Disco de The Jimi Hendrix Experience: “Electric Ladyland”

When Jimi Hendrix's album Electric Ladyland was released in 1968, it blew all of the competition out of the water (including Jimi's previous two albums). First off, the scope of this album is stunning; so far reaching, in fact, that it was released as a double LP set, something that was fairly new at the time. However, even in 2003, listening to this album is still amazing as the listener often wonders "How did he get that sound?" or "How does he come up with this stuff?" I, for one, am absolutely in love with this album, and I think that this is his best effort (beating out "Are You Experiecnced" by just a fraction).

I have been listening to this album for about a year now, and I still haven't found all the little subtleties and nuances, so I won't dive into those too deeply, but they're there, believe me. The opening cut, "And the Gods Made Love" shows that Jimi was a master studio technician as well, mixing odd sounds and backwards tapes to give us something that sounds like wind blowing at first listen, but subsequent listens reveal odd sounds that weren't quite noticeable before, and there is even a tape of Jimi's voice that is slowed down and played backwards (rumor has it that he is saying "Ok, one more time" or something to that effect). Next we move into the second intro track, "(Have You Ever Been) to Electric Ladyland", in which Jimi soothes us with his voice, preparing us for the mind-blowing journey that lays ahead, which all comes crashing down on us with the blues-pop jam "Crosstown Traffic."

From here on, this album takes many twists and turns. The 17-minute blues jam "Voodoo Chile" sits next to a nice Noel Redding piece, the psychedelic pop "Little Miss Strange," on which Noel even gets the lead vocal. "Gypsy Eyes" and "House Burning Down" show a more fiery Jimi, while the cool-jazz/blues hybrid "Rainy Day, Dream Away" shows Jimi once again stretching his famous blues chops.

Amidst all of these diverse types of songs, there are a few which really stand out as not only masterpieces in Jimi Hendrix's repetoire, but also posess a beautiful, ethereal quality which cannot be expressed in mere words. The most obvious example of this is "1983...A Merman I should Turn Out to Be" which opens with a guitar intro that is blissfully beautiful in quality. If Jimi had always been a bit "spacey" musically, he really outdid himself here. After its initial reading of the introductory verses, the song gives way to an open, expansive, 13-minute psychedelic jam which features little of Jimi's guitar histrionics, but makes up for that in terms of feel and overall quality. This is Hendrix at his best and a definite highlight of this album. Another highlight would have to be, of course, Jimi's famous reading of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," which was the biggest hit from this album, and it's easy to see why since this is one of Jimi's best moments. When that guitar intro starts up, I always see a montage of Vietnam War footage in my head, as well as images of the counterculture that was going on on the homefront. Never before has a song so captured the element of its time and yet remained a timeless listen at the same time. Absolutely breathtaking. The final track, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is one of Jimi's best rockers and one of the best songs in his entire canon. Every time I hear this, I see images of Jimi performing this at his legendary Woodstock concert (if you haven't seen it, then you're missing out). "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" is another one of Hendrix's best songs; I can't tell if that's Jimi's guitar or a harpsichord from hell being used in that memorable intro. In fact, it's vaguely reminiscent of the intro to "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds," which was issued the previous year.

If you are a fan of classic rock, hard rock, art-rock, or great music in general and you don't already own this, then I pose the question "Why not?" This record has everything, great songs, great guitar work, great production effects and above all, a fantastic musical vision. So don't hesitate to pick this masterpiece of an album, an album which is a true testament to Jimi Hendrix as a musician, and as a creative force in the studio as well. This is one of my all time favorites now, and I'm willing to bet that it will be one of yours too if you give it some time and a few good listens.

I love the long albums. Electric Ladyland is one of classic rock's great double albums. (Its all contained on one disc now but it used to take vinyls to hold all the music contained herein.) Unfortunately this is the last studio album released in Jimi's all too short life time. However the fortunate thing is that it ranks as probably his greatest accomplisment.

The album begins with the thunder and strange sound effects of "And the Gods Made Love" before kicking into one of Jimi's classic ballads, "Electric Ladyland."

The rockin' "Crosstown Traffic" then gives way to the album's first epic, the slow blues burner "Voodoo Chile." (not to be confused with Voodoo Child.) The song is a nearly seventeen minute performance featuring blazing solos from Jimi and Traffic keyboard virtuoso Steve Winwood.

Track 5 written by Noel Redding is the album's only low point. Its a just a dated piece of cheesy pyschedelia. Fortunately Jimi's music makes up the remainder of the album. A couple of rockers followed by pyschedelic masterpieces "Gypsy Eyes" and "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" lead us to what truly makes this one of rock's greatest musical statements.

Beginning with the jazzy "Rainy Day, Dream Away," we are treated to some of the best pyschedelia ever put on record, the sci-fi epic "1983." This song is a orgy of guitars, flutes, and great studio sound effects.

