Sometimes you miss music the first time around. That was true for me and Jimi Hendrix, the man who set fire to the cosy cottage of sixties pop music. The ex-paratrooper landed with a multi-hued explosion in the UK, producing not one but two key albums in the seminal year of 1967.
Old friend and passionate Hendrix follower Steven Newstead was in on the ground floor, as he joins Vinyl Connection to explain…
The first release by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was the single “Hey Joe” in December 1966, in the UK. I liked what I heard on the radio and bought the 7”. The B-side, “Stone Free” was also impressive. But my life changed forever when I wandered into my bedroom one night and heard something astounding on the radio, thirty seconds of wailing, glass-shattering guitar underscored by a chant of “purple haze”. What the hell was this? I was hooked.
There was another single in the UK, the third, released in May 1967. This one was a surprise, and a pleasant one. Instead of the much-loved guitar assaults of the previous songs, this was a pretty ballad, “The Wind Cries Mary”, with lyrical rhythm and lead guitars. An album—in glorious mono—came out in the UK at around the same time. By now albums were starting to be seen as the real statement of intent by an artist (thanks, Beatles) and this one was highly anticipated due to the preceding singles and the buzz surrounding the band’s performances around swinging London.
The album had none of the singles on it (thanks again, Beatles?) and in its title threw down the challenge Are You Experienced (no question mark). I thought I was experienced (in some ways) but was about to become a lot more so. Musically, at least.
The cover shot of the band was dark, almost sombre, with Jimi’s black cape wings outstretched over the heads of his white boy associates, one either side. On the back, a black and white collage highlighting the band leader, with bios of the band. Jimi’s detailed his years as a jobbing musician in the States, backing some of the great R&B acts of the time. It finished with a quote, “All we are trying to do now is create, create, create music, our own personal sound, our own personal being”. Very ’67. I recall noticing the back cover had no track listing. It wasn’t long before I didn’t need one. Even now, fifty years on, I can hear and see Are You Experienced with a hundred times more clarity and detail than the record player I first played it on could possibly have delivered.
“Foxy Lady” is an ideal opener, and a great pick as a single. It has that amazing Jimi chord and a great riff that has become iconic over time. The lyrical content centres on the sort of playful sexuality that has its roots in the blues. But it’s the next track, “Manic Depression” which starts to change things. A full-on assault from start to finish, “Manic Depression” matches sound and message in a powerful expression of helplessness and frustration.
After that, “Red House” offers glorious respite—a straightforward 12 bar blues which became a highlight of Hendrix live shows.
I’ve always regarded “Can You See Me” as the weakest song on the album, but it does point towards the end of side one as “Love Or Confusion” again mirrors content in sound. The concluding song on the first side is “I Don’t Live Today” with more lyrics of depression and despair…“feel like I’m living at the bottom of a grave”. But the significant element of this song is the double-timed jazzy outro with Jimi exploring feedback and other noises to an extent never before heard on record. It was a taste of what was to come.
Side two opener, “May This Be Love”, is a neglected classic. A sweet ballad with beautifully clean lead guitar, a stye that would reach its zenith later the same year with “Little Wing”.
“Fire” is a punchy, riffing song that would grab fans but not scare off radio programmers. But it is the next track which is the centrepiece of Are You Experienced.
Despite the slowed down and indecipherable spoken word element (an exchange between Jimi and manager/producer Chas Chandler on alien spacecraft checking out Earth), “3rd Stone From The Sun” is primarily an instrumental. There are spoken verses from Jimi—this time at normal speed—which include the famous line “you’ll never hear surf music again”. This is generally considered to be a statement of intent, referring to the Fender Stratocaster Jimi favoured. The Stratocaster was the instrument of choice for oceans of surf-music guitarists in the early 60s and “3rd Stone” amply demonstrates Hendrix’ success in taking his sound somewhere else entirely. Its lovely main theme has been referenced countless times over the intervening years while the first lead break lays out the Hendrix style we now know well. But the subsequent break involves the sort of experimental squawks, wails and effects that totally shredded the envelope. Line up this track against anything else from around the time and it is completely in a league of its own.
“Remember” is pleasant enough, but slight compared with the rest of the album. It does, however, serve as a buffer between “3rd Stone” and the final voodoo psychedelic assault.
“Are You Experienced” is experimental yet cohesive. There are backwards drums and guitars (Beatles inspired yet again!) but deftly controlled to support the song. It’s a strong and potent completion.
Hendrix was 24 years old, Noel Redding 21 and drummer Mitch Mitchell a youth of 19 summers when Are You Experienced was released on May 20, 1967, a week before Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Beatles milestone album kept the Experience LP from top spot on the UK charts yet the influence of both albums is undeniable and far-reaching. Cobbled together in disparate sessions in various studios when time was available between live gigs and television recording, Jimi Hendrix debut remains a striking achievement. We were definitely now experienced.
TERRITORIAL FOOTNOTE
The US story was quite different from the UK, Europe and Australia. In his birth country, Hendrix was unknown until the Experience performance at Monterey Pop Festival drew attention to his musical and visual potency. As for the album, the US release of Are You Experienced on Reprise three months after the UK was a significantly altered beast. A quite different cover and the inclusion of all three single A-sides (at the expense of “Red House”, “Can You See Me” and “Remember” gave North American listeners a very different experience. As for Jimi, he’d already moved on.
