special introductory paragraph!

In The Beginning

Are You Experienced?

Jimi Plays Monterey

Axis: Bold As Love

Electric Ladyland

Smash Hits

BBC Sessions

Live At Woodstock

In The West

Band Of Gypsys

Live At The Fillmore East

The Cry Of Love

Sky High

The Ultimate Experience

Blues

The Rainbow Bridge Concert

(Ian Moss reviews) First Rays of the New Rising Sun

In The Beginning - Shout 1972.

Reader Comments

kdion@mail.winstar.com (Keith Dion)
Hey Man...............

In the beginning you listed IS NOT JIMI HENDRIX, except for the track "She's a Fox".

It's a rip off of the finest order. Just more bad cash in attempts by John Branton, who was a studio engineer / producer for Lonnie Youngblood, who was a Harlem based sax player Jimi used to play with before he joined the Isley Brothers in 1964-65.

The Isley Brothers with Jimi have a GREAT LP also titles In the Beginning, this is one you should hunt down and find and review. Killer mid '60's R n B.

chowndey@hotmail.com (Robert Chaundy)
Thank you Prindle! Hunting High and Low is one of the greatest pop albums of the 1980s, up there with True Blue and...some other stuff. Everyone remembers Take On Me, but they frustratingly don't remember that it's a really great song. The rest of the album, apart from one minute-long sucker somewhere on side two, is more of the same: glorious, complex melodies, mournful Scandinavian-English lyrics and acrobatic high-pitched singing. Please get it - A-Ha were GOOD.

* Are You Experienced? - Reprise 1967. *

Incredible. I know it seems a bit obnoxious to call a guy a "limited songwriter" and then rave about how phenomenal one of his records is, but there I go. I did the same thing with Pete Townshend. He was a genius too, but some geniuses run dry a little quicker than others. This debut record steams - every damn noise his guitar makes just tears right through you. If it weren't for some awfully '60s-ish production, you'd never believe that this kinda kickass action was created 30 darn years ago.

Like I said, Jimi basically rewrote the history of the electric guitar with this record (buy it and listen for yourself, if you haven't already), and the songs are pretty much all classics too. Apparently there are several different versions of this LP floatin' around, but the one I have contains eleven tracks, most of which are beyond classic at this point - "Purple Haze" rocks, "Manic Depression" thrashes, "Hey Joe" grooves, "Love Or Confusion" boogies, "May This Be Love" sweats, "I Don't Live Today" tears, "The Wind Cries Mary" soothes, "Fire" licks, "Third Stone From The Sun" careens, "Foxey Lady" pounds, and "Are You Experienced?" totally surfs the Web. To the extreme!!! That's it. And that's all you need. Who rocked this hard and heavy in '67? Pink Floyd were weird and noisy, but even THEY didn't butt-out rock like this. The blues, the shoes, and a slaphappy afro white guy on traps, aww turn up the heat. Sure, it ain't no Slayer, but you have to start somewhere. I suggest right here.

No. Here.

Reader Comments

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
The best debut album ever. The best album of 1967. One of the top 10 rock records ever. While I would argue that Jimi made two masterpieces, this is definitely his triumph. Man. If you can point to an album with more incredible songs, please do (point to it). At least half are classics and the other half is just as good! You owe it to yourself to buy this album. I'd opt for the new Hendrix family rerelease, which contains the original album in its continuity and 6 cool bonus tracks. Jesus Christ. I'm gonna go listen to it now.

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
I echo most of Dave's comments. Though I can't call it the best debut album ever, that's more or less a personal taste thing. It's definitely in the top 5 best records ever (though not my personal top 5). This album kix more arse than any other album of its day fer sure brah. The only other album that I can compare it to in terms of sheer diversity of songwriting is Satriani's Flying In A Blue Dream.

Uhhhhh...I'm just comparing diversity here. I'm not making a statement and trying to elevate Satriani to the level of Hendrix or anything so all you Hendrix fans spare me the flame mail. I will accept flame mail for the following though....

The one thing that really irks me about this record (I have the new release with the correct song order) is the glaring change in the mix from song to song. There is no continuity here at all. It sounds like a bunch of singles slapped together to form an album. "Fire" doesn't sound like "Wind Cries Mary". "Purple Haze" doesn't sound like "Third Stone From The Sun". And so on. The reason it irks me so is that it makes me think, "Gee if only Jimi had used the sound/mix from "Third Stone" on "Fire" and other tracks they'd kick even more". With most records, even back then like Sgt. Peppers, there is a basic feel that permeates the whole album and flows from one song to the next and gives the listener a foundation to really get into the album. That foundation isn't to be found here. The drums, guitars, bass, and vocals keep changing from song to song and the changes sometimes result in songs that aren't as good as they should have or could have been. This is best reflected in the title track which is sooo tinny compared to the bass heavy "Wind Cries Mary".

Okay, this was 1967 and we're talking 4 track mixing here. And dammit, Hendrix blew everyone's perception about what a guitar could do in the right hands. His voice was silenced before it was done speaking but he more than deserves the title of World's Greatest Guitarist.

Van Halen Slam: Eddie ain't no Jimmy. Jimmy had as much flash as Eddie but Jimmy's flash complemented and was woven into the songs. Eddie's flash stuck out like a sore thumb. Even on the first album. My two cents.

kstumpf@ibm.net (Matt Stumpf)
Hendrix wrote some good songs, but he had some bad ones too. I hate the title track on this album. I think it's the most over rated song in history. The melody sucks, but the guitar solo is just horrendous!!!!! Is Hendrix even playing in the same key?

jeffsl@pacbell.net
The best Jimi Hendrix album (I know, I'm cheating) is not listed here-- Radio One, a collection of BBC recordings from 67-68. It's tremendous.

gstarst@rsuh.ru (George Starostin)
I'm not a great fan of Jimi. If I were you, I would never give a 10 to any of his albums. But I agree that if you have to give a 10 it should go to this one.

Strange enough, though, the best cuts on this album seem to be the first 5 tracks which do not actually belong to the original LP, but were culled from Jimi's first singles (5, excluding "51st Anniversary", which is clearly a piece of bullshit).

"Hey Joe", which was his first single, doesn't yet display all of Jimi's techniques and has a somewhat shy and naive look to it, but it is also done with a lot of feeling and he somehow achieves a great sound without really doing anything. "Stone Free" is a good rocker, rather in the classical style. "Purple Haze", of course, is Jimi's badge, and doubting its musical value is rather like doubting the musical value of "Yesterday" or something like that. "The Wind Cries Mary" is one of the gentlest and catchiest songs Jimi has ever written; very Dylanish in places, but maybe only for the better. And "Highway Chile" is interesting, too; I wonder if rap music grew out of this one? On the LP itself don't forget "Foxy Lady", "Fire" and "Love or Confusion". There's a cute little Jimi with some exciting singing. All the other songs are dull and worthless - well, except for Jimi's guitar playing, of course.

He was a guitar god. He never was a genius of a songwriter. The same goes with such guitar gods as Clapton, Page and Blackmore. Leave the songwriting to Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards and Townshend!

Trashsurfr@aol.com
FYI Matt: The solo on "Are You Experienced?" was mixed backwards.

ian.moss@yale.edu
One of the things that surprised me about this album was how many cool songs were on it that I had never heard before. "Love or Confusion" is just an awesome song, and "May This Be Love" is really pretty, while "I Don't Live Today" and "Third Stone From the Sun" are wacked as all get-out, or something. Then, of course, there are the classics, all nine or so of them. Great album!

Sabbath246@aol.com
Contrary to popular belief, this is not the greatest rock album of all time (that title would have to go to Deep Purple's In Rock), but it is probably the most influential (guitar-wise). I consider Hendrix the second greatest guitarist of all (next to Santana), he really was brilliant. If you really want to hear Hendrix at his absolute best (which is utterly stunning), then buy "Live At Woodstock". It jams like NO other album he's ever done. Trust me. "Voodoo Child" will knock your socks off! But anyway, back to Are You Experienced? This came out the same year as Cream's Disraeli Gears. Rock fans still debate the classic 'Hendrix vs. Clapton' argument to this day. Clapton was a ferocious jammer, but everyone knows Jimi was the better player, and he CERTAINLY was the more creative of the two. The best song on this album is "Red House", a blues jam that captures Jimi at his best. Overall. I give this album a 6/10 rating.

ClashWho@aol.com (Tim Eimiller)
After reading George Starostin's comments I realized something. You have your guitar gods and you have your genius songwriters. But Pete Townshend is the ONLY guitar god/genius songwriter in the entire history of the human race. How about that? I mean, who else besides Pete has a prayer of making your average top-ten list in BOTH categories? No one, that's who! The mind boggles! Just thought I would share this revelatory moment with all of you. Feel free to agree and or disagree as your heart decides. As for me, I'm convinced.

By the way, I think Electric Ladyland is Jimi's best album. His first three are all damn near impeccable, though.

InMyEyes82@aol.com (Zach English)
I really like Hendrix alot; I think he was an incredible guitarist, a compelling performer and a not-half-bad lyricist. But what makes so much of his work tough to listen to (at least to these ears) is some of the most horrendous record production ever put to tape.

It's basically a crime and a travesty that an artist this gifted was presented with recording engineers and producers so fraudelently clueless as to how to record these brilliant songs that the resulting album is almost a textbook example of how NOT to record a loud, dynamic rock band.

And don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people who worship Steve Albini and demand audiophile quality pressings for every record I buy. I just cannot stand how this album (Are You Experienced?) has guitar solos "flying" like an annoying mosquito between the left and right speakers, how the drums sound like they were deliberately robbed of all of their tonal qualities, and how Jimi's "S"s and "P"s sound like fingernails down the proverbial chalkboard. WAY too many overdubs, to the point where the whole thing falls apart when the song quality itself is even mediocre. It sounds like a limp, tinny pile of shit and that Kramer producer guy who considers to get credit for these records should be tied to a pole and strangled with one of Hendrix's thick-gauged guitar strings.

That said, it's a real testament to how brilliant Hendrix was that I can still give this album an 8.

DiamondS@msprograms.com
I am not a huge Jimi Hendrix fan. Heck, I don't even know very much about guitar solos, music compilation or production etc.

What I do know is what I do and don't like. I think from a younger point of view that you are all arguing about a time where they didn't have too many advancements. You must remember that they also didn't have very much money. That it was hard to get a record out when a lot of people don't like your music and are against it.

I think that Hendrix is one of my all time favorite guitarist/singers. To me it doesn't matter if I can understand the exact words that are coming out of his mouth, but about the feelings you get from the songs themselves.

You can agree or disagree. You thoughts

Jcjh20@aol.com
No, this IS the best hard rock album of all time. And Hendrix WAS the best guitar player i've ever heard. Definate 10 here for this album, of course. Although ive heard "Fire", "Hey Joe", "Foxy Lady", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary" a shitload of times on classic rock radio, i still enjoy them and they are of course, undeniable classic songs. The title track rules, and "Manic Depression", "Third Stone From The Sun", and "May This Be Love" are absolute amazing songs as well. Plus i got the new CD reissue with all the B-sides from Hendrix's first singles and/or other stuff or whatever, and they rock as well.

uglytruth@hotmail.com (Hossein Nayebagha)
I got the version with six bonus tracks...Only, whoever the idiot responsible for the tracklisting is, made the wise decision of spreading the bonus tracks all over the list, so that you can't listen to the original one with eleven tracks, which ruins the whole experience (nu pun intended).