The final three tracks are some of the finest Jimi ever commited to tape. "House Burning Down" reflects the political unrest of the time. "All Along the Watchtower," is one of those rare cases where a cover tune up stages the original. Considering that Bob Dylan is the one who is covered, this was no small feat. Closing the album is one of the all time greatest performances on the electric guitar. (the closest contender being another Jimi tune, "Machine Gun.") The song is of course "Voodoo Child." The song opens with a catchy wah-wah riff before becoming an electric storm of feedback and virtuosity. It is truly a definitive moment in the history of the guitar. "I'm standing next to a mountain, I chop it down with the edge of my hand..." nuff said

Electric Ladyland is one of my top 5 rock and roll albums. It is simply the greatest work that Hendrix ever produced. It's sort of his "Sgt. Pepper", immensely experimental and creative. Electric Ladyland not only contains some of Jimi's best guitar work (Voodoo Child Slight Return, All Along The Watchtower, Come On Part 1, Voodoo Chile) but also contains some of his best songwriting. His lyrics on Are You Experienced were great, even better on Axis, but truly brilliant on Electric Ladyland. Check out Gypsy Eyes, Long Hot Summer Night, Burning of the Midnight Lamp, and 1983 to see what a great songwriter Jimi was. On top of all that, you get his electric blues opus, Voodoo Chile (track #4). This 15-minute jam features Steve Winwood on organ and Jack Casady on bass. On this song, Jimi produces some of the most mind-blowing guitar soloing you'll ever hear. This one track alone is worth buying the album for. Sadly, Electric Ladyland turned out to be Jimi's last completed studio album, but really it's hard to imagine him doing anything greater than this album.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, formed in September 1966 under the watchful and savvy eye and ear of ex-Animal Chas Chandler (who had been tipped off to one amazing guitarist tearing up NYC's Cafe Wha? by Keith Richards' girlfriend, after Stones' manager Andrew Oldham shortsightedly passed on the second great opportunity of his life) were musically a magificent outfit, more coherent than Cream, who onstage (not on record) could devolve into three soloists barely aware of each other. The Experience had Noel Redding as the bedrock rhythm player, letting Mitch Mithell and Jimi Hendrix's telepathic explorations take them and the audience through inner and outer space. After the explosive debut ("Are You Experienced?") and "Axis: Bold As Love", the band started to fracture. "Axis" may be Jimi's greatest single album, certainly it is the Experience's tightest, fleetest (13 songs just under 40 minutes), and most exquisite sounding work, and much of the imagination that needed four sprawling sides to express itself on "Eleectric Ladyland" was reigned in (by Chandler and perhaps Hendrix himself) but fully at peak powers on "Axis."

"Ladyland" is, of course, a classic, but with the recording process taking over a year ("Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" came first, July 1967, and they were back in the studio that December, immediatly after the completion of "Axis"), this drawn out process drove Chas Chandler - fed up with hangers on, drugs, and expensive studio hours wasted - to quit his role as producer, and frustrated Redding as well. If "Axis" is the trio at its best, "Ladyland" shows Jimi with a bigger canvas, a bigger budget, leaving the trio format behind as he starts collaborating with other musicians - most successfully, three members of Traffic and Jefferson Airplane's Jack Casady - but also many others who participated in these sessions, from Al Kooper to the Stones' Brian Jones to Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles. Despite the well documented studio excess, there is little waste on the finished product. Sonically the album is all over the place, sometimes murky and almost muddy, a few minutes later exploding in hallucinatory raging power, and still elsewhere crisp and tight as anything on the first two albums. The original LP was indeed grey and drab sounding, and this review is intended for those who may have been skeptical of yet another cd issue or even (like me) analog devotees. But, with Eddie Kramer and George Marino working FOR THE FIRST TIME from original master tapes, this Hendrix album above all the other reissues ("Band Of Gypsys" would be a close second) benefits greatly from the new (1997) remastering. The sonic veil is lifted, and the album truly explodes from your hopefully halfway decent speakers: just turn the volume up on "Come On" or either Vodoo Chile/d", and you'll hear what I mean. Yes, it is more obvious than ever that many studios and sessions and multiple overdubs were involved, but this is as close to the master tape Jimi and Kramer delivered in September 1968 as we're likely to hear for a long time. And Jimi finally, whatever the frustrations of his compadres, didn't make a musical misstep. He honors Curtis Mayfield on the title track, New Orleans' Earl King on "Come On", even Jimmy Smith and what would be called acid jazz three decades later on the "Rainy Day" tracks.

The downside is this pretty much broke the camaraderie and unified spirit of the Experience. Noel Redding to these ears plays bass on perhaps as few as 4 or 5 tracks, with Jimi playing on many of the others and Casady making a grand cameo on the 15-minute "Voodoo Chile." The next year "Smash Hits" collected four previously unreleased early gems on a disc that was issued the same month the group broke up, and it is a fine retrospective that honors their tremendous accomplishments in two-and-a-half years. The group's last studio sessions left some strong tracks (on the box, "South Saturn Delta," and bits and pieces elsewhere). Band Of Gypsys lasted but a month or two before Jimi called Mitch Mitchell back, and two years after this album's release Jimi was still finishing up a successor, which would likely have come out in 1971 as something very close to "Cry Of Love" or "First Rays."

Be it on 180g vinyl or CD, this is the third great Experience album, sounding better than it did in 1968, and is thus essential.

Yes, I'll admit to being old enough to have worn out two vinyl copies and multiple copies of tape before finally buying the CD.

Hendrix was one of the most talented guitarists allowed to live on Earth ever. Nods to Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Mark Cipolina (from Quicksilver Messenger Service)and the REAL king, BB King. This Hendrix album WAS the jewel in the crown. You can pick and choose which track you like from any of his other albums but as a complete work this is THE ONE.

Take a tip from an old guy who knows a little bit about this. CD's generate music different from that on a LP, square sine wave vs cyclic.. or something. ANYWAY the point is, if you really want to hear how this album was produced to be heard, find some kind soul with a vinyl copy in good shape, a phenomonal stereo (with a turntable of course) and convince them to play it good and loud, just one more time.

Stevie Ray Vaughan said there were "secret passages" in Hendrix's music.... Maybe you can hear 'em too.