Jimi Hendrix : Songwriter :: Are You Experienced
Much has been discussed about Hendrix’s guitar talents…but forgotten in all the technical jargon is the fact that he wrote, arranged, and produced fantastic songs. This is the real legacy of his genius. Hendrix emerged when Cream with Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker was the prime example of musical rock prowess. Like Cream, Hendrix fronted as a trio and his debut “Are You Experienced” issued during the summer of love is one of the greatest debuts in rock. In a span of a year he released the follow up LP “Axis Bold of Love” and then his opus “Electric Ladyland” released in 1968.
Listening to these records today is a revelation- especially the strong song construction and the sheer audacity of ideas pouring forth in each track. “Experienced” came out in the summer of 67 with “Sgt. Pepper”, “The Doors”, and Surrealistic Pillow”. “Experienced” in retrospect makes the classic “Pepper” quaint and mannered.
Take “Purple Haze.” Jimi doesn’t suppress a cough 30 seconds into the song as the unforgettable riff knifes into your mind, and Mitch Mitchell slams relentlessly on his kit. A performance that makes the mighty Cream sound timid. As Jimi sings on the left speaker, another Jimi voice joins in on the right as the song spins into controlled chaos.“Hey Joe”- Jimi transforms the popular folk rock song (played as a fast rocker by the Byrds, Leaves and Love) into a mournful ballad. Based on the performance of the song by Tim Rose, Jimi opens with an unforgettable opening riff soon joined by a ghostly, girlish chorus.
One thing to note, Jimi wasn’t hesitant to overdub his guitar on record to get the sound of the record he was trying to make. “The Wind Cries Mary” is graced with Noel Redding’s wobbling base as Jimi plays a combo of rhythm and lead guitars. “Fire” is two and a half minutes of pure excitement with Mitchell’s snare upfront and Redding and Jimi doubling the riff. Hendrix’s gift for melody is evident in “May This be Love” and “Third Stone from the Sun”-but Jimi can’t restrain from cutting from the soft mood into a hard blues edge in each song.
What’s missing from the CD version of “Third Stone” was the fun you had playing the LP at a faster speed so you could hear the space mission talk on the garbled, slowed down speaking in the track. Speaking of fun, Hendrix cuts loose on “Foxey Lady” and is responsible for putting the term ‘foxey” into common usage. The closer “Are You Experienced” reminds one of the closer “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles on the classic “Revolver”- A relentless drum beat and a piano note marching to nowhere, mixed with backward loops of guitars.
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