Jimi Hendrix: Inside the Experience

This book is worth it's weight in gold. To hear the story told from Mitch's side is very interesting, especially if you are a drummer. If you were inspired by either Mitch or Jimi I highly recommend this book. The book reveals some very informative behind the scene stories and events (some which are quite historic). One thing that really impresses me is how Mitch talked about his relationships with Buddy Miles, and Ginger Baker. From a drummers standpoint, that is what it's all about, we are all brothers. Reading the book gives you a chance to relive the days of the Experience when Jimi, Mitch, Noël, Buddy Miles, and Billy Cox were rolling full stream ahead. Unfortunately Jimi left us much too soon, thank you Mitch Mitchell for sharing your experience with us. From end to end, this book is a treasure. Thank you for your time.

First off, I'll tell you what I think is good about this book. It is loaded with historical details from the heyday of Jimi's career. There are numerous comments that give life to the incredibly hectic touring and recording career which went a long way towards sapping the life from one of rock music's most creative forces. It's easy to look back at Jimi's life and see how the business contributed to the situations surrounding his death but back then, it seems, life was just a blur. In this regard, perhaps Mitch Mitchell has just given us an honest account of the time, because Inside The Experience does not seem to be as full of introspection as I'd expected. I would have been tempted to give this book three stars had I written the review back when the book was published. However, I just re-read it and now see that Mitchell's treatment, while not capable of inspiring much deep thought in the reader, does appear to be somehow proper in that it shows how difficult it must have been to have any semblence of coherent thought while living in the pop vortex. Here's to hoping that Mitch will someday take this book as a template to start from, then really dig deep into his inner being to tell more clearly what it felt like from his perspective, not only during the Experience's heyday, but also afterwards, when the glow receded and his new reality came into focus.

For anyone who wants to get an idea of what it was like to travel with and be a part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, then this book is for you.Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for the Experience, writes his personal memoirs of the years with Hendrix on the road, along with rare photographs of rocks greatest guitarist.