The Bottom Line 2024 movie . Whose musical acts have recorded sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York during the 54 years since it began. Led Zeppelin, Carly Simon, and Stevie Wonder were among its first customers; none of them appear in the documentary about the establishment that is currently showing in theaters. Although it is initially visible, John McDermott’s film defies the rock-doc template by not depending on a star-studded cast of talking heads, which is one of its virtues.
centered on the idea and development of Electric Lady Studios, the first recording artist-owned commercial studio of its kind: In A Jimi Hendrix Vision, the year-long planning and construction process is examined, as Hendrix and his collaborators had to deal with cash flow disruptions and underground tributaries. The documentary may have been one or two degrees tighter, but it more than makes up for its lower glamour factor with a riveting story that is better told than Dave Grohl’s meandering Sound City, a higher-profile picture of a recording studio.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision
The Bottom Line
Revelatory and refreshingly low-key.
Release date: Friday, Aug. 9
Director: John McDermott
1 hour 30 minutes
The Bottom Line 2024 movie
The Bottom Line 2024 movie Including the individuals who built and managed Electric Lady in a setting of “creative chaos,” as studio manager Linda Sharlin so kindly describes it, McDermott’s uncomplicated oral history presents a fresh perspective on the life of a renowned performer and is full of intriguing asides.
Furthermore, it is nice to see Hendrix without the legendary lens of his premature demise. The movie has the official narrative stamp, as the second part of its title could imply: Jimi McDermott, the director, oversees Jimi’s record collection, while Experience Hendrix, the organization managing the musician’s legacy and led by his stepsister Janie Hendrix, produced the movie. Yes, this is a polite celebration, but it is also satisfyingly understated. The Bottom Line 2024 movie that you have heard of and are appreciative of one of the most talented players to ever pick up an electric guitar.
Only one month would pass after the studio’s August 1970 opening celebration before Hendrix would overdose and die. At Electric Lady, many of the key components of his vision from fifty years ago still hold true today. Furthermore, Eddie Kramer, a recording engineer who was instrumental in Hendrix’s studio endeavors and innovative sound design, states that “his soul is still there.” Kramer also plays a major role in the movie.
The saga begins with the purchase by Hendrix and his manager, Michael Jeffery, of Generation, a Greenwich Village basement blues club on West 8th Street, previously the country music venue Village Barn. (Next door was the 8th Street Playhouse cinema, which would be shuttered in 1991; occasional glimpses of the marquee, announcing such offerings as Mr. Hulot’s Holiday and the Czech drama The Most Beautiful Age, are a touch of nostalgia that will warm the hearts of art house fans.)
The Bottom Line 2024 movie A $1 million do-it-yourself project would result from the $50,000 investment. Hendrix’s original plan was to open a nightclub modeled by Cerebrum, the SoHo location that served as a sort of open-air loft party for gorgeous people on psychedelic trips. (Cerebrum shuttered less than a year after its November 1968 launch; it is hardly much remembered these days.)
In order to materialize his concept for a club featuring a small recording studio, Hendrix recruited John Storyk, the recently graduated architecture student who worked on Cerebrum. Then Kramer insisted that Hendrix turn the entire area into a studio, which was a prudent financial move considering the thousands of dollars the musician was paying for the rental of existing spaces. Thus, Storyk needed to gain some knowledge about the technical aspects of recording music. Subsequently, an additional twist emerged: Jim Marron, the nightclub manager employed to supervise the Electric Lady project, suggested that the studio emulate the ambiance and aesthetics of a club, serving as a venue for both labor and entertainment. Hendrix enthusiastically adopted this idea. He desired to combat the
Musicians Steve Winwood and Buddy Guy share a few words of wisdom, with the latter emphasizing how Electric Lady created “a way for a different form of recording,” a space where artists could take risks and “make accidents happen.” However, the focus of the documentary is primarily on the employees. McDermott enjoys quality time with Kramer and other Electric Lady engineers, including drummer Dave Palmer, whom Kramer recruited and trained; seasoned pro Shimon Ron; another enlistee, guitarist and synth player Kim King; and hanger-on turned studio assistant John Jansen.
McDermott had access to the music, no doubt about it, but he hardly ever plays Hendrix live. His focus is primarily on the scenes of Kramer, Palmer, and King at the Electric Lady mixing board in the present, remembering the recording sessions of some of Hendrix’s final songs, including “Freedom” and “Dolly Dagger.” It is evident that the engineers are reliving special times, and their passion for Hendrix and the unique blues-rock he created subtly permeates the performance in addition to their intimate understanding of Electric Lady’s acoustics and vibe.
The stories only hint to the mildest tension, much of which is the fault of people other than Hendrix. When his bandmates do comment, it is always in a positive light. In a video from the past, drummer Mitch Mitchell, who passed away in 2008, recalls how Hendrix was always excited to see other people perform live and how he would frequently accompany them onstage with his guitar in hand. Billy Cox, the bassist, talks about how they used to hang out in Hendrix’s Village apartment and eat strawberry upside-down cake.
The most surprising and beautiful parts come from McDermott’s inclusion of Hendrix’s home movies, which are street images that Jimi captured via the apartment window on 12th Street. These little pictures, which offer an artist’s eye perspective of his surroundings just a few blocks from the basement where he and a motley crew of devoted workers were realizing a dream, have an intimate, indescribable quality.
