Axis: Bold As Love is often overlooked as merely the follow up to the Experience’s explosive debut release or the album before Hendrix’s tour-de-force, Electric Ladyland. This is a huge mistake as the album contains some of rock’s finest moments from the driving rock of Little Miss Lover to the sheer beauty of Little Wing to the psychedelia of If 6 Was 9. This album has it all.
It was 1967, the summer of love. Many things defined 1967, but one man and his intrepid English cohorts shone through every scene. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. That man was Jimi Hendrix.
The first couple of Experience singles had sent ripples through the scene in England, particularly in London, but few were prepared for the tidal wave generated by, arguably, the most explosive debut album in rock’s, now, long and chequered history.
First appearing as Track Record’s first album release, Are You Experienced hit the UK shops on May 12th, 1967 hitting the charts a week later and eventually climbing to the number two position. It was held off the number one slot only by the might of Sgt Pepper. Recorded between November 1966 and April 1967, the album sounds as fresh and innovative today as it did 37 years ago. All on a shoestring budget without the aid of a safety net. Interviewed at the time, Jimi reckoned “You can’t last forever.” I beg to differ.
The final cut of eleven tracks chosen for the release is a perfect blend of rock, blues and pop. The opener, Foxy Lady, could almost be described as all three. The intro, matched only in the ease of recognition stakes by the Experience’s second single Purple Haze, signals that this is going to be no ordinary song and no ordinary album. The content of the song does nothing to dispel Jimi’s carefully crafted image as a man sexier than most.
From there it’s into Manic Depression, not the most heart-warming title, but merely a statement that Jimi wasn’t entirely sure where it was all going. He might have caught a different bus if he had, but somehow I doubt it. Delivered in 3/4, but certainly no waltz, this is a much-underrated Hendrix composition and sadly, was rarely performed.
Jimi loved the blues and Red House is the peak of his blues work. It’s a classic tale of love gone bad and rediscovered in someone else’s arms; in this case the sister. In any event, Jimi sings “I still got my guitar” and you know that’s his true love. Jimi’s majestic blues playing never crystallised so well.
Can You See Me and Love Or Confusion sound like throwaway, three-minute pop songs now, but in their day each had something to bring to the party that was fast turning into a Roman orgy.
In these days of the straight through, one-shot listen CD, it is easy to forget the raised importance of sequencing when planning the two sides of a vinyl album. The first side of Are You Experienced closes with Jimi’s homage to the American Indian. In From The Storm is an innovative track in its own right but the effect is heightened by the contribution of drummer Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding were in the right place at the right time, whether they were the best at their craft is irrelevant because they were the right people for that time and place. Ironically, Mitchell’s greatest recorded version of this song was the closing number and one of the highlights of a lacklustre set at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970; Jimi’s last concert on British soil.
In stark contrast to Foxy Lady, side two of the vinyl opened with the melodic May This Be Love. A spiritual ballad featuring a recurrent theme in Jimi’s writing, water. The softer side of Jimi’s compositions is often forgotten, especially by the media, but there is enormous strength in his love songs if you choose to take the time to listen.
Enough about love and straight into Fire. Hard rockin’ R&B delivered at breakneck pace. Supposedly inspired by an incident at the home of Noel Redding’s mother Margaret where Jimi asked if he could dispel the cold December night by standing, where else, but in front of the fire. Not Shakespeare, but a Hendrix classic nonetheless.
It’s no secret that Jimi was fascinated by the supernatural and outer space and 3rd Stone From The Sun is all that fascination made real. It’s a sprawling opus featuring half speed interstellar conversations. Only Pink Floyd were doing anything similar at the time, or since for that matter.
Remember is often dismissed as one of Jimi’s weakest recordings. The fact is that it includes some outstanding guitar. Most bands would be unendingly proud of the song, but here, it sits in such exceptional company that it is often ignored.
Finally the title track, not performed live too often, nevertheless, one of Jimi’s great anthems. If you’ve stuck with us this far then, yes, you are experienced!
The bonus disc in this set allows you to hear the development of six of the eleven tracks that form Are You Experienced; a fascinating insight into history in the making. Pay particular attention to the (often off-mike) asides from the band and producer Chas Chandler, as fascinating as the music itself.
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