The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland

Label: MCA Released on October 1, 1968 Length 75:47

Tracks:

CODE

1. ...And the Gods Made Love
2. Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)
3. Crosstown Traffic
4. Voodoo Chile
5. Little Miss Strange
6. Long Hot Summer Night
7. Come On, Pt. 1
8. Gypsy Eyes
9. Burning of the Midnight Lamp
10. Rainy Day, Dream Away
11. 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
12. Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away
13. Still Raining, Still Dreaming
14. House Burning Down
15. All Along the Watchtower
16. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Lineup

Guitar: Jimi Hendrix Bass: Noel Redding Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Electric Ladyland, Jimi’s last album with the Experience, was far more experimental than his other 2 albums made before. “Are You Experienced?” had some psychedelic moments, but was mainly rooted in blues and soul. Axis: Bold As Love, also had very little psychedelic moments, and was mostly focused on fast-paced pop and slow, beautiful songs. Electric Ladyland was mostly psychedelic, but really encompassed everything Hendrix had done with the Experience. It had soul, pop, jazz, funk, R&B, psychadelia, and hard rock. It is one of the greatest albums of all time, and it is my favorite album.

The album begins with “...And The Gods Made Love” which seems like a chance for Hendrix to test out some of the technology, and to set a psychedelic mood for the rest of the album. This song flows into “Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland).” It is one of the most soulful songs Hendrix ever wrote. It also shows that Hendrix had more vocal range than people gave him credit for. It shows Hendrix’s great feel for music, by playing the rhythm guitar parts as if they are guitar solos, while singing. How he was able to do both at the same time, I have no idea. “Crosstown Traffic” is the next song on the album. It’s a real upbeat song. The intro and chorus guitar riff is fantastic, and the piano Jimi plays during some of the verses makes it seem even more wild. After that radio friendly track, it is a surprise when the next song starts playing, “Voodoo Chile.” “Voodoo Chile” is a 15 minute blues jam, from some kind of small live performance. It is some of the eeriest blues you will ever hear. This is not regular blues, this is Hendrix’s own unique brand of blues. It is amazing. The next song, “Little Miss Strange” was written by Noel Redding. It has a 60’s British pop feel you don’t get with most Hendrix songs. It’s upbeat, but not wild. It has some fantastic guitar work from Hendrix, especially in the wah solos. “Long Hot Summer Night” is the next song, where Hendrix goes back to his musical roots. It is an R&B song, with a hint of funkiness. It is aptly named, as listening to this song makes you feel as if it is a long hot summer night. Once again, Hendrix is playing the rhythm sections as if he is soloing, and it creates a terrific result. After this comes “Come On,” a fast paced R&B song. I don’t have much to say about this song, it’s pretty much filler. It’s not a bad song, though. “Gypsy Eyes” is the next song, another R&B flavored song. “Gypsy Eyes” and “Come on” are both filler, albeit pretty good filler. “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” is a psychedelic song, which mixes soul and psychedelia. Hendrix has some terrific wah work on this song. It’s a lyrical gem, and the backing vocals make the song seem epic. One of Hendrix’s best songs. “Rainy Day Dream Away” is another greatly titled song, as the song has the feeling of a rainy day, and the mood is slightly dreamy. This song is mostly jazz with hints of psychedelia. It highlights Jimi’s guitar, and it has a fantastic guitar/saxaphone intro. It proves the lyrical skill of Jimi Hendrix, as he is able to make his lyrics match up exactly with the song. Or perhaps it shows his musical prowess, showing his mastery of creating a mood. Either way, it makes for a great song. “1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)” is the next song. It is psychedelic, but a specific brand of psychedelia only Jimi Hendrix can make. It is nothing short of mind-blowing. After a while, though, it becomes just a series of ocean sounds, and goes into the next song, “Moon, turn the tides, gently gently away.” If he was to make these sounds with his guitar, it’s very impressive, but it’s just the technology doing the work. This song is just a 1 minute series of ocean sounds. The next song is “Still Raining Still Dreaming.” This is an R&B song that shows Hendrix’s mastery of the wah-wah pedal. He’s not just tapping the wah to the beat, he’s making the guitar talk. It really does sound like the guitar is talking, that’s not just a figure of musical speech, in this case. “House Burning Down” is more R&B/funk. It is wild, and reminds you of “Crosstown Traffic” only this is much darker. The last two songs are 2 of the best Hendrix songs ever. The first is “All Along the Watchtower” which is Hendrix’s psychedelic cover of the Bob Dylan song. The guitar fills between lines are excellent, but the highlight is the guitar solo. It begins with some slide guitar, which is calmly mind-blowing. It then goes into the wah-solo which is some of the best use of the wah-wah pedal in the history of rock. The wah gets fiercer and fiercer until the solo is over. It is a terrific song, and would work as the last track. The last song is the famous “Voodoo Child (slight return),” which is arguably Hendrix’s best song. It begins with the famous wah-wah riff. It’s easy to be able to do a guitar solo while pressing down the wah pedal to the beat, but it’s incredible to make a riff using the wah-wah pedal, and not just be stomping to the beat. After the wringing intro comes the grinding verses, with terrific guitar fills. It has some of the best lyrics on the album, and has incredible guitar solos. It is the perfect way to end an amazing album.

As you may be able to tell while reading my track by track analysis, I am at a loss of words to describe most of this album. That is because this album is so amazing, it cannot be described using mere words. Sure, you can talk about how technically skilled Hendrix is, and you can talk about his revolutionary wah work, but if that is all you can notice in this album, you are completely missing the point of not only the album, but Jimi Hendrix in general. Jimi isn’t about playing really fast, or his technical skill (that’s part of it, but not all). Jimi is all about the music. This album shows Jimi has a feel for music that is so incredibly unique, that it can’t be taught. The music in the album isn’t something you can get by practicing a lot, or listening a lot. This music came from something within Hendrix, that no imitator will ever have.

Contents

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland

Tracks:

Lineup

Index