Are You Experienced?

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

album cover

The Rules of Rock Guitar Rewritten

Think of the most superhuman superlative, a word for the most exalted achievement, the best of the best. Hold it in your mind as you cue up Jimi Hendrix jangling through "Hey Joe" from this enduring collection. Does the honorific match the sound? Does it even come close?

Of course not. Because words do not satisfactorily capture what Hendrix (1942–1970) did on, to, and with the electric guitar. Throughout this most essential rock document, the Seattle native who got his start with the Isley Brothers plays as though handling fire. It's right on his fingertips, pulsing through his wrists, and as long as he keeps moving, he won't get burned. His lines sear the wires that carry them. His rhythm playing doesn't merely dictate a pulse—it suggests an almost savage way of keeping time. Inside his playing is a concentrated expression of abandon, freedom seeking, the embodiment of every psychedelic desire.

Hendrix is the single most important instrumentalist in rock history, and this debut album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is the most succinct introduction to his work. Already, the group has perfected its potent combination of brute force and bittersweet melody, which Hendrix bolsters by singing in a slouchy, don't-bother-me way. It's almost as though singing is an afterthought for Hendrix; he's more concerned with the big picture, the awesome unrestrained feeling he's pouring into "Purple Haze" and the other classics here. Get inside his vision of rock and roll, this all-encompassing experience that has awed generations, and pretty soon everything else begins to feel a little bit timid.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1967, MCA
Key Tracks: "Purple Haze," "Manic Depression," "Foxey Lady"
Catalog Choice: Jimi Plays Monterey; BBC Sessions
Next Stop: Jeff Beck: Blow by Blow
Book Pages: 355–356

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