Review #30: Are You Experienced, Jimi Hendrix
#30: Are You Experienced, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix is one of those people who is so famous and mythologized that it took me at least five minutes just to figure out who the other musicians in his band were ; Wikipedia redirects searches for “Jimi Hendrix Experience” to just “Jimi Hendrix,” and RS credits this album to just Jimi Hendrix, despite the fact that the North American cover has “Jimi Hendrix Experience” written right there. Well, they were Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, in case you were interested. This was their debut!
Anyway. What is there to say about Jimi Hendrix that someone smarter than me hasn’t already said? I always want the Jimi Hendrix albums to last forever, because I love crunchy noodle guitar sounds and I love singers who wail.
FAVORITE SONGS:
“Purple Haze” — I don’t know what this song is about but — actually, I think we can assume it’s drugs.
“Manic Depression” — Music sweet music/I wish I could caress. If any guy has that tattooed anywhere, run.
“Hey Joe” — It’s a real shame I didn’t listen to this one on the road trip.
“Love Or Confusion” — It’s both!
“May This Be Love” — It’s the way he says waterfall.
“Fire” — MOVE OVER ROVER AND LET JIMI TAKE OVER.
“Third Stone From The Sun” — Trippy.
“Foxey Lady” — Foxey.
“Are You Experienced” — The lyrics in this one are pretty. I, too, want to watch the sunrise from the bottom of the sea.
“Stone Free” — He’s Jimi Hendrix! He can’t be tied down, man!
“51st Anniversary” — “Wah, I’m Jimi Hendrix, I’m too cool for real relationships.” You have to respect the device of counting backwards from anniversaries. There was math involved with that, so good for him.
“Highway Chile” — Oh it’s a REAL shame that I didn’t listen to this album on the road.
“Red House” — Just a regular ol’ blues song with a sweet guitar solo. Plus, the last lines are so funny: Cuz if my baby don’t love me no more/I know her sister will.
LEAST FAVORITE SONGS:
“The Wind Cries Mary” — Even Jimi Hendrix writes songs that are too slow for me sometimes.
IS RS FULL OF IT?
This sucks to say, because I love the Beatles so, so much, but they are quickly becoming my new benchmark to help me answer the question “Does this album deserve to be higher?” And you are telling me that we have to suffer through FOUR Beatles albums to get to our first Jimi album? RS is completely full of it and this deserves to be higher.
