Are You Experienced

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Are You Experienced
United Kingdom cover
Studio album by Jimi Hendrix Experience
Released	May 12, 1967 (UK) August 23, 1967 (US)
Recorded	October 26, 1966-April 3, 1967 in London, at De Lane Lea, CBS & Olympic studios.
Genre	Hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues-rock
Length	40:12 (Original) 61:24 (Re-Release)
Label	Track Records (mono), Barclay Records (mono), Polydor (Europe - fake stereo effect, overseas - mono), Reprise Records (different compilation, stereo [new mix) & mono editions, MCA
Producer	Chas Chandler
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau link Rolling Stone link
Jimi Hendrix chronology
Are You Experienced (1967) Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
Alternate cover
United States cover

Are You Experienced is the debut album by Jimi Hendrix Experience. Released in 1967, it was the first LP on the new Track Records label. The album highlighted Jimi Hendrix's R&B based, psychedelic, feedback-laden electric guitar playing, and launched him as a major new international star.

Are You Experienced has been cited as one of the greatest debut albums of the rock era^{[citation needed]}. The TV channel VH1 named it the fifth greatest album of all time in 2001. In 2003, the album was ranked number 15 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, having been ranked as number 5 in their twentieth anniversary listing The Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years published in 1987. The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 2005 Are You Experienced was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

[edit] History

After being taken under Chas Chandler's wing and arriving in England in September 1966 , they formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass. The group signed with Track Records, newly formed by The Who's managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. However the group's debut single appeared on Polydor Records, their distributor, because Track was not fully operational. The group released three classic Top 10 hit UK singles produced by Chas Chandler : "Hey Joe"/"Stone Free" (December 1966), "Purple Haze"/"51st Anniversary" (March 1967, the 1st release by the new Track Records label, on a special white label) and "The Wind Cries Mary"/"Highway Chile" (May 1967). During the making of these singles, The Jimi Hendrix Experience also cut the tracks that became their debut album, which Chas Chandler also produced with the Olympic Studios Engineer Eddie Kramer (some tracks were recorded with engineers Dave Siddle at De Lane Lea & Mike Ross at CBS studios). Released in England that May without the three singles - as was the custom in the UK at that time - Are You Experienced and The Jimi Hendrix Experience quickly became a sensation all across (non communist bloc) Europe, with the album reaching #2 in the UK, behind The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

[edit] Album Cover

In Europe this LP was released by three different companies, The new "independent" Track Records which produced the original cover with a photo by Bruce Fleming, The independent Barclay Records in France which produced a completely different cover featuring a photo of Jimi playing on a recent French TV show surrounded by "psychedelic", painted, swirling, graphics. Polydor in Germany, Italy and Spain, used the original Track cover, but added "Jimi Hendrix" in similar lime green text above the white Are You experienced logo's on the front, in Italy this added text was red and in Spain yellow (these unfortunately only used the fake stereo, processed from mono, effect). The back cover had a track list added.

Barclay Records of France used the title punctuation Are You Experienced?, which for their original 1967 release and subsequent re-releases. Also, some tracklists of the album display the title track with a question mark. [1]

The South African Polydor release, obviously due to the apartheid racial barrier, and that the main customer base was seen to be "whites" had no pictures, only text on a plain red background (mono only).

Japan, Australia & New Zealand Polydor (mono only) copies used the original UK layout.

[edit] The Reprise USA & Canada compilation release

It was only after the band's show-stealing performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of that year that his USA & Canada label Reprise Records prepared the album for release, but with some significant changes. The UK cover, admittedly, was not sensational, so a more psychedelic design was devised by innovative photographer Karl Ferris (whose group portraits appeared on all three 'Experience' US album covers). Secondly, and more crucially, "Red House", "Can You See Me" and "Remember" were all removed - in order to make way for the three UK hit singles, with the running order being shuffled in the process. This time the running order was selected by Hendrix himself, but "Red House" was excluded from the album against his wishes. He was told that "America does not like the blues". This selection of tracks was also remixed into stereo. In August, the US version of Are You Experienced saw issue in both the original mono mix and the new stereo mix and became a strong and enduring seller. Indeed, Jimi's own follow-up, Axis: Bold as Love, out that December in the UK, had to be detained for six weeks due to his debut's stellar sales (and it still wouldn't reach its peak of #5 until October 1968).

[edit] The CD releases

The original Reprise (North American) CD was originally identical to their original stereo LP version, whereas the European CD release used the original UK track list, but replaced with the Reprise stereo re-mix versions (except for the original mono version of 'Red House', which has never been mixed into stereo and 'Remember', which used the mono version, but processed to "sound stereo").

The 1993 Alan Douglas re-release (MCA 10893) had a chronological track list, starting with the first three UK singles A and B sides, (but replaced by the Reprise stereo mixes except for "Stone Free", "51st Anniversary" and "Highway Chile" which have never had a stereo mix) and then the original track list of the UK LP, (but replacing the mono cut of "Red House" with the later USA Smash Hits stereo version which came from a later session).

