Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix
by Charles R. Cross
Book Summary Information
Author: Charles R. CrossEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-08-08
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Hyperion
Book Reviews of Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix
Book Review: I've got a humming bird and it hums so loud you'd think you were losing your mind
Summary: 5 Stars
Room Full of Mirrors was an excellent biography of Jimi Hendrix. Author Charles R. Cross conducted extensive interviews with everyone he could find who knew Jimi; and the story that emerges is one of a sensitive musician who couldn't handle his sudden fame, and was leading a wild life of excess that culminated in his tragic death from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. His story is told very fairly, without being too judgmental, but also without white washing over Jimi's human faults and foibles.
-------------
Way up in my tree I'm sitting by my fire
Wond'rin' where in this world might you be
And knowin' all the time you're still roamin' in the country side
Do you still think about me?
==========================
Cross did an excellent job of sorting and filtering many conflicting accounts of the life of this complex artist. He didn't seem to have any particular axe to grind, but would take sides if he felt that one version of the story had more merit than another. For instance, the woman who was with Jimi when he died was not the most credible witness and Cross casts doubt on her account of Hendrix's final hours.
---------------
Hurrah I awake from yesterday
alive but the war is here to stay
so my love Catherina and me
decide to take our last walk
through the noise to the sea
not to die but to be re-born
away from a world so tattered and torn....
forever...
=======================
There are plenty of little scenes that illuminate just how a shy kid from Seattle became the madman genius guitar slingin' Voo Doo Child. Jimi decided he wanted to play guitar at a young age and would "practice" for hours, even though it was just a broom he was holding, pretending it was a guitar. Later, he would show just as much dedication with a guitar, playing it upside down because he was left handed. His father thought he should play it the standard way, and when his dad came home during the middle of Jimi's wood shedding he would have to flip it over. This versatility no doubt came in handy, as he later learned to play it with his teeth or behind his back.
--------------
Oh! Move over, Rover
and let Jimi take over
Yeah, you know what I'm talking 'bout
Yeah, get on with it, baby
That's what I'm talking 'bout
Now dig this!
Ha!
Now listen, baby
============================
Seattle was a city of diverse ethnicity that exposed him to Black Music, but also primitive rock and roll like The Kingsmen, famed for a cover of Louie, Louie, that seminal rock and roll anthem. One of the local clubs where he got his start was called the Spanish Castle, and he would pen a song about it. Later, he joined the military and was stationed in the South. This led to him playing the R&B circuit and going out on the road, playing with groups such as Little Richard and the Isley Brothers. He picked up a lot of tricks and there were showdowns with great guitarists that Jimi Hendrix lost, but he took his defeats as inspiration, and developed his own style, based on the blues but at the same time transcending it.
--------------
Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted,
They quietly understand
Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready,
But wonder why the fight is on
But they're all bold as love, yeah; they're all bold as love
Yeah, they're all bold as love
Just ask the axis
========================
Woodstock, The Monterey Pop Festival, The Plaster Casters, London--it is all here in a Room Full of Mirrors. One of my favorite stories is one where Jimi goes back to his old High School--Garfield High--and asks to hold an assembly to address the students. He was unable to get a guitar, and found that without one he was too shy to speak much. The students were annoyed at this strange hippie, and could see no reason why they should've listened to anything he had to say. It is a very sad scene, but you can't help but wonder, if only he had a guitar, they would have heard him talking with it and known that he had a lot to say.
-----------
If you can just get your mind together
then come across to me
We'll hold hands an' then we'll watch the sun rise
from the bottom of the sea
But first
Are You Experienced?
Ah! Have you ever been experienced?
Well, I have
=======================
Charles R. Cross has written a compelling biography of Jimi Hendrix, and the only thing I can say bad about it is that I would have liked to have read much more about his guitar playing and music, but there are plenty of other books and DVDs that plumb the depths of that subject.
Are You Experienced? by Jimi Hendrix
Axis: Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix
Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix
Band of Gypsys by Jimi Hendrix
First Rays of the New Rising Sun by Jimi Hendrix
Guitar World -- How to Play the Best of the Jimi Hendrix Experiences Electric Ladyland (DVD) by Andy Aledort
Guitar World: How to Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Axis: Bold as Love by Andy Aledort
Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross
Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight by Edward E Kramer & John McDermott
Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy by Harry Shapiro & Caesar Glebbeek
---------------
Well, she's walking through the clouds,
With a circus mind that's running wild,
Butterflies and Zebras,
And Moonbeams and fairy tales.
That's all she ever thinks about.
Riding with the wind.
=========================
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