Jimi Hendrix Experience — Are You Experienced Released: May 1967 Label: Track Record Duration: 39:58
The full list of 1967 albums covered so far can be found here
vinylconnection.com.au 
My sister brought this album home (along with Cream, ‘Wheels of Fire.’) I dug it but as you say, no ‘ Red House.’ (Record executives, being by and large idiots, thought the American audience had no taste for blues.) I didn’t hear ‘Red House’ till a year or two later when Warners put it on a compilation album. Maybe my favorite Hendrix song and one of the greatest blues performances of all time.
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Too right. And you could probably compile an entire disc of live versions of ‘Red House’!
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True. He’s got an album just called ‘Blues.’ I always go back to the studio version ‘coz it’s so tight. Doesn’t even need to be longer.
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My introduction to Jimi Hendrix was the CD of this. It included the singles and a shuffled track list. I remember thinking it was a best of type compilation at first, as I had heard pretty much every track (I guess in many ways it was). I’ve yet to pick up a copy of the original LP, though I was tempted to pay £8 for a fairly hoofed copy, but thought I’d hold out and buy a reissue or buy one of the other nice records I spotted.
I still marvel at the sounds conjured on those tracks, though… and May This Be Love is quite possibly my favourite Jimi track.
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It’s a nice example of the ‘augmented’ CD, isn’t it? Purists may scoff, but you got the best of both world with yours. I have the UK version on CD and the US on re-issued vinyl, which works pretty well!
And yes, marvellous sounds indeed.
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Definitely. Meant I could rip the CD and have all three versions (some file copying + retagging involved, but why not!).
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Hendrix embodied what soul music didn’t offer.
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Fire!
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I have apartheid in my record collection. And it always happened to me that Hendrix standing by the white. Because he makes rock music.
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Hm. Might let that one go through to the keeper, but I get your point: The Experience were definitely a rock band, not least due to Mitch Mitchell’s drumming.
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I think, it’s not typical rock, because he works with another melody, also in the improvisation, the guitar settings with flanger. One comes closer to him with a jazz concept.
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I had just begun to like Hendrix when I read of his death in the Daily Mail while doing my morning paper round. I was devastated.
But I have been a Hendrix fan since forever it seems. Even had a garage band called Crash Landing at one point while I was a kid.
I have most of what he recorded in one format or another including an original UK pressing of Electric Ladyland, which is something to treasure!
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Ah, you would doubtless have much to talk about with Steven, who wrote this post.
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Great album to highlight this extraordinary and gifted artist, Bruce. If you haven’t read it, take a look at the book published last year, ‘Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination’. Author Jack Hamilton had a lot to say about Hendricks and legacy he left behind. Thanks for the post, my friend.
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Sounds like a most worthwhile addition to the heavy shelves of rock literature Michael. Will watch out for it. Thanks for the lead.
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This album, Fresh Cream, Truth, Turning Point, Live at Leeds, Zep 1&2, Santana, Mac in Chicago, Best Traffic were introduced into my young mind. What could I do? I never really had a choice after that.
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With that lot, you were on the rock and roll train for life.
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Thanks to an older brother. I had to listen to this music at the risk of life. He wasn’t too happy with my greasy finger marks on his records. But I do owe him the nod. It did put me onto a certain “train for life”
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One of THE great debuts. apparently Hendrix didn’t like the UK cover, not psychedelic enough so it was reshot for the US release. And let’s not get into the artwork for Electric Ladyland!
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Nice – my parents always worshipped at the altar of Jimi so I sort of absorbed him without trying. My dad first heard him when his 6 year-old sister played ‘Purple Haze’ to him on her toy, portable record player! Totally blew his mind apparently, for lots of reasons!
I’ve always had a bit of a thing for ‘I Don’t Live Today’, it gets to me that one.
Really enjoyed this one.
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Nice to read all of the responses of memories stirred. Jimi died on my 18th birthday and it felt like the universe was conspiring against me. But (as someone noted) he lives on in hi-fi stereo (and in our hearts). Keep an eye out for my next effort when I’ll look at Axis.
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Nice call on Little Wing being the zenith of clean guitar – would be in my top 5 guitar tones!
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From the author of this piece, Steven N:
“Hey Stephen 1001, I’m curious about some of your other great guitar tones.”
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The next 2 that jumped to mind were Robert Fripp’s lead on Blondie’s Fade Away and Radiate & Slash’s on GNR’s estranged – I’m not sure what you’d call those tones, but they’re soaring and spectacular!
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A great invocation – to hear and see Are You Experienced for the first time, but again.
Thanks Steven.
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Thanks Stephen 100. Yes Fripp certainly established his trademark and influential tone, refered to as Frippertronics as I remember. My fave is the criminally underrated Elvin Bishop. Anyone else interested in this topic?
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Frippertronics referred more to Robert’s tape loop and delay experiments, rather than his guitar tone (as I understand).
Feel free to pen something on your favourite guitar stylists, Steven! (Please, just not Elvin Bishop)
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This post is brilliant. Kudos!
I came to Hendrix sideways, through a Hits disc. I knew who he was, of course, but the first set I had was a Hits. Then I got the albums and it made much more sense, had so much more room to breathe. A while back I snagged the re-releases (with DVDs) for only $10 CDN each and discovered them all over again.
YES!
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Excellent purchasing, KMA. And I’ll pass on your praise to Steven (who has promised a piece on Axis later in the year).
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[…] article (as with the previous Jimi Hendrix Experience posts, here and here) was penned by Vinyl Connection’s highly-valued Hendrix expert, Steven […]
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