After Jimi's father, Al Hendrix, won back the rights to his son's musical catalogue, Are You Experienced was again re-issued in 1997 (MCA 11602), now under the Universal Music Group worldwide, preserving the UK and US versions in their respective territories and including the extra tracks missing from the respective editions and restoring the original mono version of Red House (minus the chat at the end though). This new re-mastering, although generally excellent, was unfortunately marred by audible crackles through the stereo panning on 'Can You See Me', and also, more seriously, on the CD release, by heavy clipping throughout; the vinyl LP release doesn't suffer from the clipping.^[1].

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Jimi Hendrix, except where stated otherwise.

Originally released only in mono and "enhanced stereo" (German Polydor bogus stereo from mono effect)

[edit] UK & rest of the world (except USA & Canada)

Side 1

1. "Foxy Lady" – 3:22
2. "Manic Depression" – 3:46
3. "Red House" – 3:53 (mono)
4. "Can You See Me" – 2:35
5. "Love or Confusion" – 3:17
6. "I Don't Live Today" – 3:58

Side 2

1. "May This Be Love" – 3:14
2. "Fire" – 2:47
3. "3rd Stone from the Sun" – 6:50
4. "Remember" – 2:53
5. "Are You Experienced" – 4:17

[edit] USA & Canada (only) compilation version

Mono LPs have the original mix, the stereo mix has some edits and additional vocals

1. "Purple Haze" – 2:46 (second single a-side, 1967)
2. "Manic Depression" – 3:30
3. "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) – 3:23 (1966 debut single a-side)
4. "Love or Confusion" – 3:15
5. "May This Be Love" – 3:14
6. "I Don't Live Today" – 3:55
7. "The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:21 (third single a-side, 1967)
8. "Fire " – 2:34
9. "Third Stone from the Sun" [sic] – 6:40
10. "Foxey Lady" [sic] – 3:15
11. "Are You Experienced" – 3:55

[edit] Alan Douglas re-master CD Bonus tracks

1. "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) – 3:34
2. "Stone Free" – 3:39
3. "Purple Haze" – 2:54
4. "51st Anniversary" – 3:18 (mono)
5. "The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:24
6. "Highway Chile" – 3:35 (mono)

[edit] Experience Hendrix/MCA re-release CD Bonus tracks

1. "Stone Free" – 3:41
2. "51st Anniversary" – 3:19 (mono)
3. "Highway Chile" – 3:36 (mono)
4. "Can You See Me" – 2:34
5. "Remember" – 2:51
6. "Red House" – 3:57 (mono)

[edit] Personnel

• Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals, voice of "Star Fleet" on "3rd Stone from the Sun"
• Noel Redding – bass, backing vocals
• Mitch Mitchell – drums, backing vocals
• Chas Chandler - voice of "Scout Ship" on "3rd Stone from the Sun"

[edit] Production

• Producer: Chas Chandler
• Engineers: Eddie Kramer, Dave Siddle, Mike Ross
• Photography: Bruce Fleming (UK & World), Karl Ferris (USA)
• Cover design: Bruce Fleming? (UK & World), Karl Ferris? (USA)
• Liner notes: Dave Marsh

• Remastering supervisor: Janie Hendrix, John McDermott, Jr.
• Remastering: Eddie Kramer, George Marino

[edit] Songbooks

• Instrumental parts for 17 songs: ISBN 0-7935-2694-9
• Drum parts for 17 songs: ISBN 0-634-00920-6

[edit] Miscellaneous

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The Get Fuzzy book, The Get Fuzzy Experience (ISBN 0-7407-3300-1) is a spoof of the album cover.
• The title track was covered by Devo in 1984 for their album Shout, and was releassed as a single.
• The song "Manic Depression" was covered by Carnivore in 1987 for their second album "Retaliation." and by Jeff Beck
• The song "Fire" was covered by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish and by Nigel Kennedy.
• The song "Purple Haze" was covered by the Cure and by Robert Randolph and the Family Band
• The song "3rd Stone from the Sun" was covered by Pat Metheny and by Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• The song "The Wind Cries Mary" was covered by Sting with John McLaughlin on guitar.
• The song "Red House" was covered by John Lee Hooker and by Buddy Guy, but by Prince under the name "Purple House".
• The song "May This Be Love" was covered by Eric Gales
• The song "Foxey Lady" [sic] was covered by Cee-Lo and Kaiser Soul
• The song "Are You Experienced" was covered by Musiq and by Belly.
• Composer David Lang authored a piece titled "Are You Experienced?" for amplified tuba, orchestra, and narrator. The title is a tribute to Hendrix's album.

[edit] See also

• The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

[edit] References

1. ^ Jimpress by Steve Rodham

[edit] External links

• http://www.discogs.com/release/993028 Are You Experienced, original release at discogs.com
• Karl Ferris http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-karl-ferris-experience/195934776
• NPR special on the selection of the album to the 2005 National Recording Registry