Music history in the making

There haven’t been that many nights in rock ‘n’ roll when you could say after a performance that music will probably never be the same again, but two marvelous new DVDs let us revisit two such evenings.

“The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965,” which will be released Oct. 30, takes us back to the night in 1965 when Dylan outraged folk purists at Newport by going “electric” with a rock ‘n’ roll band.

Similarly, “The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live at Monterey,” which arrived in stores Tuesday, shows the largely unknown guitarist captivating the crowd at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 with equal parts charisma and virtuosity.

Together, Dylan, through the power and majesty of his words, and Hendrix, chiefly with his guitar wizardry, lifted rock ‘n’ roll to a more artful and ambitious level.

Bob Dylan

“The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965”

(CMV/Columbia/Legacy)

The back story: Dylan was only 22 when he made his first Newport appearance, and he looked even younger as he was joined by Joan Baez on “With God on Our Side” during an afternoon workshop at the festival.

By the time he returned to Newport the following year, Dylan was the darling of folk music and he looked far more confident and polished. Johnny Cash even slipped a Dylan tune (“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”) into his own set.

But it’s Dylan’s dramatic performance at the 1965 festival that is at the heart of this disc because he used the appearance to formally declare he was moving from acoustic folk to turbocharged rock ‘n’ roll, a move that angered many folk purists.

The hostility surfaced as soon as Dylan, who followed the tradition-minded Cousin Emmy on the bill, opened his brief electric set with “Maggie’s Farm,” a blistering statement of artistic independence.

In his 1986 biography “No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan,” Robert Shelton reported that there was a flurry of boos as Dylan finished the tune. “Bring back Cousin Emmy,” someone shouted.

When Dylan and his band then tore into “Like a Rolling Stone,” the audience response became even more heated. “Play folk music,” one fan yelled, according to Shelton. Snapped another, “Sellout!”

Watching the moment on the DVD is fascinating because it comes across as pure chaos: Dylan’s determination colliding with the fury of the audience.

When Dylan returned to the stage with an acoustic guitar for the encore, the jeering stopped as Dylan sang “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

But his choice of a closing song made it clear that Dylan wasn’t going to back down from his rock ‘n’ roll pursuit, and he eventually showed that you can maintain the purity and social consciousness of folk music in a rock context. However, on that night, the words of that farewell song must have felt like a slap in the face to the Newport audience: “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

Some of the footage in this disc already appeared in “Festival,” Murray Lerner’s 1967 documentary about Newport, but most of it appears here for the first time. Also directed by Lerner, “The Other Side of the Mirror” is an absorbing document.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

“The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live at Monterey”

(Experience Hendrix/Geffen/UME)

The back story: Hendrix was 24 when he stepped on stage at Monterey with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Though already something of a sensation in Europe, Hendrix and mates were making their U.S. debut at Monterey, where they were introduced by Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones.

Even after all this time, you can’t help but marvel at Hendrix’s energy and passion, both as a performer and a guitarist, as he moves in the Monterey set between such songs as “Foxey Lady” and “Wild Thing.”

Though he also sang, it was his guitar virtuosity that ignited the imagination of the rock world. Indeed, Hendrix sacrifices some of his power when he sings a song, such as Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” that requires a focus on the words.

His spectacular instincts are better displayed when he’s devoting all his energy to the guitar, creating urgency on lines like “Excuse me while I kiss the sky” (during “Purple Haze”) that he makes you feel he really is capable of pressing his lips against the heavens.

The DVD, which contains all existing footage shot by director D.A. Pennebaker for the “Monterey Pop” film crew, also allows you to see Hendrix’s performance from three different camera angles. There is also some documentary footage and a brief earlier Hendrix club date in England. Like “Mirror,” this is an essential moment in pop culture.

Further listening: Both DVDs are accompanied by new CD retrospectives. In Dylan’s case, “Dylan” is a three-disc set that contains 50 digitally remastered selections drawn from his entire career, “Song to Woody” to “When the Deal Comes Down.” The Hendrix CD, with same title as the DVD, contains the music from Monterey.

Further viewing: Both “The Other Side of the Mirror” and “Festival” will be shown Nov. 1 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as part of American Cinematheque’s Mods & Rockers Festival. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. double bill are on sale now; details at www.modsandrockers.com.

Backtracking, a biweekly feature, highlights CD reissues and other historical pop music items.