1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #105. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love (1967)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love (1967)

Label – Reprise
Producer – Chas Chandler
Art Direction – Ed Thrasher
Nationality – UK/USA
Running Time – 38:49

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold

1. EXP
2. Up From The Skies
3. Spanish Castle Magic
4. Wait Until Tomorrow
5. Ain't No Tellin'
6. Little Wing
7. If 6 Was 9
8. You've Got Me Floating
9. Castles Made Of Sand
10. She's So Fine
11. One Rainy Wish
12. Little Miss Lover
13. Bold As Love

This was Jimi Hendrix's second album and even though it followed his groundbreaking debut effort and would ultimately be (unfairly) compared with that record, this is a solid collection of great tunes and a true band effort. There is great interactive playing between Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. Selecting the hot producer of the time - Chas Chandler to record the album was also a great choice, as he allows Hendrix to stretched further musically than he did on his first album, and the sound and feel of the recordings are just fantastic. There are the rockers like "You Got Me Floating," "Up from the Skies," and "Little Miss Lover," but to me, it’s the beautiful ballads "Little Wing," "Castles Made of Sand," "One Rainy Wish," and the title track that are just remarkable.
Many of the album’s tracks were composed and recorded with studio recording techniques in mind, and therefore very little of this record was rarely if ever played live. Upon it’s release it shot up the charts and reached #5 in the UK and later, #3 in the US. The album was recorded to fulfill the band's contract, which stated that they must produce two albums in 1967, but it was not released in the USA until 1968 due to fears that it might curb the sales of the first album which was still selling briskly. Legend has it that just before the album's completion, Hendrix left the master tapes of side 1 in a taxi. They were never found again, and thus the A-side had to be mixed again quickly.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 82 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is HIGHLY recommended.


You can purchase the CD here.

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BIRTHDAYS FOR JUNE 4
Danny Brown of The Fixx is 58; Stefan Lessard of The Dave Matthews Band is 35; JoJo Garza of Los Lonely Boys is 29;

ON THIS DATE
1967 The Monkees win an Emmy for “Outstanding TV Comedy Series.”
1997 Ronnie Lane of the Faces dies of multiple sclerosis at the age of 51
2004 Creed announce their breakup

IN CONCERT
Thursday, July 2 MICHAEL McDONALD Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater