>>>but some of their live shows are unlistenable. <<<

I disagree with this statement and also about his choice of musicians. Noel was a good root for Jimi, but Mitch, with his Elvin Jones influenced drumming was superb, one of the best rock drummers ever.  When Jimi started improvising into outer space, Mitch knew what to do.

I have heard countless bootlegs of Jimi's shows and they weren't sloppy at all.  A heck of a lot of improvising, tuning problems (if you bent the strings and used a tremolo bar like him, you would be tuning up all the time too. Those were pre-  Floyd Rose days, after all). ), and amplifier problems, but I think that actually added to the charm. Compare that to the overally rehearsed rock and pop shows of today.

 I agree Billy Cox on bass improved things. One, he was an old friend and probably helped provide some stability in those wacky 60s rock star days, but, most importantly, he was an excellent player.