Hendrix was taking a step in a different direction in his, "latter" years. He was really tired of playing flashy, and being expected to play Purple Haze everynight. If you watch videos from 69-70 you will see a much more subdued Jimi....but he gave us much richer performances....(Machine Gun...Band of Gypsys....or Hear My Train Comin'..off Jimi Plays Berkeley). I think he was really concentrating of making better music, and ditching the gimmicks that brought him a huge amount of attention. (He was the highest paid act in the world for a time)....I think had he lived, we may have seen an entirely different side of Hendrix, like the posthumous album Cry of Love....songs like Angel...not sure if they would have been well received. Its possible he could he faded in popularity.....but I prefer not to think of that scenario......