website. Axis applied some heavy duty equalization to make the tape sound better than it was and succeeded. It sounds much more full and louder. The only residue is the common metallic sound in the background that has plagued many Zeppelin (Wendy, Magnificent, Celebration), Stones (Exile) and Beatles (BMW) releases. This is the second tape source that surfaced for this date mislabeled by collectors as being from Stuttgart. Whatever the case, the second show in Frankfurt is another incendiary performace from Jimi. The finale with the “Hey Joe/Purple Haze” is great. It’s a pity “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” is cut after a couple of minutes.
The bonus tracks are from the German TV show “Beat” and are standard broadcast performances of the two tracks. I wish they would lighten up on the mastering process and let the tapes breath how they were meant to.
