The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (Reprise)
Tendrils of alluring smoke emit from Jimi Hendrix's Stratocaster and flood the room as a monotonous hum remains in the background, setting the calm before the unpredictable 13 minute storm, "Voodoo Chile." A swell of instruments frantically races in crescendo and explodes into a hallelujah moment, marking each chorus and making it tough to keep your jaw off the floor. Each striking riff is met with applause — mirroring the stellar reaction to their album, Axis: Bold as Love, released barely a year before — giving the sensation of being thrown straight into the audience of a live show. Mitch Mitchell's low drum rolls tease an encore, pulling anyone to the edge of their seats to see what more Electric Ladyland has in store.
A sublime mix of blues, rock, funk and jazz, this double album encapsulates the imaginative essence of the Experience. The trio erases any sense of time as each song melts into the next through seamless transitions. The hushed applause that bridges together "Crosstown Traffic" and "Voodoo Chile"; and the whirring, mythical bird calls that merge "1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)" and "Moon, Turn the Tides… (Gently Gently Away)" form a transcendent melodic odyssey. In "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," the infamous wah-wah pedal is employed in full force as each plucked note dips low and then ripples into the air with angelic choral vocals in the back, shooting the guitar solo straight up into a new plane of reality.
The London-based sensations intensify their psychedelic funk style in "Gypsy Eyes" as the frontman's guitar takes a life of its own and sings with him. Masterful slides down the fretboard, coupled with wavy guitar riffs, steady drum beats and a bouncy bassline that Hendrix played himself, create a sonic mirage that took 50 takes to perfect. The Seattle native will forever be a perfectionist, and he will forever reap the rewards of it.
This article was submitted as an assignment for the Music Journalism course at the University of Texas at Austin taught by professor Raul Hernandez.