That's an impressive list of tracks, although there is one that I could switch for one of the bonus tracks, some of those are really good. But I still don't think this is the best Jimi album, although it might deserve the ten anyway. If an album has a bunch of disappointing performances, it should matter, but I wouldn't take it far enough to make some sort of a mathematic level where it's all about how many good songs you get...And my point is that Electric Ladyland has moments that are just mind-blowing, more so than here. "Love Or Confusion" has a powerful intro, so I could name it as my favourite track on the album. Lots of great tunes though...So, sure it's a classic and it might as well get a ten.

WJJohnsons@aol.com
Just a quick point in light of the comments by dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen) concerning this album. " The one thing that really irks me about this record (I have the new release with the correct song order) is the glaring change in the mix from song to song. There is no continuity here at all. It sounds like a bunch of singles slapped together to form an album. "Fire" doesn't sound like "Wind Cries Mary". "Purple Haze" doesn't sound like "Third Stone From The Sun". And so on."

That's because you ARE hearing a bunch of singles that were slapped on to make an album. The original version of the album (the UK release) lacks the singles and contains more studio tracks, and as a release has a continuous and standardised quality of production sound. However, it was commonplace in 'ye olden days' to alter tracklists for the US market, remove studio tracks and replace them with UK singles instead - and the latest CD version was also compiled in a similar manner to include all the singles..

It seems that back in the 60's and 70's the US record companies habitually couldn't trust the US listener to be able to handle any undiluted version of an already-released-in-the UK-album. They were still doing it a decade after this release, just take a look at the US version of The Clash's first album.

gag05@bigpond.com.au
Wat can be said about arguably the greatest debut album of all time? Jimi came from out of nowhere and rocked the fuck out of everyone else plain and simple…while Clapton was wanking around with Cream stealing old blues riffs and trying to be the greatest guitar player ever, while Townshend was trying to get Roger Daltrey to suck his dick in a baked beans tub and sing on the lame Who Sell Out, while Page was trying to get Plant in bed while reading Tolkien together, while Jeff Beck was trying not to throw another tantrum and walk offstage and while Peter Green was trying to score another bag of cocaine off his dealer, old Jimi just came and layed out Purple Haze, Are You Experienced, Hey Joe, Highway Chile, Foxy Lady and Manic Depression on the white motherfuckers and made and all of them seem like a joke. 10

frizlawminifer@hotmail.com (Andrew Langford)
Michael Stipe once said about REM, "We don't wanna write songs about girls and cars." If Jimi Hendrix had lived long enough, I think he would've looked Stipe indignantly in the eye and said, "Yeah? Why not?" Except in Hendrix's case he skipped the songs about cars -- too difficult to get in bed -- and went straight for the girl songs, as in, "I wanna fuck one -- and now!" His debut album is cock rock at its cockiest. Pure and simple. People are confusing song-writing and lyricism. Hendrix wrote lyrics like the high school drop out that he was, but oh could he write songs with nice interconnected themes.

Let's go through the record and see how the various themes in each song progress. I'm going to follow the original American version, which has 11 tracks:

1. "Purple Haze" starts out with crunching chords, followed by Hendrix screaming something that sounds suspiciously like, "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy!" Apparently when performing this in concert he would on occasion point to bass player Noel Redding as a joke. But after rejecting the gay lifestyle, Hendrix continues with some lewd breathing, more screaming about how tormented he is by some woman and then the song degenerates into a confusion of notes and chords and the listener is left wondering, "What did she do to make him feel this way?" Theme: That bitch has got me all fucked up.

2. "Manic Depression" is not a Psychology 101 song, but a song that combines an up-tempo beat and circular drumming by Mitch Mitchell to create a stressed mania while at the same time Hendrix's subdued vocals evoke a depressed state. He's both angry and sad because of what happened in or before the first song. These two feelings fit in nicely with the line, "I know what I want, but I don't know how to go about gettin' it." Theme: I'm so pissed off because of what that bitch did to me, but I also feel like shit because I can't get what I want -- that is, to get laid.

3. He decides to take his revenge in "Hey Joe" by resorting to domestic violence which even in the Summer of Love was not yet adequately being dealt with, but we'll assume that in this case Hendrix didn't have any bullets loaded in his guitar and is just shooting her metaphorically, therefore putting an end to the relationship with a lethal guitar solo. This is all a result of the anger building from the previous song. Theme: Blam! Blam! Bitch!

4. Now he gets a little introspective in "Love and Confusion", but he's more confused than anything with all the psychedelic mixing here and sounds floating back and forth from the left to right. With everything that's happened in the three previous songs, he has no idea what's going on at all. Theme: What the fuck is going on?

5. "May This Be Love" is a throwaway here with wimpy singing that makes Terry Jacks sound like Wilson Pickett. It's more introspection, but the anger has worn off and he's able to think more clearly, if superficially. Theme: Golly gee, I wonder why I'm feeling this way?

6. But Hendrix picks himself up by the distortion pedal and blazes through "Live Today". This is a guy who's decided to make a comeback from all the anger and sadness that he's been put through so far, but he's also feeling mortal wondering if he might not be around to see another naked woman, so the fast tempo of this song creates a sense of urgency that comes with wanting to get back in the saddle. Theme: What am I doing sitting around here for when life is so short and there are women out there waiting to be fucked?

Now, let's flip over to side two of the record. Oh, for the MTV generation, when I say "record" I'm not using the generic term which is similar in meaning to an album, but rather I'm refering to a big, black thing -- no, not the greatest guitarist's manhood, although judging from plaster casts that two female fans made of Jimi's weenie, this would be an appropriate definition for that as well -- that, unlike a CD has two sides and had to be played on a primitive device called a turntable. Unless you were one of those people goofy enough to buy two records of the same album and put them on together, one on Side A the other on Side B, then you had to get up and turn it over manually while only handling the outer edges of the record. If you can find this record and you've got the equipment, I recommend putting it on and seeing what it's like hearing a side end and then having to get up to turn it over wondering "Wow, I wonder what side two is gonna be like!" From Hendrix's point view, splitting up the songs this way creates a kind of hiatus between the torment of the first side and the ultimate triumph of the second side.

7. Side two starts slowly with "The Wind Cries Mary". Before heading off to the bar scene, Hendrix is pondering what it's like to be lonely, but he's nowhere near as superficial as he was on "May This Be Love". He sounds more confident in thinking about what it's like not to have a woman he can call his own. The confidence is there because he's certain he's going to get someone in the sack pretty soon. Theme: Life can be a bitch.

8. "Fire" is Hendrix all enthusiastic again about gettin' a little booty again. But it sounds like Jimi had to ask a dog to get out of the way so he could do the woman. This isn't free love, it's freaky love. Kinkiness aside, the rhythm and the baselines are really cooking here just like the loving. Except the lady he's trying to love is a little uptight because of her family. Also, the animal thing. You know what they say: A dog is a woman's best friend. This song is also very short, so the brevity gives the impression that this relationship wasn't meant to last. Towards the end of the song Hendrix sounds a little frustrated, so he decides to move on. Theme: Just say no to bestiality. OR There are plenty of other fish in the sea, bitch.

9. "Third Stone From the Sun" appears to be Hendrix's attempt to have sex with aliens by moving to Mars. Wow, he must have been really frustrated with the women on Earth to try this. OK, but in 1967 they still hadn't landed on the moon, so what's the point in trying. Some nice guitar work here. It sounds more like a jam session than a song. He says at one point, "You're people I do not understand." So, since he couldn't speak the Martian language he decided to move back to Earth. Theme: Earth women are easier than Martian women.

10. After splashing down, Jimi roars back with tons of feedback, macho chords and testosterone in "Foxey Lady". He's so confident about reaching his goal that he's not even hiding his emotions anymore. It's no longer a question of if, but when. Long gone is all the pondering about why life sucks. Forget the past because the future's what matters. Theme: I'm gonna get me some.

11. "Are You Experienced?" is simply "Boy meets girl. Boy seduces girl. Boy fucks girl." The opening backwards guitars are Hendrix spotting the object of his lust and zeroing in on her. This is followed by him trying to tell her to forget whatever the rest of her life is all about and just engage in some genuine passion. Then comes the guitar solo in the middle when Hendrix is waving his process about trying to impress her with what he's got. There's a one-note piano that plays incessantly throughout the song adding to the high sexual tension of the song. Just towards the end of the song the backwards guitars and one-note piano combine to recreate the pumping action of having sex followed by a power chord (orgasm) and a slow fade out. This is followed by a false ending that is Hendrix sighing with relief because he finally did it. Theme: I did it!

In the end, the question "Are you experienced?" is answered. In Hendrix's case, yes, he is.

stephen.anthony@bbj.hu
Re: Andrew Langfords deconstruction of Are you Experienced?
That made me laugh alot. You can always tell who the real Jimi fans are, those who look beyond the usual man-from-mars, huge black man with huge wanger, plank-spanking jerk-off too much testosterone bullshit... nothing on Jimi has made me smile as much since Charles Shaar Murray in Mojo's 100 greatest guitarists (Jimi: No. 1, natch), from which the light of true unbridled love for his subject shone bright through all the usual music journo crap.

Love your site, by the way. Keep it up. But Axis: Bold as Love is Jimi's finest album. Trust me. I've got 'em all.

jersyboy5@hotmail.com
Yes, well, it's silly to even consider thinking about possibly commenting on album that is this good. It's an insult to JIMMY to even try to put into words the brilliance of this record and an utter mistake to believe that, even for one moment, I might be able to say/express something that this record doesn't already say/express. Call me pie, for I am truly a humbled pumpkin.

tom.boyce@gwinc.com
Probably Jimi’s only essential record.

A sad fact, and testament to his uneven recording legacy, but check out “War Heroes,” a really great bootleg.

Jimi, we love thee; come back to we.

Jimi Plays Monterey - Warner Bros. 1986.

Reader Comments

starostin@geocities.com (George Starostin)
Yeah, a great live album, but, frankly speaking, I'm not that inspired. The Experienced? stuff is not greater than on the studio record, the banter is silly, and 'Wild Thing' is a big fat zero without the accompanying video where Jimi fucks the amplifiers, sets his guitar on fire and finally smashes it. This should be watched, man - not just listened to! 'Rock Me Baby' is pretty much dull without the video too. And yes, he destroyed "LARS". He destroyed 'Watchtower', too, for that matter (well, not exactly destroyed, but at least profanated - a fine word for intellectual chat). Historically important as this performance might be (it brought Jimi American success almost overnight), it's just not that exciting without the accompanying film. A 6 if your imagination is not very strong. A 7 if it is.

bepd@TVSucks.net (Ben Dilday)
'evil man he make me kill you, evil man make you kill me, even though were only families apart, ...cause iknow all the time you wrong baby and we be growing just the same, 3 times the pain, with your own self to blame. machine gun ah un...

thharms@asv.de (Thomas Harms)
what i find interesting about this lp is that mr. hendrix didn´t want to do it but was forced to do it by contractual obligations. so his management told him: a. we don´t want to give away a studio-album. b. we don´t want to give away many songs. c. we don´t want to give away lots of hendrix-songs. and, most importantly, d. we don´t want to give away an album by the jimi hendrix experience. jimi sat down and pondered and suddenly realised: hey! that´s what i wanted to do for a long time: a live album with long tracks, an all-black-combo and lots of compositions by other guys! that´s the way the "band of gypsys"-lp came about and that´s the reason why his playing is so relaxed and free on this recording. and remember: he never did a studio-version of "machine gun" afterwards. so this is the ONLY hendrix-live-lp released during his lifetime, it contains some of his BEST playing and his most powerful POLITICAL statement. not bad at all in my eyes.

greetings from hamburg.

Axis: Bold As Love - Reprise 1968.

If you're a Jimi freak, it'll probably blow you away. Myself, I kinda miss all that feedback noise.

