Jimi Hendrix's "Axis: Bold as Love" album.

Jimi Hendrix's virtuoso playing conquers the hearts of listeners from the first notes. The unusual sound and impressive mastery of the guitar are noted even by those listeners who are far from musical subtleties. "Axis: Bold As Love" was the musician's second album after "Are You Experienced", which topped the world charts.

History of Creation

"Axis: Bold As Love" was recorded at the famous Olympic Studios and was released in December 1967. It was written not only by Jimi Hendrix himself, but also by Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. A huge contribution was made by producer Ches Chandler, who carefully supervised all organisational and technical matters, giving the band advice on how to arrange the music on the album. For example, he pointed out to Hendrix the need to shorten the length of songs - short songs were becoming hits at the time. He listened, and, as it turned out, for good reason. "Axis: Bold As Love" quickly topped the UK and US charts. The album had a lot of drafts - some of the songs were dropped during the recording process. This was the case, for example, with the track "Cat Talking to Me", which was never included in the album. Hendrix was a perfectionist, which sometimes annoyed the other band members - each song was re-recorded many times. The first of the recorded tunes was "She's So Fine", written by Noel Redding. The album contains thirteen songs in total.

There is an interesting story connected with the recording of the album. Shortly before the album was released, the recording of the song "If 6 Was 9" was lost, and it had to be re-recorded on the record literally overnight.

In 2003 "Axis: Bold As Love" was re-released. It included bonus tracks - dubs and alternate-sounding versions of the songs.

Formalisation

The album cover refers to Hindu mythology. It was created without Hendrix's input, and Hendrix did not approve of the result. He even publicly stated that he had nothing to do with the album cover. Indeed, it caused a mixed reaction - in India, the use of the image of the god Vishnu on a music record was considered offensive.

"EXP."

The composition "EXP", with which the album starts, was the field of the band's experiments. Its electronic, cosmic sound corresponds to the lyrics - in it the characters interview aliens. They were played by Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell.

"Up from the Skies"

The sound of "Up from the Skies" seems to immerse the listener in meditation. The song is saturated with various sound effects, detaching the listener from reality and as if transporting the listener to another, otherworldly world. By the authors' admission, they have been working hard to achieve such an effect. Their goal was to "open the locked rooms of the mind".

"Spanish Castle Magic."

One of the most popular songs on the album. Unlike many others, Hendrix often performed it live, as it lacks as many studio effects as, for example, "EXP". The lyrics were inspired by a dance hall in the Washington, D.C. area where Hendrix often played in a high school rock band. It was called "Spanish Castle."

"Wait Until Tomorrow"

A strong composition that combines elements of pop, rock and soul. Hendrix's creative experiment - for the first time he wrote lyrics in the first person. "Wait Until Tomorrow" is a story of sad, doomed love.

"Ain't No Telling"

The short track "Ain't No Telling" has a complex structure. The song has a lot of musical techniques that allow you to categorise it as rock.

"Little Wing"

The song became Jimi Hendrix's trademark, also because the musician often performed it live. The title of the song was a name that, according to the artist himself, belonged to his guardian angel. For decades, the composition has impressed listeners. Other musicians turn to it again and again, Sting and Metallica recorded covers of "Little Wing". Bluesy notes can be heard in the gentle sound of the melody. In 2005, Rolling Stone included the song in its list of the five hundred best songs of all time.

"If 6 Was 9"

Due to a mishap that led to the loss of the first studio recording of the song, a version of it with extraneous noises ended up on the album. However, even this fact did not spoil the perception of the music. Embodying both blues and rock, the song was recognised by many as the most psychedelic on the album.

"You Got Me Floatin'"

This song opens the second side of the album vinyl. The musicians from the band Move, Roy Wood and Trevor Barton, were invited to sing backing vocals.

"Castles Made of Sand"

There is a legend that the lyrics of the song "Castles Made of Sand" are autobiographical. It's a song about disappointment and self-discovery, which can be very hard. However, at the end, Hendrix optimistically notes: "look a golden winged ship is passing my way". Everyone can find their "golden winged ship".

"She's So Fine"

Unlike the other tracks on the album, "She's So Fine" was not written by Hendrix, but by Noel Redding. The song was one of the first to be recorded, during the first recording session. Redding said he wrote it after being inspired by hippie life.

"One Rainy Wish."

Some people call this song "Golden Rose". This is probably because the lyrics begin with the words "Gold and rose, the colour of the dream I had". Jimi Hendrix was inspired by a vivid dream in which he saw many fantastic landscapes as if in real life.

"Little Miss Lover"

"Little Miss Lover" is considered a song that made a major contribution to the development of funk rock. It was the first to use guitar strumming techniques that were later adopted by other guitarists.

"Bold as Love"

"Bold as Love" is said to be the first recording to use a flanger, a special device that creates an unusual "cosmic" sound like the sound of an aeroplane taking off. The lyrics are very figurative - partly due to the fact that Hendrix, who did not know musical notation, often compared the sound of music to flowers. Although the song was rarely performed live, in February 1968, listeners were treated to a live performance of it during Hendrix's improvisation in Wisconsin.

"Axis: Bold as Love" was warmly received by critics. Although some of them called it one of Hendrix's least impressive albums, "Axis: Bold as Love" is no less often referred to as a musical masterpiece. The album has won numerous awards, for example, in 2000 it was ranked 147th in the top 1000 music albums of all time.