Classic Rock Album of the Day (Bonus Review) - The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Are You Experienced. (1967) **** 1/2
Now, something dangerous on my part. Trying, to review maybe the most discussed album ever, I mean one that was released when I was only 9 years old. Who am I to discuss maybe the most dissected and analyzed LP's in history. And the point is... Hendrix is higly essential and integral to rock history. There are literally dozens of books discussing the genius and innovation of the icon. Maybe I use that term too freely sometimes, but no one can dispute Jimi Hendrix as maybe the ultimate "icon" in this tree branch of music known as Rock. Read how many interviews where most of the rock stars after that, picked up the ax in their admiration for the man.
What he did in 1967, is basically redefine what the guitar became in the band. Pre-1967 rock bands had a lot more hmmm.. what I call democracy. There tended to be more balanced and structured on the 4/4 signature of nicely hooked themes and by '67, there were the Beatles and 10,000 bands who tried to sound like them.
I am going to bring up another reoccuring theme we discuss here around the greateness of what makes rock.... "Chaos". I believe Hendrix invented it for our branch of the music, much in the way that Jackson Pollock changed the overall view of what constituted art. Pre- 1967, when a band had fuzz, distortion, and feedback in their amps, it was considered to an be embarassing professional moment. Hendrix took distortion and feedback, made art and music that blew the hippie's minds. This album also may be the first that had almost admittance and endorsement of the use of hallucinogens. Much less less subtle than Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. I personally would or could never taken them,. but apparently the "turn on" crowd found that Jimi the poet spoke for that process. The title song, which was incredibly innovative for 1967, basically says it all for that.
But way above the innovative , is that Hendrix on this album has in his honor maybe the most played music on classic rock radio. Incredibly. All four of these songs are mainstays in the radio rotation. And I am guessing they always will be:
1. Purple Haze
2. Hey Joe
3. The Wind Cries Mary
4. Foxey Lady
Then add othe classics we all know like Stone Free, Manic Depression, and Fire. This might have been one of the most filler-free albums ever made. All of these songs are great rockers and ballads that just showed that Hendrix was not only a conveyor of fuzzy distortion, he was a fine songwriter too. He brought a touch of R&B to the mix that really worked.
Thinking about the legacy of Hendrix, I am certain their would be No Prince, No Van Halen, etc. No Chaos. Rock music as we know it would look and sound considerably different. Culturally he shot the hippiedom up 10 notches, and musically his peers, including the Beatles, Stones, Clapton, and almost everyone else, where in awe of him. What also gets lost in the understanding of Jimi, is his entire legacy and impact is based on 3 studio albums. Yep, only 3. Of course part of that sad legacy is he flamed out at the young age of 27. There aren't many rockers can you legitimately call a legend, but here is one.
Now, something dangerous on my part. Trying, to review maybe the most discussed album ever, I mean one that was released when I was only 9 years old. Who am I to discuss maybe the most dissected and analyzed LP's in history. And the point is... Hendrix is higly essential and integral to rock history. There are literally dozens of books discussing the genius and innovation of the icon. Maybe I use that term too freely sometimes, but no one can dispute Jimi Hendrix as maybe the ultimate "icon" in this tree branch of music known as Rock. Read how many interviews where most of the rock stars after that, picked up the ax in their admiration for the man.
What he did in 1967, is basically redefine what the guitar became in the band. Pre-1967 rock bands had a lot more hmmm.. what I call democracy. There tended to be more balanced and structured on the 4/4 signature of nicely hooked themes and by '67, there were the Beatles and 10,000 bands who tried to sound like them.
I am going to bring up another reoccuring theme we discuss here around the greateness of what makes rock.... "Chaos". I believe Hendrix invented it for our branch of the music, much in the way that Jackson Pollock changed the overall view of what constituted art. Pre- 1967, when a band had fuzz, distortion, and feedback in their amps, it was considered to an be embarassing professional moment. Hendrix took distortion and feedback, made art and music that blew the hippie's minds. This album also may be the first that had almost admittance and endorsement of the use of hallucinogens. Much less less subtle than Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. I personally would or could never taken them,. but apparently the "turn on" crowd found that Jimi the poet spoke for that process. The title song, which was incredibly innovative for 1967, basically says it all for that.
But way above the innovative , is that Hendrix on this album has in his honor maybe the most played music on classic rock radio. Incredibly. All four of these songs are mainstays in the radio rotation. And I am guessing they always will be:
1. Purple Haze
2. Hey Joe
3. The Wind Cries Mary
4. Foxey Lady
Then add othe classics we all know like Stone Free, Manic Depression, and Fire. This might have been one of the most filler-free albums ever made. All of these songs are great rockers and ballads that just showed that Hendrix was not only a conveyor of fuzzy distortion, he was a fine songwriter too. He brought a touch of R&B to the mix that really worked.
Thinking about the legacy of Hendrix, I am certain their would be No Prince, No Van Halen, etc. No Chaos. Rock music as we know it would look and sound considerably different. Culturally he shot the hippiedom up 10 notches, and musically his peers, including the Beatles, Stones, Clapton, and almost everyone else, where in awe of him. What also gets lost in the understanding of Jimi, is his entire legacy and impact is based on 3 studio albums. Yep, only 3. Of course part of that sad legacy is he flamed out at the young age of 27. There aren't many rockers can you legitimately call a legend, but here is one.