Reader Comments

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
Nah. While I do know a few people who claim this is his masterpiece, I think it's definitely a sophomore slump. First off, what the fuck is "EXP"? It's kinda funny, but how do you go from an album opener like "Purple Haze" to that? There are some great tracks--"Little Wing", "If 6 Was 9", "Bold as Love", and "Wait Until Tomorrow" come to mind. And I have nothing against Jimi's trying to change his style. But it was perfect in the first place! Axis is just too mellow with too many forgettable songs. 7/10.

kstumpf@ibm.net (Matt Stumpf)
How can you stand "If 6 was 9"? I want to commit suicide each time I hear the revolting flute solo at the end!!!!!!!!!

smufus@iei.net (Derrick A. Smith)
Hey, I'll step in and defend "If 6 Was 9". One of the reasons I like it is because it ISN'T a "rocker." How many "rockers" can a guy make in his lifetime? One of the great things about the Axis album is its non-rock mood. "If 6.." kicks because of the stomping, space-filled drum-bass section, and I'm a sucker for Mitch's "Yeeeah..sing the song, brother." A good song for its militant combination of white and black styles. But the flute solo is horrible. Overall, a good album for me and I think in general, because white-boy rock is just not necessary. It's a good thing that Hendrix had enough imagination to do more than thrill the teenagers with his crazy rock antics, even if sometimes that meant stoned nonsense.

gstarst@rsuh.ru (George Starostin)
A lot of people prefer Axis to Experienced. I don't. The big problem with it (which is actually already showing up on Experienced, although to a lesser extent) is that most of the songs resemble each other. The typical structure of Jimi's song (if it's not a ballad) is almost predictable: some dirty and broken guitar lines accompanied with quiet rappy-type singing, then when you're about to fall asleep the guitar goes "Wheeeeeeeez!" - and he goes ass-kicking. Good at first, but ultimately predictable and sometimes boring. But when he DOES soar, still, he SOARS DAMN GOOD!

Now what I seriously don't like about this album is "Castles Made Of Sand". Everybody seems to like it, but it's actually a re-write (and a very uninspired one, if you ask me) of "The Wind Cries Mary". Once again Hendrix tries to be Dylan and fails. Pity. That "ii-ven-chal-leee" almost ruins my ears. But "Little Wing" is good. Real good. Although when Eric C took it and used it on Layla, he basically made the song his own. It is too short, for one thing. The choruses on "You Got Me Floatin'" and "Wait Until Tomorrow" are superb. And everybody seems to neglect Redding's "She's So Fine", but I think this is one of the best tracks on the album. No kidding.

Angus_Rap@hotmail.com (Alex R.)
Another kick ass album by Hendrix. " She`s so Fine " kicks ass. The Noel Redding compisition`s are fuckin amazing. But Electric Ladyland is by far the best Hendrix album.

BTW, when are you going to review Live at The Fillmore East and the BBC sessions???????

mburrus@zdnetmail.com (Michael Burrus)
I like this album. Though not as great as the debut, it still packs a powerful punch as far as songwriting skills and Jimi's unique ability for creating an amazing voodoo pop structure as well as diverse experimental rockers. Wow that was a long sentence.

It get's a 9 from me. "Wait Until Tomorrow" is classic!

ABRU9502@Mercury.gc.peachnet.edu (Adam Bruneau)
Man, this is by far and away my favorite Jimi Hendrix album. The songs are great, poppy-rocky stuff that just drip with psychedelia like the saliva-covered surface of some dog's lapping tongue! Oh god, you could not have a cooler album closer than "Axis: Bold As Love" and "One Rainy Wish" is so beautiful I could cry...and if yer missing guitar, check out the intro to "Little Wing" for the best guitar tone ever recorded. If only "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" had been on this one...hooo booy!!! 10 from me.

rusted@erols.com
one of the all-time greats. sophisticated, nuanced, and zeitgeist out the wazoo.

LPOWERS@TNSTATE.EDU (Lucas Austin Powers)
An improvement on the first record in terms of recording technology. Listen to Mitch Mitchell's fill on "Axis". And frankly, I find some of the songs on the first record a little repetitious. Jimi's expanding here lyrically--trying to write like Bob Dylan. Luckily he could still play the guitar like Jimi Hendrix.

ClashWho@aol.com (Tim Eimiller)
The title track is one of this band's greatest moments if you ask me. That phase effect at the climax of the song just blows me away every single time I listen to it.

DeadHeading26@aol.com
First off how can you say all that shit about Jimi. I love the cat and all his stuff. I agree with Adam B this album rocks and I dig it a lot and I feel all of you need to get your ears check

Jcjh20@aol.com
I love this one as much as Are You Experienced! Possibly even more!! Most people ask "what the fuck!?" to "EXP", but i think its funny! Plus i bet it could easily fit on We're Only In It For The Money (even though that album came out about 6 months after this one). "Up From The Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Wait Till Tommorrow", "Aint No Telling", "She's So Fine" are all magnificent tunes! Catchy, but not TOO poppy to me. They still display Jimi's awesome guitar abilitys. "Little Wing", "One Rainy Wish" and "Castles Made Of Sand" are among the most beautiful tunes both Hendrix and The Experience ever recorded, and "If 6 Was 9" is an excellent, eccentric psychadelic tune. I might as well name the rest, because i love those too ("You Got Me Floatin'", "Little Miss Lover", the title track). I give it a high high 9, even though i really wanna give it a 10.

joe.canzano@peergroupinc.com
Hey guys, that isn't a flute--it's a guitar through some kind of crazy octave pedal. At least that's what I've read.

pedroandino@msn.com
second albums are like either a new beginning or a failed chance at proving yourself you are the king! what I am talking about is the second album slump! but this is far from the slump that killed more bands than I forgot what joke I am saying! anyway let's go!

1.EXP: booooooooo waaaaaaaaa wah wah wahhhhhhhhhh ............................................................................ GOOD EVENING LADIES AND GENTELMEN WELCOME TO RADIO STATION EXP. TONIGHT WE ARE FEATURING A PECULIAR LOOKING GENTELMEN BY THE NAME OF MR. PAUL CARUSO AND THE DODGY SUBJECT OF ARE THERE OR ARE THERE NOT FLYING SAUSERS OR UFO'S! PLEASE MR. CARUSO COULD YOU GIVE US AN OPINION ON THIS NONSENCE ON SPACESHIPS AND EVEN SPACE PEOPLE! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDBACK! KKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRANGA! THEME: FEEDBACK

2.UP FROM THE SKIES: I JUST WANT TO TOUCH YOU! O FUNKY JAZZ STUFF WITH THE WAH WAH GUITAR. THEME: SPACE JAZZ

3.SPANISH CASTLE MAGIC: YEAH! A STAPLE OF JIMI'S CONCERTS! DRAGONFLYS AND BATTLES! SPANISH CASTLES!

THEME: SPANISH FORTRESS.

4.WAIT UNTIL TOMMORROW: DOLLY MAE ARE YOU STUPID? ARE YOU A DUMB HO!?????? BITCH U WAIT UNTIL I CALL YOU! HA HA HA HA HA! I HATE U HO! THEME: TAKE A CHANCE YA STUPID HO!

5.AINT NO TELLIN': MOTOWN! CLEOPTRA SHE IS SO HOT! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! FUNKY! YOU MAY THINK HE LIKES THE 4 TOPS! THEME: MOTOWN!

6.LITTLE WING: THIS IS SHORT BUT I LIKED IT! BELL SOUNDS AND CLEAN BLUES PLAYING. STING COVERED IT SO DID SRV. THEME: I LOVE YOU MY SWEET LOVELY SILVER WING GIRL.

7.IF 6 WAS 9: YEAH! USED FOR EASY RIDER, HENDRIX SWIPES THE PC ASSHOLES! AND A GREAT BASS SOLO! NOTE: THE SPEAKERS YOU HEAR ON THE LEFT IS JIMI'S GUITAR AND ON THE RIGHT IS NOEL'S BASS PLUS A DRUM SOLO AND ROCKS BANGING! AND JIMI CHEWING GUM! HE SAYS DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM TALKIN' ABOUT! SEE YOU MY BROTHER! THEN CAME A CRAZY FLUTE SOLO! SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEANG! TW ET WT ETW TEW TE TWE TW TET E TEW TEW TET ETE TEFLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! SHUT UP! THEME: WILD CRAZY BLUES!

8.YOU GOT ME FLOATING: SSSSS DOOOOO WEEEEE SHSHSHSHSHSHS AR INGA BAM! THOSE ARE EFFECTS. SWEET LOVING FOR THE HIPPIE LADY! PM DAWN COVERED THE SONG! WITH TAPE SOUNDS AND SYNTHESIZED EFFECTS LIKE JIMI HENDRIX!!!!!!!!!!! BLA LALALALALALALAALALALAALDDDDORIP! THEME: AQUA LOVE!

9.CASTLES MADE OF SAND: YAONK YANK YANK ! BACKWARD EFFECTS! HE TELLS 3 SHORT TALES LIKE THE DRUNK AND THE WIFE, THE WARRIOR, AND THE CRIPPLE! THEME: THE STORYTELLER.

10.SHE'S SO FINE: DORKY VOCALS DO NOT HURT THE SONG! JIMI HAD A GREAT TIME GETTING HIS PEEPEE PLASTER CAST!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! YOU HORN DOG! THEME: HOT LOVING!

11.ONE RAINY WISH: COSMIC BALLAD. GOLDEN ROSE. GOLDEN GARDENS. MOONBEAMS. WHY FIGHT WHEN YOU CAN BE WITH ME WITH YOUR LONG HAIR. BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. THEME: COSMIC LOVING.

12.LITTLE MISS LOVER; ANOTHER ATTACK ON A STUPID HO! THAT MEANS YOU PARIS HILTON!!!!!!!!!!! THEME: I HATE YOU PARIS!

13.BOLD AS LOVE: ENDING THE TRIP WAS THE SHINY METALLIC PURPLE ARMOR! MAN! CRAZY STUFF! THEN SHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP BANG! PHASERS!!!!!!. THEME: THE TRIP ENDS.

NO SLUMP HERE 10/10!

paul.pittman@vancouver.ca
Spanish Castle Magic is amazing, and it rocks.

Electric Ladyland - Reprise 1968.

The long experimental tracks? Yeah. There's a really great 14-minute wankfest (sure, I just said I hated wankfests, but this one's a doozie. It works.) called "Voodoo Chile," as well as a beautiful and disorienting 22-minute "raining on marijuana drugs" suite, and these tracks alone are probably the reason that this record is so popular. But that's not all!!! When you purchase this LP, you also receive the wonderful rockers, "Crosstown Traffic," "Come On (Part 1)," "All Along The Watchtower" (Dylan cover), and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"! Yeah!!! Of course you also have to sit through those other seven crappy songs. (Yes, "House Burning Down" is a crappy song. And I know that you love "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp," but aside from the cute keyboard break, it makes me wanna go look at my ass.)

Hmm. Perhaps I've misstated myself. Maybe what I meant to say was NOT that Jimi was a "limited songwriter," but that he was a terrific songwriter, but a poor editor. That's really what I meant. Do me a favor and go back and rewrite my introductory paragraph for me. Thanks!

As I look at the track listing, I can't help but think that you really SHOULD go buy this record, even if it has too many generic blues rockers on it. About sixty percent of it totally rules. Ahh, maybe I should give it an eight. Your call. I hardly ever get the urge to listen to the damn thing, but everyone else seems to bake a cake over it, so what the hey.

Reader Comments

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
Sorry Mark, but I've gotta play a Tim Eimiller and step up in defense of a classic album. Ween's Pure Guava is superior? Van Halen's OU812 is comparable? Public Enemy's Muse Sick N R Mess Age is comparable? The Door's The Soft Parade is superior? The Beastie Boys' Some Old Bullshit is superior? The Low-Maintenance Perennials's Stupid is Such a Broad Term... is comparable?

