May 12, 1967 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Are You Experienced

The first non-Beatles album in my library and first full album of 1967 is "Are You Experienced", the debut album from The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on May 12. Jimi Hendrix was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, but the Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed in London when their manager Chas Chandler (formerly of the Animals) brought Hendrix to England to recruit members for a band to show off his amazing guitar talents. They recruited bassist Noel Redding (who was originally a guitarist) and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Hendrix also performed lead vocals, although he wasn't nearly as confident as a singer as he was a guitarist. When it was first released, the U.S. and U.K. releases had different track listings, however since 1997 (when the album was reissued on CD) the album has an official 17 tracks, combining all the songs from both releases. 

The album begins with "Foxy Lady", and from the start I think Hendrix was too hard on himself as a singer, he does a great job I think. This song is about a beautiful woman and you can't help but whisper "foxy" along with the song. It is a perfect example of Hendrix's style and has his first guitar solo, which isn't too fancy but nonetheless sounds great. Track 2 is "Manic Depression", which features some great drumming from Mitchell. Hendrix spins off another good guitar solo and this album is off to a great start already. It only gets better with "Red House", a blues track where Hendrix really lets loose on both guitar and vocals. His guitar playing is so fast, yet also so precise and this song is my early favourite, and the first two were pretty good as well. The next song "Can You See Me" is mich simpler, but a great little song still. Track 5's "Love Or Confusion" is a very psychedelic song about mixed signals. The guitar sounds trippy and already this album is showing various styles of rock, and they all sound great. Side 1 ends with "I Don't Live Today", which starts a little slow, but once the chorus starts it gets much better. There is a false ending a little after 2 and a half minutes, before a drone-y guitar and frantic drums close out the song. The end part is just madness, and while some may call it noise, I think it sounds mind bogglingly awesome.

Side 2 begins with "May This Be Love", a slower song that doesn't really jump out at you, but shows that Hendrix can go soft as well. Track 8 is "Fire" which would become one of Hendrix's biggest hits. Jimi's guitar is not actually that complicated, it's an excellent rhythm section that carries the song with some great bass by Redding and tight drumming from Mitchell. I love when Hendrix sings "move over Rover, and let Jimi take over" and a simple but effective guitar solo follows. It's a great song and continues this very solid debut album. The longest song on the album is next, the spacey "Third Stone From The Sun". It doesn't have any normal singing, but features Hendrix voice very distorted, talking as if there are two aliens discovering the Earth. They decide they don't understand humans and will end us. It has some very psychedelic guitar, and shows another side for Hendrix, a progressive side with longer, more instrumental sections. Track 10 is "Remember", a short little rock song about wanting a girl back. Hendrix sings about remembering the good times and wanting to get back with this woman, a classic rock story. Side 2 finishes with the very trippy "Are You Experienced?" With backwards guitars, bass and drums and even Hendrix on piano, this song is unlike anything else on the album and is reminiscent of the Beatles use of backwards instruments last year on "Revolver". I really like the chorus, how it goes almost silent and Hemdrix asks "bit first, are you experienced?" Hendrix has written a ton of great songs, and all of them have their own feel, really fantastic for a debut record. This is where the original U.K. record ended, but next are the songs that were released as singles, 3 very popular A-sides and their respective B-sides which are now viewed as part of the original album.

"Side 3" as I'll call it begins with a cover called "Hey Joe", originally by Billy Roberts. Similar to John Lennon's "Run For Your Life", this song is about the singer going to shoot his girlfriend because she cheated on him. Apparently just breaking up with someone is not an option! It's a slow song with a decent guitar solo. Up next is "Stone Free", a fun little tune about not wanting to be tied down. Hendrix sings that he needs to be free to does what he pleases and I think I like this B-side more than the A-side. Track 14 is the legendary "Purple Haze", another song where Jimi shows off his talents. With an excellent guitar solo and more frantic playing during the fade out at the end of the song, Hendrix gives it all in what is definitely one the Experience's most recognizable songs. The next song is "51st Anniversary", which is a bass-driven song that seems about a happy couple, until halfway through Hendrix says "that was the good side baby, here comes the bad side" and explains how they have stayed together since 17 years old, but they've been unhappy and she's cheating and he's drinking. Quite a turn, and it continues the theme of "Stone Free", Hendrix really believed in not settling down too early. Track 16 was another huge hit, "The Wind Cries Mary". It is a slow song, but geatures some very precise playing from Hendrix and still has a great guitar solo. Hendrix can even make slow rock song into a great one. The album closes out with "Highway Chile" which not surprisingly, has some more excellent guitar playing from Hendrix. There really are no bad songs on this album, it's an incredible debut from a once-in-a-lifetime guitarist. 

That wraps up "Are You Experienced". Wow. What an amazing album. The sky is the limit for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and this album surely will go down as one of the best debut albums of all time. It'll be very hard for Hendrix to top this record, but I look forward to hearing him try! I'll be back in "a couple weeks" for another outing with some familiar faces...