It was the very last night of the ‘60s and the very first night of the ‘70s and Jimi Hendrix was on fire, playing new music in New York. There’s a lot of symbolism to be found in that for sure: So much more than a turning of the calendar page, these concerts were pointers, away from one thing and headfirst into another. Accompanied by a new trio—Band of Gypsys, with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles— Hendrix was intent on unveiling a new funkier, jazzier, perhaps darker sound. He’d play some of the oldies, sure—”Fire,” “Foxey Lady,” “Wild Thing,” “Purple Haze,” even “Voodoo Child”—but his heart was clearly in his new, untested material, with titles like “Machine Gun,” “Stepping Stone” and “Earth Blues.” The covers that he indulged in, too, were deep and soulful: Jimmy Hughes’ “Steal Away,” Elmore James’ “Bleeding Heart,” Howard Tate’s “Stop.” Where was Hendrix going? Was he truly shedding who he had been for the past few years? Maybe his crowd wasn’t quite sure, but they knew it was a new experience and that they were lucky to witness it. The five CDs (or eight LPs) that gather up the music performed in those four sets put the original 1970 Band of Gypsys album into a much larger context, and expand on our understanding of what Hendrix envisioned for the new decade. Much of the set is previously unreleased; all of it is astounding. Jimi Hendrix was brave to ask his people to spend their New Year’s weekend allowing him to realign their perception of him, and he made it worth everyone’s while.