“Are you Experienced” is the debut album by the otherworldly guitar mastermind that was the late Jimi Hendrix, being backed by Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding in their band The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album was released on May 12, 1967 in the United Kingdom and a United States issue followed on August 23 that same year. 

It’s difficult to imagine in retrospect the impact this album had on American listeners. Hendrix took his classic Blues/R&B/Soul background and mashed it with his signature feedback drenched infusions. Although Hendrix did not invent the genre of psychedelic rock, the sound he produced on this album would shape the way psychedelic rock looked for the next decade. The sounds that were typically embellishments on other albums of psychedelic rock, became required part of the music that Hendrix produced and would be unrecognizable without his manipulated feedback and wailing opus of sound. 

Listening to this album for the first time is like breathing a new form of air. It destroys your expectations of what rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be. It feels like Hendrix is riding along right with you making you question everything you ever knew about music. 

“Purple Haze”

“Purple Haze” is the opening to the United States version of the album. It draws you in with a guitar-bass harmony that quenched American ears for what they had been waiting for. Jimi’s vocals are soulful and yearning, which is a great reflection of his blues background. 

“Manic Depression”

“Manic Depression” is a track backed by upbeat jazz driven drumming accompanied by Hendrix’s use of a great spectrum of the fret board, moving and dancing back-and-forth creating a universe that stretches into every corner of what sound can be. There is a sense of unease and frustration lyrically that is fused with Hendrix’s intentionally softer mumbled words. 

“Hey Joe”

The starting riff would become one of Hendrix‘s most iconic and would rocket this song into International acclaim. One of Hendrix’s more simpler songs, it would become a favorite for other artists to cover in homage. The backing vocals on the chorus carry this song straight to legendary status. 

“Love Or Confusion”

“Love Or Confusion” feels like a hand written letter to the cultural movement that was the 1960s. The comparison between tribulation and revolution is felt in all media reflecting the 1960s, and this song fully envelops that. This message is backed with an interesting overdubbed guitar bolstered by a powerful bass and drum backing. 

“This May Be Love”

“This May Be Love” is a beautiful tranquil ballot that paints a portrait of Jimi’s relationship with the spiritual aspect of nature. The song guides us through with soft double track vocals, commonly seen as an artifact of the psychedelic age. 

“The Wind Cries Mary”

“The Wind Cries Mary” is another beautifully tranquil ballot, written after an argument that Hendrix had with his then girlfriend. The intimate melodies play upon Hendrix‘s use of a hurricane as an allegory for their relationship. 

“Fire”

As the name indicates, “Fire” is pure inferno. The song is filled with a hot jive that can only be accompanied by Hendrix’s raunchy and risky lyrical intentions. This song really is the epitome of the power that Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding held together.

“Third Stone From The Sun”

“Third Stone From The Sun” is a multi shaded psychedelic experience. With Surf Rock and jazz guitar influences, Hendrix’s guitar twang overlaid indecipherable mumbled poetry. The song is carefully decorated with spacey guitar, drum improvisation, and the strong repeating baseline. The symbols on the drum set are brought to the forefront of the mix and slight sounds of Hendrix tinkering on the piano sprinkled in. This song is a true masterpiece of music.

“Foxey Lady”

“Foxy Lady” is characterized by its pounding rhythm and lusting lyrics. The song is posited to be about Jimi Hendrix’s former girlfriend, Lithofayne Pridgon. Its a sexually charged song full of energy and tension wrapped around a howling guitar and heavy drum sound.

“Are You Experienced?”

The title track, “Are You Experienced”, initially catches you with ethereal guitar sound that draws you into a very surreal and disorientating world. The massive drum noise feeds into the trippy tapestry that Jimi Hendrix has laid, the sound being accompanied by equally trippy lyrics.

“Red House”

“Red House” is a dazzling and incredible exhibition of Hendrix‘s blues roots. One of the most powerful songs musically and vocally on this album is accompanied by one of the greatest solos on this album. It’s an incredible and powerful ending to arguably the most influential Rock album in history. “Red House” is the final track on both the US and UK version. 

On September 18, 1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix passed away from asphyxiation due to a drug overdose. It was an unimaginable blow to the world of rock ‘n’ roll. We can only imagine a later manifestation of Jimi Hendrix that was freed from the bounds of psychedelic fads and drug usage in the 1960s. As well, we can only hypothesize how these vices affected his music. Jimi Hendrix was not just a product of his time though but a musical marvel that would rock the world of music forever.