Okay, enough of that. While Electric Ladyland doesn't have the impact of the debut (there are maybe about 2 records in the world that do). It's still an incredible record. How can you like Husker Du's Zen Arcade and dislike this? I find the albums very similar. Both have some weak tracks, but man, sit back and listen and you won't even notice. The songs you mentioned are all fantastic, and I also enjoy "Long Hot Summer Night", "Gypsy Eyes", and "Burning Of the Midnight Lamp". That leaves four tracks, none of which are bad, filling out the album. Electric Ladyland is when Jimi learned how to make jams, studio experiments and his trademark ass-kicking work together. Now, I'm not gonna say you're an asshole for not digging it. It's really not for everyone. But as far as legendary albums go, oh man is it ever better than White Light/White Heat.

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
Better than Axis. "All Along The Watchtower" ranks right up there with anything on Are You Experienced and has what I consider the best solo he ever did. So what if it's a cover? It kicks the shit out of Dylan's version.

Again I have to whine about the lack of consistency here. If you took this record to someone who's never heard Hendrix and played "Crosstown Traffic" followed by "Watchtower" the guy would be hard pressed to believe that both come from the same record.

crevier@microtec.net
I fully agree with Mr. Weigel- this is one amazing piece of work. So amazing, in fact, that I can't listen to it no more...

See, me wore out this superb recording during my third year in high school...

An easy 11, if you ask me + it destroys any "alternative" band easily in terms of quality & production.

grimlock@vt.edu (Charles Calhoun)
I'll admit that some of these here songs are kinda mediocre... but it's got "Voodoo Chile" and that absolutely beautiful Rainy thingie towards the end... stop your bitching! I mean, none of the lesser songs are actually BAD, so I don't really mind sitting through "Crosstown Traffic" to get to the good stuff anyway. Sheesh.

It took me a long time to get into this record, though. If you hate guitar solos as much as I do, you might wanna put off buying it until you can cope with em a little better. Eventually though, ya figure out that he's not just wanking off.

gstarst@rsuh.ru (George Starostin)
EEEEEEGAD!!!...

Out of all the great albums to come out of the sixties, this one's the WORST (if there can be such a thing as a BAD GREAT album!) Yeah, I can feel talent and genius squeezing out from every note on this album, but I just will NOT force myself to listen to it more than once a year or so! Axis was at least listenable, but this one starts with another crazy feedback expweriment ("And The Gods Made Love": AWFUL! "EXP" is just childish pranks compared to this one!), then after a short while ventures into the torturingly-long "Voodoo Chile", then there's that insipid suite about a rainy day or something, and off we go onto "Voodoo Chile" again! Is this what double albums are really made for? Nah! Still, there are several (only a few) moments that somehow redeem this duffer (although it certainly isn't the gimmicky album cover). "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" is quite cool. The second "Voodoo Chile" is not as boring as the first (hey! wait! maybe it's just because this one's shorter!) "Gypsy Eyes" - a good groove (partly!) Yeah, and that cover of "All Along The Watchtower" is fine, too, although the original is about fifty hundred times better!

Sure, this album "is not for everyone"! Not for me, at least! Mind you I have nothing in mind against "wankfests", long jams, solos, experimentation, feedback, etc., but somehow Jimi managed to connect them here in the worse possible manner! Electric Ladyland? More like Electric Boredom (A Quick Guide To...)! Nah, thanks! I'll stick to Are You Experienced. Or to Axis. Maybe even to Band Of Gypsies!

auzinsjp@acad.latnet.lv (Janis Auzins)
Strange enough, I disagree with almost everybody here. This is definitely the best Hendrix album IMO. Not only that, it is the third best album ever (from those I've heard), behind a couple of Dylan pieces of shit. The only 2 songs I would call relative filler here are Burning Of The Midnight Lamp and Long Hot Summer Night but both of them have cool stuff. But the rest - wow, man! The 2 long tracks are totally awesome (btw, you know that Lenny Kravitz song, "Are you gonna go my way"? Well, the riff of that song is featured in the 1983 interlude - damn, what a rip-off Hendrix was!), the wah-wah solo in Rainy Day is mind-blowing - the guitar's damn well talking to you there! -, Come On is a great rocking, um, rocker (of which SR Vaughan did a disgraceful note-by-note cover - that is unless the Hendrix version was a note-by-note cover of the Earl King original which I haven't heard), and Slight Return is the coolest (in the Van Halen sense of the word) song Hendrix ever did. Oh yeah, there's one more half- way decent song there. Something about a watch, wasn't it? "Casio Blues"? Of which the original isn't REALLY 5000 times better, it isn't really better at all - you can't really beat that Spanish-y intro solo and the slide part followed by the wah-wah talking-guitar (again!), but the original definitely has a charm of it's own, great stuff and the vocals are better of course, but the Hendrix version IS better, and I do believe it's the best cover ever (actually I think it's the best track recorded, EVER). The whole thing is just a bit hard to get into - maybe you should listen to the 2 sides seperately. Well, them's my 2 ruppies.

pazulla@gta.igs.net (Andrew Pazulla)
Some great songs ("Cross-town Traffic," "Voodoo Child" etc.) but bloated, self-indulgent and too long. And I think that Hendrix misses the point and wrecks the ambiance of "All Along the Watchtower." I'd agree with the 7 rating.

rodblanc@webtv.net (Gustavo Rodriguez)
Most of you guys are on crack. This is Hendrix' best album. And he is one of the most important artists of the rock era and for my money no one has topped him. He taught rock guitarists how to play and most of them (the good ones I mean) stll continue to follow his lead. He is pure rock n' roll! As for his songwriting-- he is tremendously undervalued--especially lyrically. Heavilly influenced by Dylan and it shows--look at the lyrics to "House Burning Down" and you might see what I mean.

Hendrix just happens to be a challenging artists. His albums are not really song oriented. The actual songs are buried in sonic experiments. Patience and careful listening reward the listener when it comes to a Hendrix album. You won't get it the first time. I didn't. But on repeated listens the pleasures are many.

Angus_Rap@hotmail.com (Alex R.)
I bought Electric Ladyland just 2 days ago. I paid like 25 bucks for it because it was one of those new remastered CD`s that Experience Hendrix released not long ago. And man was it worth it!!!!!!. Everything is so amazing!!. I can`t understand why you gave this a 7, even though i`ve listened to bits and pieces of the other albums, this one is his best. So what if " Voodoo Chile " is 15 minutes long, it still kicks ass!!. Also it has " Crosstown Traffic " , " Little Miss Strange " " Come On " , " 1983 " , and Watchtower and Slight Return. MAN!!!, what a listening experience. And this record proves that the 3 members are very talented. So this is an easy 10.

jlebow@erols.com (Sam Oram)
Everyone is making a common mistake in discussion rock music: they are viewing all the songs individually instead of looking them as a part of a unified whole. Electric Ladyland is an amazing album, because of the mysterious atmosphere created by all the songs (excluding the second side). The album is an intense journey for me when I listen to the whole thing (except the second side) without taking a break. The first part (electrical sounds) brings the listener into a weird, mysterious environment: which is shown to be Electric Ladyland (I know it's the same of the studio, but it wouldn't have been chosen to be the name of the album if it didn't sound good) in the second song, which is really weird. Then, Crosstown Traffic brings us to Voodoo Chile, a beautiful, raw, long blues song which brings us to the end of the first part.

The third side starts developing this idea by making it a lot stranger. Hendrix is trying to make us feel like we're high, and he succeeds. The Rain Away song is beautiful, bringing us, at the end, to another world: 1983. The end of Rain Away, the fade-out, is really disturbing -- like it's descending into chaos. Then 1983 gets weirder and weirder and the atmosphere becomes more and more magical, until the flute comes in. The weird sonority of 1983 is amazing, and that part gives me a chill usually. Then, the feeling keeps developing and becoming more and more halucinatory, until the music turns into a lot of "wind".

Then, we are suddenly surprised by the fourth side. The fourth side is a "return to sanity", and after hearing 1983, the Still Raining song produces a wonderful feeling of ecstacy. House Burning Down is great and does the same thing. But I only get this feeling of ecstacy when I listen to the whole album at once. All Along the Watchtower is amazing too, although not that good by itself -- I'm not saying it doesn't have intrinsic merit, I'm saying its merit is only understood when the listener has the feeling of hearing all the songs beforehand. Then, the last song, Voodoo Chile, is mezmerizing. By the middle, I'm swept into the beauty of one chord being repeated with amazing guitar work above it. Again, this song sounds boring by itself -- but it produces an amazing sensation as the last song on an album. By the end, I just feel like Hendrix is an amazing artist.

So my main piece of advice is: listen to the album all the way through except for side 2 before judging it. Even hearing the third and fourth sides, although better than hearing just the fourth side, doesn't sound that good. The fourth side seems to long in proportion to the rest of the album. Hendrix was smart to put both those records together in one album, and they should be listened to that way. Also, if you have the record, get the CD -- it sounds better. I don't know why -- just trust me.

dalcin@missoes.com.br (Cassiano Dalcin)
Sorry man, Eletric Ladyland is as good as Are you Experienced and a top 100 album of all time.

Excuse me the english!

cynderelli@techline.com (TAD)
Mark: This isn't really about Hendrix, but I've been readin yr Hendrix, Doors, CCR, etc. reviews & there's a book U & yr readers would probly eat up: it's called GLIMPSES, was written by a guy named Lewis Shiner, came out around '93, published by William Morrow in hardcover, & there was briefly a paperback from Warner Books -- it's about a guy who can go back in2 the past & help famous (dead or nearly-dead) rock stars finish their masterworks -- Brian Wilson's SMILE, The Doors' CELEBRATION OF THE LIZARD album, whatever Hendrix was doin B4 he died, etc. It's BRILLIANT & vivid & there's not a false note in the whole thing. '60s rock fans would love it. The book won the World Fantasy Award 4 best novel of '93, but it's still practically unheard-of. This Shiner guy's great. I read the book in practically 1 sitting, & ... sheez, I wish I could write that good.

NEway, 4give me 4 sending a comment that ain't really directly related 2 music. I was trying 2 get in2 ELECTRIC LADYLAND earlier 2night (already loved "All Around the Watchtower" & "Crosstown Traffic," of course, but that other stuff takes some getting used 2 -- spose U don't wanna hear that yr reviews on the lower 1/2 of yr page recently helped turn me on2 The Church's STARFISH album years after I'd stupidly given up on it, right? That The Church's "Reptile" is 1 of the great overlooked classics of R time? Well, NEway....), & flashed on that book, so thot I'd tell ya about it. Well worth yr time as a music fan, mon!

ian.moss@yale.edu
Really good album with a few disappointments. There's a LOT of great stuff on here--"Crosstown Traffic," "Come On," "And the Gods Made Love," the rain suite...but I found the long "Voodoo Chile" disappointing (I thought it was going to be more like Slight Return), and to me it's basically 15 minutes of my life that I will never get back--EVERY TIME I LISTEN! Ah well. And I never did really understand the appeal of "All Along the Watchtower"--now, it's not a BAD song by any means, but why the hell is it SO popular? Me, I get my kicks from the last song on the album, which is, believe it or not, possibly my favorite song of all time (certainly it's the greatest example of "headphone music" that I've ever heard). From the menacing guitar stutters at the beginning, to the gigantic main riff, to the wild solos, to the wacky stereo effects, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is a masterpiece of guitar work. You gotta listen to it at top volume with the headphones on--otherwise it just don't work. It's this song that convinced me that Jimi was the greatest rock guitarist--see, most of his other stuff just isn't as impressive technically as you would expect from someone who is lauded as the ultimate guitar god. But "Voodoo Child" is all Jimi--it shows he could tickle his axe with the best of them. And I ain't talkin' about masturbation!

ashfksdhfs@hotmail.com
I think electric ladyland and the self-titled both deserve a ten really, he only had three albums and this one is almost flawless, long guitar solos can be pretty boring but "voodoo chile" is just plain amazing, it just submerges you, and the fact that's it's long helps that way I don't have to play the song over and over again (well maybe a couple of times). He really had amazing taste, and to give album less than a nine is criminal. I can't really think of any better rock album, and especially for the sixties, he really showed the way to go: beatles were pop, clapton was blues, stones were blues, the who were pop at first and so this guy was one of the only really great rock guitarist except for Townshend who was turning to rock, and some others that were all right like Alvin Lee. This is brilliant really, maybe you should listen to it again, it's more the taste in his guitar work and music than the speed or heaviness, oh yeah and the psychedlic shit like "voodoo chile". As for the guy who said the "all along the watchtower" remix isn't as good as the original, the original is boring really, Dylan was great but the remix is just amazing. Peace.

domking@inspire.net.nz
Now before i start, let me just say I'm not an obsessive fan of Mr H. but those who knock this album should just stand back for a minute and look at the album for what it represents in revolutionary terms. holy shit! i mean, i do place a lot of emphasis on melody but just listen to this album in one sitting (with headphones) and i'm telling you, your negative views will change somewhat.

