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For all of the influence he has had on rock music and the shadow he casts to this day on his chosen instrument of electric guitar, it is startling to consider that two-thirds of Jimi Hendrix’s official studio output during his lifetime came in a single year – 1967. Let’s take a song-by song look back at that groundbreaking pair of albums – Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold As Love – from Hendrix, bassist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell, who dubbed themselves The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Are You Experienced

(Track Records (1967, UK); Reprise Records (1967, US); Currently out on Experience Hendrix/Geffen)

Side A

  A1. “Purple Haze”
From the ticking-clock opening to the crescendo finish, Hendrix sets the world alight much like he did his guitars at the end of every set. You really believe that he is kissing the sky with his instrument. Entire genres of music are unimaginable without this song as the template.

  A2. “Manic Depression”
A fascinating glimpse of the inner Hendrix emerges, as the lyrics are stripped of the cosmic imagery of which he was so fond. The music is coiled and tense, the perfect accompaniment for the “frustrating mess” to which Hendrix is referring. The guitar solo is anguished and cutting, and Mitchell drums like he’s trying to beat the demons away. Complicated stuff, yet enthralling.

  A3. “Hey Joe”
Here Hendrix takes a relatively recent song and makes it sound older than the hills. His love for the blues is indulged, as he gets down in the grit while the female backing vocals try to rise above it all. Redding and Mitchell are locked into the rhythm, allowing Hendrix to cut loose once he gets the chance in the middle section.

  A4. “Love Or Confusion”<
The detached voice playing off the wall of guitars produces psychedelic overload, but Hendrix keeps the problems of his everyday relationship front and center even while the music is in the clouds.

  A5. “May This Be Love”
Mitchell’s drums are the emphasis, setting an exotic table for Hendrix’ gentle singing and subtle guitar accents. Very pretty.

  A6. “I Don’t Live Today”
Hendrix isn’t sure how long he’s going to last in this bluesy stomper, but he’s certainly not going gently, as his guitar stings and growls and his voice sizzles with rage. The false ending and blistering re-start show Hendrix’s unique knack for arranging a song to achieve maximum drama. It’s a feedback orgy at the end.

Side B

  B1. “The Wind Cries Mary”
Proving they can do quiet with just as much aplomb as they did loud, the Experience do gentle justice to some of Hendrix’s finest Dylanesque lyrics. Hendrix always knew just the right touch for his solos; his effort here is beautifully sorrowful and resigned.

  B2. “Fire”
Hendrix and Redding double up on the unforgettable riff, allowing Jimi to scat over Mitchell’s rapid-fire attack. It’s catchy enough to be a pop hit without losing any of the incendiary qualities the band was known for.

  B3. “Third Stone From the Sun”
It’s mostly instrumental save for the eerie voices slowed down to sound like they were alien invaders and Hendrix’s brief spoken-word poetry interlude. The special effects date it a bit, but not bad for a groove.

  B4. “Foxy Lady”
The fade-up sets us up for that gigantic riff. That, and Hendrix’s seductive voice, is enough to carry this evergreen a long way.

  B5. “Are You Experienced?”
That clanging piano note holds the center amidst all of the backward drums and guitar in this psychedelic masterpiece. Why is it that songs like this one and “Strawberry Fields Forever”, each released in the same year four decades ago, sound a ton fresher than anything on the radio today? Hendrix invites everyone up to the astral plane that he inhabits. Listening to this song, we can get there no problem.

Additional Tracks Not on Original 1967 Vinyl Pressing

  E1. “Stone Free”
Hendrix had no use for those who would cramp his style, be it women or society as a whole, and he exercises his personal freedom in this cowbell-laden rocker. I like how he follows up “Turn me loose, baby” with an exhilarating solo, proving his point just fine.

  E2. “51st Anniversary”
The concept of time is toyed with in this quirky departure, as Hendrix retreats through the years to show the folly of marriage

  E3. “Highway Chile”
This is a jaunty piece of autobiography, as Hendrix defends the peripatetic life of a rock star. That stinging 5-note riff is like a wake-up call at the end of every verse, and the solo is typically mind-blowing.

  E4. “Can You See Me”
Pretty much a straightforward garage-blues, but it is impeccably played and sung nonetheless.

  E5. “Remember”
Jimi’s soulful, melodic side is often overlooked in favor of the guitar pyrotechnics. This little gem is just such an example of the softer side of Hendrix.

  E6. “Red House”
For those who prefer their Hendrix playing the blues with a capital “B,” this is the one for you. His guitar punctuations after every verse are endlessly varied and inventive, setting the standard for the Claptons and Allmans of the world to try and reach.

Go to Page 2 for a review of Axis: Bold as Love >>

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