ELECTRICLADYLAND

by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Overview

Jimi Hendrix's third and final album with the original Experience found him taking his funk and psychedelic sounds to the absolute limit. The result was not only one of the best rock albums of the era, but also Hendrix's original musical vision at its absolute apex. When revisionist rock critics refer to him as the maker of a generation's mightiest dope music, this is the album they're referring to. But Electric Ladyland is so much more than just background music for chemical intake. Kudos to engineer Eddie Kramer for taking Hendrix's visions of a soundscape behind his music and giving it all context, experimenting with odd mike techniques, echo, backward tape, flanging, and chorusing, all new techniques at the time, at least the way they're used here. What Hendrix sonically achieved on this record expanded the concept of what could be gotten out of a modern recording studio in much the same manner as Phil Spector had done a decade before with his Wall of Sound. As an album this influential (and as far as influencing a generation of players and beyond, this was his ultimate statement for many), the highlights speak for themselves: "Crosstown Traffic," his reinterpretation of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," the spacy "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)," and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," a landmark in Hendrix's playing. With Electric Ladyland, Hendrix once again pushed the concept album to new horizons. [The 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition adds a disc of demos and alternates, a live disc from the Hollywood Bowl recorded close to the time of the original release, as well as a Surround Sound mix of the entire album. The live set is great, and has rarely performed live versions of "Are You Experienced?" and "Little Wing," but the disc of alternates is really interesting. There are a bunch of intimate demos recorded in Jimi's hotel room in New York. These are just Jimi's voice and guitar through a small practice amp, and the quality is excellent. Many of these demos were officially released as part of a graphic novel called Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix, but even that was under the radar of all but the most serious collectors. While these are just rough sketches, it's fascinating to hear where "1983" started as a simple demo and "Voodoo Chile" is a deep solo blues excursion. The demo of "Angel" has some lyrical differences and a really wonderful vocal delivery by Jimi. The rest of the outtakes are studio recordings. There's an alternate of "And the Gods Made Love" and an alternate instrumental take on Noel's "Little Miss Strange." "Angel Catarina" is another early version of "1983," with a different mix and EQ than previously available bootleg versions, and there's also a full studio alternate of "1983" minus all the effects the final version had. "Rainy Day, Dream Away/Rainy Day Shuffle" is the full run-through of the jazzy session that ended up opening and closing the third side of the original LP ("You be Jimmy Smith and I'll be Kenny Burrell"). This is purely instrumental with no overdubs (previous bootleg versions of the full take have guitar and vocal overdubs). As great as the bonus material is, the real revelation for fans is going to be the Surround Sound mix, masterfully done by original engineer Eddie Kramer. Sonically, Electric Ladyland is still a gold standard of album production. The extra space available in the Surround Sound mix is a revelation. Oftentimes, the bass and drums are behind the listener, leaving the guitar parts and vocals uncluttered up front. Some of the stereo/spatial effects are phenomenal. You've never heard Electric Ladyland like this. It's amazing. The 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is rounded out by a documentary on the making of the album. This package is essential for fans of the album, especially those with Surround Sound.] ~ Cub Koda & Sean Westergaard

Product Details

Release Date:	11/09/2018
Label:	Sony Legacy
UPC:	0190758590226
catalogNumber:	585902
Rank:	1718

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jimi Hendrix Experience   Primary Artist