Okay, now that i've got that out, the album: "1983" is better than "Voodoo Chile". It is. It actually has a melody, an amazing main riff (which Metallica totally ripped off for "Unforgiven II") and the most awesome spaced out section in the middle. Would you listen to that Redding play bass! Him and Mitch Mitchell are like, THE most underrated musicians ever! They're always conveyed as merely session players, but fuck are those two talented.

This album fully has a stoner atmosphere to it (nah, really?), and i've said it once, but i'll say it again that stoner albums can often be the best to listen to. Now i'm not a stoner by any account, but simply listening to this album can put into a semi-induced stoned state. The best on here are "Crosstown", "Gypsy", "Midnight Lamp", "1983", "Watchtower", "Voodoo (slight return)". Oooh baby those last two cook!

Get this one, then get Are You Experienced?

ClashWho@aol.com (Tim Eimiller)
Man, I usually cringe when I see what I wrote for Who's Next, but thanks to Dave Weigel's comments I realize that that tactic may actually work. He sure made me understand how ridiculous a mere seven is for this masterwork from 1968. Hopefully I did the same for all the people who read your Who's Next review.

Anyway, Electric Ladyland is the album that justifies the name of the band (and this was a *band*), the Jimi Hendrix EXPERIENCE. This album is certainly that. Okay, Noel Redding was a complete non-entity (in fact, that's Jimi on bass in "All Along the Watchtower"). But Mitch Mitchell is one of the ten greatest drummers in rock history, in my opinion. And opinions aren't very much like onions at all, now that I think about it.

DiamondS@msprograms.com
You guys are either talking about how long and boring each type of songs is or you are raving about how great the songs are.

You might think that my opinion doesn't mean a lot, and I wish I knew more about Hendrix history, but I don't so I'll go on anyways.

One response by (Sam Oram) was original and truly great. As far as my eye can see he is the only one that isn't taking a look at "the cover" and actually "reading the book itself". Basically noticing the feeling behind what Hendrix liked to present.

I suggest that in opinions like these this statement would work best: "People with closed minds should not open there mouths."

Jcjh20@aol.com
Man, is this album looooonnnnnggggg. Most of it just drags, but there are some amazing songs on here, however. Most notably "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" (why the hell couldnt the regular "Voodoo Chile" just be this but extended instead!? I'd love to hear a 15 minute version of this amazing song, but instead, "Voodoo Chile" is just a long, boring ass, go-nowhere live jam). "Crosstown Traffic", the legendary cover of "All Along The Watchtower", "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp", "Come On" all rule as well. "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" has some of the best Hendrix vocals (besides "Angel"). "Little Miss Strange" also goes back to the awesome pop-ness of Axis: Bold As Love as well, so its great, but besides some nice parts (actually all of "Moon Turn The Tides" is quite nice), most of it (while none of it bad) pretty much just bores me. Maybe i will change my opinion and think of this as a classic record like these other guys as i only got it a month ago, but for right now, i agree with the 7.

Pyramid2112@aol.com
Overall agreed... there's way too much filler on this album. And Hendrix at this point was more interested in avant-garde experimentation than the coherent songs that made up his first two albums. But again that's a good thing.. cuz artists who want to stay vital always want to do new things (i.e. Neil Young's electronic, and rockabilly albums in the 1980s) and Hendrix did not want to repeat himself at that stage in his career. I hated this album the first time I heard it because everyone said how much of a "masterpiece" this is... and in ways it is a masterpiece, but I can easily cut out a few songs. the two songs having to do w/ Raining and Dreaming I can delete, House Burning Down fools me because it starts out w/an emotional guitar intro before it fades into crap, and Noel Redding's song... well... it sucks. Cut those songs out, and you have yourself a killer record.

the 1983/moon turn the tides epic is worth the album alone, but i also like the first 2 songs, voodoo child/chile, and burning of the midnight lamp. Not to mention all along the watchtower.. if you can make Dylan reject his own version of a song in favor of someone else's that's an impression all in its own.

As a CD it's an 8/10... but for discussions and its legend status it deserves a fuckin 20...

robadobb_2@msn.com (Rob Raymer)
dig this one cause jimi was jammin and enjoying himself. he said he felt in control of things and the album shows this. loved the original running order but a reissue changed that. anyhow very few double albums compare and this is a legend at his peak. 1983 is a masterpiece it makes you feel youre either there or damn close lol the others are much talked about but its the feel of this album besides its virtuosity that makes it his finest.

B.Clements@bepp.co.uk (Bruno Clements)
Electric Ladyland? Bought it - sold it! I do miss Crosstown Traffic, though...

...now Pere Ubu's Dub Housing, that's one we'll never agree on. Just why did I give that CD to my brother? I still have my vinyl original but no turntable-friendly amp!

stephen.anthony@bbj.hu
Hey domking@inspire.net.nz: that amazing bass is Jimi, I believe. Noel basically was sidelined, and only allowed to stick one of his crappy songs on the record to appease him (Little Miss Strange is a fucking embarrassment, frankly, the same feeling you get from the crappy Graham Nash songs on CSNY's Deja Vu - ruining what would otherwise be a masterpiece)

One other point: I think all you guys/gals must be white rock fans, basically. What other explanation can there be for ignoring Jimi's superlative soul song Long Hot Summer Night. Makes me swoon...

Electric Ladyland is a flawed masterpiece. But it's also a daring, revolutionary record that any self-respecting fan of 20th century popular music simply MUST have, just as they must have Experience and Axis (and, I would argue, band of Gypsys)

jared@zelmer.net
Likely, the most underrated album of all time.

I believe this is an album that must be re-reviewed every 3 or 4 years, by those who panned the release. I didn't 'get it' the first few years I heard it, but it grows on you. I consider it Jimi's best work It's still relevant, still holds the test of time. Extraordinary guitar work. Musically it is a superior album. His best guitar work. His best writing. A 10 ^ 2 star record. I don't listen to it all that often, but I have to say it's in my top 5 of all time, and represents Jimi's influences and qualities better than any other work.

A great mix of music styles; heavy rock, jazz, old blues, experimental, soul/gospel, poppy brit stuff, etc.... Like the Steven Stills' 1st Mannassas album ( gotta be in my top 5 all time albums too) , it uniquely mixes different styles to gives a true overall listening experience. The sum of the album is greater than the parts. So don't hate it because you don't like Voodoo Chile or 1984, there's so much material that you need to rate this album as a complete work, not just individual songs.

It'll still be selling and relevant, 200 years from now. If it was released today, it would still hold its quality and be as innovative.

So go ahead people, crack it open again, give it another listen, its ok to skip a some songs, (hell its a double album, like the Manassas album). I promise you'll find new insight, new appreciation for the man and album. Its sad that Jimi is more of a corporate symbol now, but no one can deny his still continued dominance as a guitarist's guitarist. At least preface the review of ELL, by giving 3 extra dots for guitarists, and 2 extra dots for any other musicians.

Long after we're all dead, people will still be initially dogging this album.

jjunea2@lsu.edu
I just want to say that the above post by Sam Oram is entirely correct. If you skip side two of this double LP, you get a wonderful psychedelic listening experience. I made a tape that segues from Voodoo Chile to Rainy Day just to test it.

The result is one continuous live studio like jam in between two sets of three songs each. This is change makes Electric Ladyland my favorite studio Hendrix recording.

God bless and Peace

Smash Hits - Reprise 1969.

Reader Comments

ClashWho@aol.com (Tim Eimiller)
Wow, that's a lot of parenthesis! Cool. What a wacky sentence.

pedroandino@msn.com
this is for my brother who loved hendrix. I got this album for him in 1981 and he was in a wheelchair I played him little wing and I sang to him and my final words to him is I hope you can fly my little wing. we were both kids we have the rescuers record and axis and frank zappa's hot rats and a james brown record called sex machine! most would say things like'you got a disney record player and axis and zappa and james brown?" yep. I still hate sweet home alabama! god I fucking hate skynard!

BBC Sessions - MCA 1998

Between the 'mess of the blues,' Jimi does present swell versions of a dozen classics - 7 from Are You Experienced, 3 Axis and 2 Electric Ladyville - but that leaves like 17 tracks of tonic/tonic/subdominant/tonic/dominant/subdominant/tonic electric blues bullshit and repeat material (three "Hey Joe"s, three "Drivin' South"s, two "Foxey Lady"s, 2 "Hear My Train A-Comin'"s). It does have a few gassers that you won't find on his three LPs, including a tight poppy run-through of "Day Tripper," a quick edition of "Sunshine Of Your Love" and a silly original Radio One theme song ("Just turn that dial! Make your music worthwhile! Radio One - You stole my gal!"), but this is very much a release for fans of Hendrix's guitar solos, of which I clearly am not. Sure, some of his passages are terrific -- especially the high-energy melodic runs of "Drivin' South" -- and the man knows his way around the guitar better than almost any guitarist I've ever heard (seriously - you get the feeling he could solo over a 12-bar blues for four hours straight without ever hitting a sour note), but it becomes SUCH a bore listening to him dick around with bendy high notes while his band plays nothing at all of note in the foreground.

Dylan rarity "Can You Please Crawl Out Of Your Window," Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man," Robert Petway's "Catfish Blues," Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" (kidding - don't correct me please), Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her" -- all of these and more crumble under the unfathomable weight of Jimi Hendrix fucking around with his wah-wah pedal. Seriously - "Killing Floor" is pretty much the only blues/r'n'b song that survives unscathed; unlike Led Zeppelin ("Lemon Song"), Jimi manages to keep his version down to two and a half minutes! My guess: he was out of dope.

I certainly respect Hendrix's abilities and LOVE the fact that one of redneck America's favorite legendary guitar gods is a black man (surely his success has contributed to racial tolerance in certain areas of the U.S. - at least, I hope so!), but come on - when one of your few new originals is entitled "Jammin'," you may be a bit too in love with the sound of your own amp.

