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Given the spate of reissues, compilations and greatest hits, it’s hard to believe that the Jimi Hendrix Experience only recorded three actual studio albums during the guitarist’s all too brief tenure on the planet. It’s harder still to sort out which of those three — Are You Experienced, Axis Bold As Love or Electric Ladyland — ranks as his ultimate masterpiece, especially considering the fact that all three were groundbreaking and revolutionary efforts that still dazzle and defy convention even now.
Still, if one was forced to choose one above the others, the honors would likely go to Electric Ladyland, due to the fact that within its sprawling two-record domain, it could claim the greatest variety of styles and all round input. Stephen Stills, Al Kooper, Buddy Miles, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood and Jack Casady were among those who contributed to fractious series of sessions that marked the Experience’s death knell as well as an album that was truly revolutionary in scope and style.
It’s appropriate then that 50 years on from that remarkable recording, Experience Hendrix and parent company Sony Legacy have opted to re-release an expanded 3 CD/1 blu-ray edition of that expansive effort, one that includes a digital remaster of the original recordings, a disc of demos and primitive sketches of songs destined for the finished album (and a couple that were shelved for later consideration), a heretofore unreleased concert that took place at the Hollywood Bowl prior to the original release, and a fascinating documentary on the making of the album.
Suffice it to say that in itself tilts it towards the mantle of Hendrix’s greatest recording. After hearing this in its present form, few would argue.
The demo disc in particular mostly stripped down reads that bear little likeness to the finished results, might be overload for all but the most ardent fans. Still, aficionados will be the ones to make the investment the box set requires anyway, and, as a result, they’ll likely consider the price well worth it to pick up any seminal attempt at fully formed songs. Multiple takes on “Long Hot Summer Night,” first initiated as a blues tune on acoustic guitar until it evolved with full band backing, reveal the ongoing process undergone to turn the song into its final form. Likewise, an early read of “1983… (A Mermaid I Should Turn To Be),” originally envisioned under the title “Angel Caterina,” reflects the dramatic turn the song would later undergo. Noel Redding’s sole songwriting composition, “Little Miss Strange,” gets a revved-up instrumental take that shows how dramatically different it became after it evolved.
The Hollywood Bowl concert is an added bonus, and given the raucous reception the band received — the revelry literally spilled over to the wading pool separating the audience from the stage — it remains one of the singularly seismic performances in the trio’s brief history. Rowdy fans, a heavy police presence and various technical glitches threatened to wholly disrupt the recording, making the live document that remains all the more auspicious.
Like most box sets, Electric Ladyland has its added accouterments as well. It’s accompanied by a book of photos, handwritten lyrics and a letter Hendrix wrote to his record label prior to the album’s release. Journalist David Fricke’s liner notes are equally illuminating, as is the aforementioned documentary, included here with added footage.
All in all, the new Electric Ladyland becomes a worthy salute to one of the greatest albums of all time, one that portended well for Hendrix’s further evolution had fate not intervened. Suffice it to say, no greater example of pure virtuosity and genius has ever been offered., or likely will be again
