The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love

Jimi Hendrix's second album doesn't resonate through rock history the way its gatecrashing predecessor, Are You Experienced?, does. In places, it almost seems as if Hendrix is cruising, albeit sublimely. Yet it's a vital album, containing some of rock's molten milestones. There's the fluid psychedelia of "Castles Made of Sand," the viciously funky "Little Miss Lover," and the so-beautiful-it-hurts "Little Wing." Hendrix really hits altitude with "If 6 Was 9," where he waves his "freak flag high" over a tidal wave of guitar and a cacophonous army of Moroccan flutes, and he ends with "Bold As Love," based around Hendrix's typically far-fetched hankering for the axis of the planet to be tilted, thereby transforming life on earth. It works up into a head-melting frenzy of distorted guitar, a precursor to the staggeringly expansive leap forward he would take with 1968's Electric Ladyland. Hendrix dreamed the impossible and achieved it on his guitar. --David Stubbs Amazon.com

 Further
Jimi Hendrix's second album followed up his groundbreaking debut effort with a solid collection of great tunes and great interactive playing between himself, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, and the recording studio itself. Wisely choosing manager Chas Chandler to record the album, since he was in the midst of a creative hot streak, Hendrix stretched further musically than the first album, but even more so as a songwriter. He was still quite capable of coming up with spacy rockers like "You Got Me Floating," "Up from the Skies," and "Little Miss Lover," radio-ready to follow on the commercial heels of "Foxey Lady" and "Purple Haze." But the beautiful, wistful ballads "Little Wing," "Castles Made of Sand," "One Rainy Wish," and the title track set closer show remarkable growth and depth as a tunesmith, harnessing Curtis Mayfield soul guitar to Dylanesque lyrical imagery and Fuzz Face hyperactivity to produce yet another side to his grand psychedelic musical vision. These are tempered with Jimi's most avant-garde tracks yet, "EXP" and the proto-fusion jazz blowout of "If 6 Was 9."
May 5, 2008

 One of my favorites
It's Jimi Freakin Hendrix! What more do you need to know. In case you did not know....he recorded several other albums besides "Are You Experienced." Listen, buy this album and Electric Ladyland along with a big bag of jalapeno cheetos and take a couple of hours for yourself.

You deserve it! February 25, 2008

 Bold!
Every time I think that Electric Ladyland is the true masterpiece by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, I remember that "Little Wing," one of the most commonly covered songs in rock n' roll (my estimation...not a statistical fact), is here on Axis: Bold as Love. What can I say? They're all masterpieces by most bands' standards!

But this one definitely has its own vibe, and is a different beat from Ladyland and Are You Experienced?. In some ways, it's his most experimental work and, though it doesn't top the more experimental numbers on Ladyland, it is, song to song, more varied and unique. The first half of this album is really just amazing, and as strong as anything this band ever did. February 2, 2008

 Jimi's masterwork
There are only three true Jimi Hendrix studio albums, Are You Experienced? Axis and Electric Ladyland. All the other rubbish released and promoted by the Hendrix estate is subpar by comparison.

Of the 3, Axis is my favorite and arguably Jimi's best, composition-wise. The remastering job is quite decent. Now why doesn't someone go out and re-master Are You Experienced? January 9, 2008

 Sophomore slump? I think not!
Jimi's second album is something of a middle child, sandwiched as it is between the monumental Are You Experienced and Electric Ladyland, but it really is a brilliant record in its own right. It features some typically freewheeling guitar excursions, with hypnotic feedback explosions crashing into beautifully twisted melodies, with elements of funk, blues, and jazz melding with delirious psychedelic melodies. The album also features the brilliant rhythm section of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, who lend an oceanic and dreamy feel to the whole thing. Anyway, how can you deny the power of a record that includes the freak-psych-jazz generational anthem "If 6 Was 9," or the beautiful laments of "Little Wind" and "Castles Made Of Sand?" There are also pop-oriented (sorta) gems on the level of "Wait Until Tomorrow" and "She's So Fine." "Bold As Love" is a stunning conclusion, with startlingly gorgeous melodies and a soulful guitar solo. This is just another work of genius from Mr. Hendrix. December 30, 2007

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