Reader Comments

grover@noisetent.com
This one time my band had a gig booked at a dive bar in Denver. When we showed up to the gig, they said, "Didn't anyone contact you guys? You guys are cancelled tonight. Fannypack is in town for 2 nights!" I had no idea who Fannypack was, but I quickly found out they were a female NYC band. And I've still never heard them, but ever since that night I've secretly resented Fannypack. Oh, and Denver sucks too. It is just a stupid sports town. Bands, just play Boulder or skip Colorado altogether. Oh yeah, anyway, "Jimi Hendrix BBC Sessions." I haven't heard this either but hopefully it sounds good. It really is a shame that all Hendrix's albums have such poor production. Like they didn't know how to mic the drums at all, and then they just put a bunch of reverb on them. Yuck. I have The Fall Peel Sessions though, and that sounds terrific. Has anyone seen Hendrix playing a Fender Jaguar? They are my favorite guitars and Jimi reportedly played them, but I've only s

Live At Woodstock - MCA 1999

Nevertheless, it's quite an enjoyable double-CD considering. I mean, a low 7 for sure, what with Jiim playing more solos than a foot in his concentrated effort to fill up space where other songs might have gone had the band rehearsed any. But still, the Band of Gypsies were a formidable unit their own self, especially with ass kicker Mitch Mitchell on traps (drums). And they run through some old classics (four from AYE and one each from A:BAL and EL) as well as some decent new material ("Message To Love" is a GREAT soul rocker!), guitar jams galore, and most famously of all, Hendrix's legendary rendition of America's national anthem, Francis Scott Key's "Spanish Castle Magic." It's a ass-kicker!

Also, he does "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- and I know we're all a bit Freedom Rocked out on this track by now, but my God, Jimi's rendition is absolutely SICK! He makes some guitar noises in that song that I haven't heard reproduced by the noisiest of noise bands even to this day. It's an absolutely amazing track - up there with Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" - and it's the goddamned STAR-SPANGLED BANNER!!! Now see, that's the kind of Jimi Hendrix playing that impresses me: how did he come up with the idea of turning the national anthem into a grotesque collection of tremelo-bend swooping and lightning strike SCHWAK! noises!? Was he mistaking the lyrics sheet for the musical score? (bombs bursting in air, etc) Either way, thanks for the memories, Jimi Hendrix!

The rest of the album is an extended noisy guitar solo that the occasional song accidentally pops out of. The most telling moment is when Jimi suddenly says into the mic, "You can leave if you want to. We're just jammin'!" And jammin' they are indeed. Jammin' and improvisation. Especially in the tracks "Jam Back At The House" and "Woodstock Improvisation." So basically, you'll come for the hits ("Hey Joe," "Fire," "Foxey Lady," "Purple Haze") and stay for the stage patter.

Reader Comments

jjunea2@lsu.edu (Jason)
This is my favorite live Hendrix album. Non-stop wah-wah, crazy drums, and self-deprecating banter make for a relaxing listen. It’s also strange to hear only three musicians but read that there were six. Not much to add say try listening to the Sha-Na-Na set first and then the Hendrix, the effect is unsettling to say the least.

In The West - Polydor 1972

- one song each from his second and third albums

- JACK SHIT from R U X-perienced?

- Jimi pulling a "Star Spangled Banner" on "God Save The Queen" (a popular British music hall standard, better known in America as "My Country 'Tis Of Thee")

- a quick stupid jab at The Beatles' "Dr. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bank"

- the funkiest (and WORST!) cover of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" you will ever hear in your life (It's terrible!)

- a cover of Buck Cherry's "Johnny B. Goode" (a hilarious pun on the phrase "Johnny, Be Good" that will have you on your seats screaming with blood-specked laughter)

- THIRTEEN EXCRUCIATING MINUTES of Jimi's bland boring blues b-side "Red House," which bears no resemblance to the excellent Cows song of 1987

- A dull R'n'B original called "Lover Man," which bears no resemblance to the excellent Nick Cave song of 1994. It doesn't even have the same title! Where do you get "Lover Man" out of "Red Right Hand"? Dumbass. You fucking dumbass. Hey, did ya see this DUMBASS over here? God, what a dumbass! If you were a huge Husker "Du" fan, earned your "mba" and were a member of Hitler's "ss," you STILL wouldn't be a bigger "Dumbass" than you are right now! You fucking dumbass.

That's cool though. Nothing wrong with playing your bass guitar with a small lollipop.

With all of these high points, you might wonder, "Hey, Mr. Mark Prindle! How come you only gave this album a 5 instead of a 10 or 1?" Well, the answer is simple: "Voodoo Child" and "Little Wing" are great songs. And where else but the original studio albums and several other live albums are you going to find them? Also, I love cussing and right before "God Save The Queen," Jimi tells his British audience, "Stand up for your country and start singin'! And if you don't, fuck you." See? Jimi Hendrix was a witty, irreverent man! It's a pity he loved the blues and his wah-wah pedal so much, because he could have played some great concerts if he'd just stuck to his catchy rock/pop/r'n'b originals and refrained from making a bunch of cruddy distorted wire noise for three minutes at the end of every song.

Let's face Fax: Jimi Hendrix was an exciting, revolutionary guitar player. His concerts were probably ALL excellent because he was such a powerful showman, setting his guitar on fire and playing it with his teeth and whatnot. But as cool as they probably were to WATCH, most of his solos are brutal to listen to. They're just noisy and boring! Sometimes he'll catch on an actual melodic line and play that a little bit, BUT for the most part it's just like listening to Angus Young: a whole lotta bendy notes and narcissistic 'feeling' that ultimately amounts to nothing more than a very long, loud pause between one song and the next.

In conclusion, Jimi Hendrix is black and from Seattle, and now performs under the name "Sir Mix-A-Lot."

Reader Comments

emilvukov@yahoo.com
You can not put a Beethoven Symphony on the turntable and after one listen say - it's boring, I'll write a review.. Musical critique is much more serious thing. I am really surprised how many people who has no knowledge about the music theory or history or practice have the courage to write their reviews on the Internet.. What makes you think you have the right? If one Miles Davis said that Jimi Hendrix was a genius, you should think about it and not write nonsense instead. I would advise you to listen to Jimi every now and then and maybe after 20 or 40 years try to write something about it.

nanja_monja@hotmail.fr
I've got time on my hands, reading old reviews, and I just wanted to point out that the guy who wrote the above comment must have missed something about the experience of listening to music, what it actually feels like, and what record reviews are about.

Band Of Gypsys - Capitol 1970.

Reader Comments

smufus@iei.net (Derrick A. Smith)
Yeah, it does degenerate at points into a guitar solo fiesta. And Buddy Miles' songs have no worth, other than giving Jimi chances to play some solos (paradoxical, eh?) Buddy Miles' singing is like that cliched metaphor of claws on a blackboard. Then again, when the band finds a funky bassline-grounded groove, that means trouble, the good kind of trouble. And, well, usually I can't get into albums for only one or two songs, but "Machine Gun" makes this one an exception. That performance is just brutally painful.

Trashsurfr@aol.com
This album WAS released while Jimi was still alive, in order to fulfill a contractural obligation to Capitol, so I can excuse him for not giving a shit about it.

jltichenor@earthlink.net (James L. Tichenor)
I dont know guys, yeah this ain't a great live record, but its a damn good one. I think Buddy Miles songs are actually pretty good. They provide a nice interlude between Jimi's songs, and the drumming kicks ass! I am usually one who detests overlong solos that never end but Jimi pulls it off here and it doesnt get annoying (to me anyway). I guess you just have to light up a fat one to appreciate this record.

rottingcarrot@hotmail.com (Brion Briggsh)
I really think your underestimating this album!! This album shows that jimi was evolving very quickly through his short carreerr. It's definately not perfect, buddy miles' scat is quite bad but changes is a good song! Listen to the drumbeat! It's like an early punk song kind of. Machine gun is absolutely phenominal! I can understand people not understanding how good this is on their first few listens because almost the whole song is a solo and your mind can wonder. But if you pay close attention to this song it's no wonder that so many people (including kirk hammet of mettalicca and dean ween of ween) call the solo in machine gun the best ever solo in rock n roll history! Jimi's solos truely convey his feelings during the present moment.

Sometimes he just went into a trance as he played them and Machine gun is a good example of this. I give this album at least an 8/10

Voidog@comcast.net (Steve)
First of all Id like to say either people love this album or they hate it.I think it has its good points and bad points,and I dont think hendrix himself loved It all that much.His playing on here is great,but buddy miles and billy cox sound like a minimalistic backing track (Mitchell was definately a more interesting drummer) But this does give hendrix a basic pallete to jam on even if he can sound uninspired at times, he always seems to come through as a guitarist.There are a few highlights as far as songs and solos,And he can be experimental inside a blues structure.I listened to the other fillmore cd and I do think hendrix did a good job at picking the best versions for this album,The other machine gun versions aren't as good as this.All in all I like this album,as a guitarist hendrix always comes through for me.

sk8ter52@msn.com (Andrew Bowser)
As much as it kills me to say this about Hendrix , but the concert he did with the Band of Gypsys at the Fillmore East just sucked. It would have been better if it wasn’t for the damn shitty camera. I mean come on, who the hell wants to see the drummer keep drumming the easiest beats. Where was Mitch and Noel when you needed them.

Personally, Hendrix wasn’t the same with the Band of Gypsys. He just had to start bringing in more guys, causing Noel, then soon Mitch, leave him.

I've been to his grave in Washington State. It was the most gnardliest thing ever. If only I had my guitar with me at the time. I would've Jammed all day. Hendrix will always live on! :') man that’s good stuff.

Aww and screw everyone out there that dogs on him. You all can kiss my ass.

LONG LIVE HENDRIX!!

UBUPear@aol.com
What really ruins this record is buddy miles.......his drumming is horrible.....all you can hear are little league baseball bats pounding and pounding and pounding the snare like a bad headache.....Jimi is really good (his bad days are better than most guitarist's good days) and I think Billy Cox gets put down unfairly on this album......I think the bass playing is really good on this and suffers because of Miles......Jimi was under a lot of pressure at the time to have an all-black band....later when Miles leftt he still kept Cox and he brought back Mitch Mitchell....Check out some the later stuff with Mitchell and Cox....It's very good........

stephen.anthony@bbj.hu
OK, just one more comment.
Machine Gun is quite possibly Jimi's greatest solo. Ever. And possibly the greatest rock guitar solo ever. It just... transcends.

There you go.

jean_501@hotmail.com
You guys are all on crack. This is without a doubt one of the best live albums of all time. Great vibe, killer guitar playing. And it's an emotional album, not just some kind of demonstrative Jam. I give it a 9

Live At The Fillmore East - MCA 1999

I just thought of something strikingly appropriate and relevant to say to you.

Ha ha! Just kidding! It's Apposite Day!

Here's a little joke for you: Why did the old man buy 2,000 cartons of eggs?

Because he wanted to "Fill more East"er baskets!

So far this review is totally kicking ass. Let me grab my Dictionary of Insurance Terms here and make it even better.

Lightning may be the discharge of electricity from the atmosphere, one of the perils covered in most fire insurance policies, but that doesn't stop Jimi Hendrix from setting the sky alight with flaming guitars of rock and blues roll! When the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) developed the Model Policy Loan Interest Rate Bill, they never expected Jimi to blast crowds away for two separate nights at Billy Graham's World Famous Fillmore East. Hell, they probably needed Federal Flood Insurance after all the crying teenagers and sopping wet pussies left the venue! But alas, like the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), all we have now is this recording to go by: a mess of overlong songs and fucking ass-as-shit-ugly guitar solos. I mean, I hate to sound like an Associate in Premium Auditing (APA), but this is just a bunch of bendyass wah-wah racket!

In case your copy was stolen and you don't have Storekeepers Burglary and Robbery Insurance, I'll remind you that Jimi and His Band Of Gypsies herein, on this double-CD, perform only two classic tracks - "Stone Free" (for 13 asininical minutes) and "Voodoo Child," filling the rest of the gigs with "Auld Lang Syne," TWENTY-FIVE minutes of "Machine Gun," and some rarities that might actually make the record worth your while if you're a Hendrix completist -- especially if your Gross Estate doesn't include the fast cowpunker "Stepping Stone" (not a cover), cute catchy descending riffer "Earth Blues," Free-esque soul cover "Stop" and (umm... theoretically) meandering, quarter-written 8-minute 'rock' song "Burning Desire." Check your Past Service Benefit to make sure you don't already have these, but PLEASE don't buy this messy, lazy, raggedy, stoned double-live-disc on account of Buddy Miles' "We Gotta Live Together." You know what it is? Well, do you? According to my Probability Distribution, you likely don't so I'll share the news:

It's a 10-minute gospel audience singalong with two lines.

Jimi's cracking jokes about Drive Other Car Insurance (DOC) left and right though, including this great ad-lib verse in "Who Knows": "It's New Year's Eve/1969/Whatcha gonna do for me?/Scratch my behind." Oh Jimi! If only you'd had a Life Income With Period Certain. Where were the Liquor Liability Laws when you needed them?

Also, why did you like the electric blues so much? Has there ever been a more limited musical form? Even using Modified Reserve Methods, you're still basically playing 12 bars of tonic-subdominant-dominant Goat Shit for white losers who think they feel something when you go "Bwee!"

It has its moments though ("Hear My Train A-Comin'" choogles like CCR's "Graveyard Train" in this rendition!; "Voodoo Child (Slight Return) never fails to satisfy!; "Who Knows" and "Changes" are groovy as shit! Hear them!; and I already mentioned "Earth Blues"), so I'll give it 6 points. By which I mean 6% of the loan amount paid to the lender for making a loan.

Ha ha! Just kidding! It's Opportunity Cost Day!

And if you thought THIS review was a gasss, wait til you read the piece of shit I wrote for the new Obituary album!

The Cry Of Love - Reprise 1971.

Reader Comments

Jcjh20@aol.com
"Angel" is a beautiful song, one of my favorite Hendrix songs actually.

Sky High - Skydog 1972.

Just years later, I was in NYC's "Other Music" store when I happened across an $8.00 album with a cartoon skull against a neat blue-black background. Assuming it was a Grateful Dead album, I of course grabbed it faster than arms can swallow because the Grateful Dead have never made a bad album if you're stoned all the time. Imagine how quickly my socks filled with dung when I saw photographs of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison on the back. "A Spontaneous Jam Session," the text excitedly announced, before listing the members of Jiimi Hendrix's band The Experiential Marketers, along with those of Jim Morrison and Johnny Winter. "HOLY FRIJOLE, SENOR!" I shouted, being a native Mexican named Marcos Prindle (pronounced "Preen-yah-dlay"). I bought it, took it home, threw it on the turntable and gave it a 3.

Jimi Hendrix can play a guitar. He's mighty, mighty good with those solos. And it's certainly neat to hear him doing his "wild african-american" thing to "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Outside Woman Blues" and "Sunshine of Your Love." But side two is an extremely trying, tiring and tyring blues bland, and Jim Morrison... ONLY says "SUCK ME WOMAN - ALL NIGHT"! Here I was dreaming of a half-hour drunken Jim Morrison cussfest filled with immorality and words like "p---y," and all I get is a couple of generic blues lyrics and a shout of "Suck me woman - all night"?!? If I'd known that's all it was, I would have just stayed home, took a bluesy shit on my guitar and yelled at my wife (a woman) to suck me all night. It's the SAME THING.

So the next time you're in a car with a former member of Caroliner and he starts to talk about this awesome jamfest featuring the three leading artists of the late '60s (except Johnny Winter, whom I see as the "Jeff Lynne" of this pre-Wilburies supergroup), tear his hands from the wheel, drive the car into the ocean and tell him what Tom Bosley told me so many years ago -- "Yes, you ARE going down, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Reader Comments

Jmerenivitchsr@aol.com
I've heard one track from Sky High I always thought he was saying "SEE MY WOMAN, FUCK HER IN THE ASS" which of course is way funnier than "suck me woman". So next time you listen to this album, imagine him saying the above phrase, instead of "suck me or whatever. Then you can give it a 4.

dezlegsic@hotmail.com (Dez Legsik)
Hey I think there are a couple different versions of this jam. A friend used to have an album where a very drunk Jim Morrison repeatedly yells F*ck Her in the Ass, over and over again. On the album the song is titled FHITA. Catchy huh? I think that album was called Jimi Hendrix: High, Live and Dirty.

Johnny Winter, great guitar player that he is, has always maintained he was never at this jam. He did play with Hendrix at the Scene Club and in the studio sometime in '68-69, but is adamant that he never, ever met Jim Morrison.

poorroyschieder@hotmail.com (Derek Nicholson)
The copy of this album I've run across is called Woke up this morning and found myself dead. If I recall it correctly Morrison gets a little more colorful than suk me woman!!!!

Is that a good thing, I dont think so but for those who are interested in this particular recording it appears as thought there may be several variations of it kickin around.

The Ultimate Experience - MCA 1993.

Reader Comments

gstarst@rsuh.ru (George Starostin)
Nope, Mark. "Angel" is great. You can really feel Jimi's emotions on that one. I haven't got Cry Of Love 'cos I can't find it, but if the other songs are at least half as good as "Angel", I'll do my best to lay my hands on it. What I personally don't like about this compilation is that once again Axis has been underrated.

Still, UE has got some of the most interesting music coming out of the Sixties, and though I don't listen to Jimi much I still must say that the man had an INCREDIBLE force in him. And I don't mean his technical skills. All that tooth-playing, guitar-burning, amplifier-fucking, finger-flashing thing - it was good enough to attract the public, but the man had FEELING as well, and it shows on his records! Yeah, you can name me at least a dozen modern guitarists who could overplay Jimi with their technique, but NOBODY could reproduce that excitement he created - 'cos flashy fingers ain't the only thing one needs to play guitar! And what was that about "Blues-Wankin' Noise" you were talkin' about? Okay, you may hate blues as much as you want (although I think 'tis rather naive to do that), but I tell you- Jimi's playing's not really bluesy at all. At least, it's not more bluesy than the Stones' playing.

ian.moss@yale.edu
This was my introduction to Hendrix, and it was a good one. If you're gonna buy just one Hendrix album, get this one. I suppose you could get Are You Experienced? but you wouldn't get "Voodoo Child," "All Along the Watchtower," "Little Wing," or the Star-Spangled Banner--and Ultimate has half of Are You Experienced? on it anyway.

jtcable@home.com (Josh Cable)
It doesn't get much better than Voodoo Child. The only song where the wah-wah sounds really good. And then add that riff, and then add a million other awesome riffs. This is like ancient VH to me really. Before VH started using really dumb sounding synths and doing ballads with Shammy Lee Roth, or whatever.

What the fuck?

This is a really great collection of his music. They even added his version of our national anthem. Good idea there.

All these songs are rightfully burned into our memory at birth. Jimi was so wronged in his actual life and his career, opening for the fucking Monkees and getting booed at by STUPID FUCKING FEMALES. So now all his songs are played every hour, on the hour, for about 30 years and running.

For any musical act, I would not wish a fate like that on. So it's worse that it happened to Jimi. Imagine what those stupid little Monkees fans are like now. They are why we live in such a pathetic world right now. Because all those brats have now spawned, and have severed their marriges. I know some moms out there have 9 kids, all by different men. And you can bet that those chicks are all Monkees fans. FUCK THE MONKEES. Jimi is God.

ClashWho@aol.com (Tim Eimiller)
The wah-wah sounds really good on Cream's "White Room." Also, the Monkees really aren't nearly important enough in terms of rock history to warrant such bile. Let me put it this way, the Monkees wish they had the kind of acclaim Jimi Hendrix has enjoyed over the decades. Although they're probably glad they've lived longer.

stephen.anthony@bbj.hu
My last comment, honest!
coupla fabulous wah-wahs to be savoured:
Clapton on Tales of Brave Ulysses (Disraeli Gears)
Stephen Stills on Season of the Witch (Kooper-Stills-Bloomfield supersession)

Blues - MCA 1994.

Obviously, I don't have to tell you that most people disagree with me on this issue. But that's cool. I'm not gonna pretend to enjoy Jimi's solos - I enjoy a lot of his melodies and I like his voice and I appreciate what he did for the revolution of the electric guitar, and I feel that that's enough. Thus, I have little use for this blues CD. It's all electric blues (except one acoustic song). A few of the songs are great ("Red House" never stopped ruling, and "Once I Had A Woman" is effectively as depressing as a broken pinky toe), but most of them are just okay. Lots and lots and lots of guitar solos. Buy it if you enjoy Jimi's solos. Stay at home and listen to Are You Experienced? if you like a little riffage with your masturbation.

Reader Comments

gstarst@freestamp.com (George Starostin)
Hey Mark! Don't you think we're all just too small and stupid to really dig that kind of music ol' Jimi was teasing us with? I sometimes think that, even without all those gimmicky grooves like teeth-playing, etc., he was still an ingenious kind of guy, much more ingenious than Jimmy Page ever was. Maybe it's because he's black? It's hard indeed for a white guy to get into a black man's music, it's often said, because they are too different at heart. So we go and dig Clapton, or Page, or anybody like that, but we don't dig Hendrix because his playing's too different. I sometimes feel his greatness - somewhere there, but I just cannot state it in exact words. I still think that one has to learn to listen to Jimi's playing. I'm still in the act, personally. Maybe in twenty years time... who knows? Anyway, I respect all of his fans a lot. They sure do understand more about music than I.

P.S.: all said refers to playing, not to songwriting. I stand dead on this one: Jimi was a bad songwriter and I know he knew it as well.

emrobert@mail.e-mg.co.za
Hmmmm, Uhmmmmmm. Yes.

As much as I want to kick Mister MarkyPrindle in the ass for this review, I have to agree. Make no mistake, Master Hendrix is one of my all-time favourites, despite the fact that he goes on a trundle far, far from where his rythm section is at on many occasions. But, yes, ole Prindle here has a point. Jimi's just fuckin' all over the place on this one, and even if looong blues solo's are yer bag this is sure to tire you a lot faster than say, the Carpenters or any one of those kick-ass groupings. This is weird shit, though, it's really, really good, in a self-indulgent sort of way, but then, a guitar is a selfish instrument and I guess I'm just shitting about right now, so I'll stop, but then on the other hand I'll just keep going. Well that's it. Just what Jimi did. He fucked about thought about stopping and just went on again. Like a train, or a really big turd, or like...you kinow what I mean. This record is good, but it's shite. Good shite. Shite good. Dunno, just doesn't kick me in the ass like generic electric blues should.

MosesianGJ@ems.com (Grant J. Mosesian)
I absolutely adore Jimi. Picked this one up when my interest in the blues started about a year ago. I find it a nice mix of Jimi's take on the blues. Of course if you don't like him you wont like it. I can't get enough of his bouncy version of "Mannish Boy".

Now a little rant about your outlook on Hendrix, specifically his song writing ability. Ok maybe Dylan wasn't shaking in his boots but most of his lyrics are very concise. I ask anyone to name me someone who was considered top at their instrument, write 95% of their songs, sing them with such verve and have a big hand in the production. Pretty damn short list. And don't try any of that Steve Vai- Joe Satriani stuff. I said SING. If I want instrumentals Ill listen to Beethoven. This is what makes me like Jimi so much. You could take him playing a song and have someone else sing it and it just wouldn't be the same i.e. the icky Band Of Gypsys. I have never heard someone have so much fun being able to do their thing and play their music. Think about that for a while.

SingerPaul@cnc.com
The Black Crowes is generic blues. Jimi's blues playing was far from generic. He was an R&B sideman for years before he climbed to rock stardom. Hendrix's whole style was based in the blues. I don't know why you feel you need to trash this very cool collection of Jimi's blues playing. But then again I'm sure you could out-soul some generic hack like Hendrix. Probably put him to shame. You may not like Hendrix's solos for whatever mental deficiencies you suffer from, but the the guy's soloing did not suck. Then again I'm sure your soloing makes both Hendrix and Jimmy Page look like the talentless frauds you think Hendrix was.

Hendrix bad songwriter - What the fuck are you people talking about? The reason people still listen to the guy is because his songs hold up 30 years later. Purple Haze, Third Stone from the Sun, Manic Depression, The Wind Cries Mary, Red House, Little Wing, If 6 was 9, Castles Made Of Sand, Look Over Yonder, Midnight, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Machine Gun... Yeah buddy all those songs suck. Really bad songwriting. Lenny Kravitz is a bad songwriter.

angus_rap@hotmail.com (Alex R)
Hey Prindle!. I just recently bought a copy of Live At The Fillmore East, and this a truly amazing live record.

On the first CD it opens with a 13 minute version of " Stone Free " and it kicks ass!!. Then it`s " Power Of Soul " which is another good song, and it was supposed to appear on his new album : First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, but unfortunetly, Jimi croaked. Then it`s a 9 minute version of " Hear My Train A Comin " which is also a cool blues rocker. Next is " Izabella " which was also to appear on First Rays, and the song kicks ass because it`s so catchy. The next song is " Machine Gun " which is probably Jimi`s greatest performance ever, the solo is so amazing. Then it`s " Voodoo Child " which kicks the studio version`s Ass!!. And finally the first CD ends with the Buddy Miles song called " We Gotta Live Together " , it`s alright but it just doesn`t blow me away.

The next CD has nine other tracks with another version of " Machine Gun " and a couple of Buddy Miles songs which are pretty good.

This album is a MUST for every Hendrix fan. Though it doesn`t have " Message To Love " which is featured on Band Of Gypsies, i`ll try to find a copy of that cheap because 5 out of the 6 songs are already on Fillmore. So a 9/10 for this terrific live album. And Buddy Miles is a kick ass drummer!.

Ozzy77@aol.com
I would just like to say that if you dont like Jimi Hendrix or GNR, YOU SUCK! I could not tell you how many times I have been up pounding and smoking to Band Of or GNR. These to groups got me through college and is still getting me through life. By far the two best groups ever. This is just my opinion but I can say almost all of my friends will agree with me on this. Great wedsite keep it up.

xcorpion@socal.rr.com (Chris Kaye)
You obviously know very little if anything on what Jimi Hendrix was about. What you miss is that he was trying to universally bring music together from every angle into something everyone here on this earth could enjoy. This is someone who doesn't need his music reviewed by anyone, especially by todays standards and weak generation of minds, out of the bounds of your imagination. Too much of this album is good and this one sucks and this one is okay but half the others on it are shit. Since when has any human even lifted above the negative field and brought anything half decent to us. Whether you are aware or not, the guy could play the guitar inside out, upside down, right or left handed, knew how to compose layer upon layer of guitars and bass as well create his own masterpieces with sounds you still yourself could not imitate, who cares what you think, thats what he did and will ever be marked on this planet by those who can see past the confusion and bullshit of what we are consistenly fed by the media and other imposing sharks. Jimi not a songwriter but just some supersonic feedback playing freak, with only a few songs to really remmeber him by, man you are the fried one and lack the ability to hear and feel. I suggest you remove this entire Hendrix post for it being so filled with holes and stupidity, since you don't really care for him in the frist place.

Guitarfiend850@aol.com
you are a real prick who doesnt know anything about music so you can shove that ridiculous fucking review up your sorry ass

The Rainbow Bridge Concert - Purple Haze 2003

One week before he choked to death on a tomato sandwich, Jimi Hendrix pulled together five of his best friends, including Miles Davis (credited as "Buddy Miles" since he and Hendrix were good pals) and others to perform two shows in the middle of a bridge in Rainbow City, Alabama. During these messy, sloppy shows performed with absolutely no skill at all, especially by the drummer who couldn't play ANY of the classic JH Experience tracks correctly (he's too loose and bloopy!), Jimi and his Band of Actual Gypsies skirt their way through 16 songs, including covers of Nick Cave's "Lover Man" and the Cows' "Red House" as well as all three tracks on his classic Are You Sexperienced? pornographic film, including "Voodoo Children."

There's some new material on here too that might interest you, and this part doesn't have any factual errors, so read it for real. Read this shit for real.

-- "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" sounds like a sadder, quieter reworking of the "All Along The Watchtower" chord sequence (with the final chord changed to a sadder one). It's worth hearing, especially if you need to test out your new ear.

-- "In From The Storm" features a good hard funk riff, but it sounds like the band doesn't actually know how it's supposed to go -- kinda directionless and half-written. Either that or Jimi was going through a "Flipper" period.

-- Continuing our tour of rare material, we now "Dolly Dagger," a funky "bliddy bliddy bliddy" pop-rock song that you'd have to have immeasurably poor taste to find anything of worth in. Actually, this might have been on one of his other post-mortem albums. I don't know. I haven't listened to Jimi Hendrix in a while. I am over the age of 13, after all.

- "Land Of The New Rising Sun" is an instrumental with some interesting chord changes. Oddd! Some arpeggiation, lots of phase or something. Tremelo? I dunno. Certainly not a fully fleshed out song though.

--------- -- - ---- - "Instrumental" - Shut up!

In conclusatory finishment, Jimi Hendrix, one of the first black men to play the guitar, was one of the hottest stars of Seattle's grunge scene. When he died in a bathtub in Paris, many people thought that he would never be heard from again. Luckily, this messy, sloppy live double-CD that sounds like it was recorded in an airplane hanger filled with cement, is here to remind us of the anemic songwriting that would likely have plagued the rest of Jimi's recording career had he lived. As such, we can look to the Heavens and say, "Thank you, CIA, for forcing so much wine down Jimi Hendrix's throat that he died of alcohol poisoning before he could devolve into the African-American Eric Clapton."

God, can you imagine how much Eric Clapton would rule if he'd died in 1970? Fuck, I'D probably even like the guy! Unfortunately, only the good die young.

Reader Comments

byronmoore@hotmail.com
all my life i been wrestling with this issue. it may yet ruin another love relationship. E.C. Eric Crapton. Mr. Slowhandjive. The white Robert Cray.

but I LOVE eric clapton, this i must say. i also must say that he ain't done diddly since 1975. yup, that's where i draw the line. back when the hottest selling bumber sticker in the ol USofA was "Stay Alive in 75 Keep it Under 55" remember that one? Everything Crap Tone did up to the No Reason To Cry album was ace! yardbirds, cream, derekandthedelaneys, his first solo elpee, where he's sitting peeling an orange on the cover. the one with all the friendly musician types who helped out on it (eric gave away lots of dope when he got rich, hence made a lot of friends) are pictured on the back cover (except stephen stills who was too high he was right out of the photo) 461 rehap boulevard is real nice and There's One In Every Crowd is my fave! no hits! just mellow funky soulfull playin' and singin' and songin'. casual and brill. great record. then that same year - 1975! he put out a live album. the last great thing released under the Clapton banner ever again. nice cover too, had a large close-up of a sweet lady's naked back, and when ya flipped it over a super close-up of her cleavie! the album was called E.C. Was Here - get it? hahayukyukyuk. it's passionate, got some fiery geetar with some credit to george terry who plays so much like eric it's hard to know whoswho. and eric sings like he still means it with help from either marcy levy or yvonne elliman. nice harmonies. after that you can forget about clapton. even the cream reunion this past summer, the fugger never even pulled out the ol' axes he used in cream, instead played that damn same strat! never even pulled out the wah-what neither. Cream with all strats, no marshalls and no wah-wahs??? 37 years we waited for that? it's hopeless, clapton is hooped. and i can finally stand by what i said at the beginning: After 1975 there ain't no use for the Crapper. CLAP OFF!

artvandelay5576@yahoo.com (Joe Simonetti)
I strongly disagree with your assessment of Hendrix. While some of his lyrics leave a lot to be desired, the musical arrangements are creative and well executed. The guy who reduced “Are You Experienced” to a series of come-ons is a farkin’ moron. I’m not gonna spend too much time writing here because my feeling is that nobody reads this stuff anyway. But for what it’s worth – Hendrix never once claimed to be the best guitar player in the world. He refuted those claims each time people tried hanging them on him. He was an extremely gifted player, though, who never resigned himself to narrow musical forms, instead opting to experiment through jam sessions with the widest range of musicians that 1967-70 had to offer. Maybe you don’t like him, and that’s cool because music is all a matter of taste, but as a soloist on a particular instrument, the guy was phenomenal. People who try to dismiss his playing as cock-rock or bravado are full of shite and fail to comprehend the true meaning of improvisation where live performances are concerned. Sure, his major chords are flashy, but they’re usually sandwiched between subtle minor patterns (which is what makes them memorable) and distinguishes him from the pubescent guitar “shredders” who mistake technical skill for musical substance. Jimi always found a way to weave emotion into his technical prowess, which is why his music resonates so many years after he passed.

One more thing: When you offer Jimi Hendrix reviews, it’s helpful to distinguish between the live performances – loose, full of improvisation and (owing to either primitive equipment or physical intoxication) sloppy – and the polished studio recordings. They are worlds apart and branding them as mere “blues-based” playing is just a lazy way of saying you don’t understand the difference.

I dig your site a lot. You offer no-bullshit appraisals of some of the most vital and overlooked music. But your take on Hendrix is equivocal, at best.

(Ian Moss reviews) First Rays of the New Rising Sun - MCA 1997.

Reader Comments

seriouscuriousgeorge@hotmail.com
This record starts out promising enough. Just over half the tracks rock although in a mellower way than the debut album, but at some point everything seems to hit a wall somewhere. The clue to this is in the liner notes which lists the exact dates all the songs were recorded on and also lists when they were mixed. About half of them weren't completed until after Hendrix's death with producer Eddie Kramer doing the final mixing, so we end up with a disc that highlights the main problem that comes up with any record released after Hendrix's death: it's probably not an entirely accurate record of what Hendrix wanted people to hear. The lack of sonic experiments on this disc is evidence of this problem. As I said above, it has a more subdued feel to it probably indicating that he was trying to get away from the wild freak reputation he got from "Are You Experienced", but it also just doesn't have the energy of his earlier stuff. Still it's a decent record with only 2 or 3 really dull tracks. Buy it if you're interested in hearing where Hendrix was musically around the end of his life. Otherwise stick to the first three studio albums.

bdickson4830@hotmail.co.uk
I've had different, somewhat conflicting opinions on Hendrix through the years. My first exposure to him was through watching the Jimi Plays Monterey concert on TV in 1989, when I was 19, and into bands like Iron Maiden, Queen and Rush, bands that place an emphasis on careful craftsmanship at the expense of spontaneity. Seeing Hendrix play was a revelation, he not only seemed so effortless at his playing, he looked like he was loving every minute of being on stage too. I became a big fan after that.
A couple of years later I got more into down to earth rock and roll like Motorhead and Aerosmith, and the "loose" sound of most Hendrix didn't appeal to me as much. But more recently I decided to play his albums again, and I really enjoyed most of them. I'm largely tired of his studio albums by now, but most of his live stuff I'll happily listen to. It's true that by and large he wasn't a fantastic songwriter (excluding the amazing 1983 A merman etc) but onstage he exudes a "feel" that's compelling. Even when he was dog tired like at The Isle Of Wight he could occasionally dazzle. Often it doesn't seem that he's playing with any rigid musical aim in mind, but wherever his subconcious took him.
So maybe there's a part of Hendrix that appeals to the teenage mentality, and also to more mature ears.

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