Luke Riley (July 6, 2004)

There has to be a beginning....this is it.....
Oh sure guys like Curtis Knight and Little Richard said this was not the first but this is the first explosion.

When I was a kid, I heard Foxy Lady and that was it....I got maudlin for "May this be Love....." but now I just play "Are you Experienced"...it is and was all there....feedback...acid lyrics, backwards guitar (achieved by turning the tape over and playing the left hand reel as the right hand reel to record the guitar part and then putting it back the original way....except Hendrix played one of the rhythm guitar parts backwards on top of the drums as well as the solo...which by he way is simple solo when played the right way bu comes from another universe when you hear it played backwards).

Third Stone from the Sun - Earth.....
What did they make of it in 1967?...imagine the studio engineers face when this big black guy turns up ans starts getting all these sounds from a guitar.....

May this be love again...with the "plinks" like pizzicato strings....amped up ilke supernatural spikes and then the beautiful lines of the solo no plectrum strokes just a sinuous melody I can imagine him caresing a girls naked inner thigh with that melody....

There is only a couple of heavy tracks but god what did this album do to all the would be kings....they all tried to pull the sword out of the stone....clapton, beck, page, buchanan, but whilst they weer tugging, Mr Hendrix casually lifted the sword out and displays it as if it is as light as a feather and the rock is made of butter.....

An Incredible, Inspired & Timeless Classic Rock Landmark Album!! (July 17, 2010)

This is my #1 favorite of Jimi Hendrix's astounding 4 album run of
brilliant landmark albums which established his genius and legend
forever more in rock history!
Jimi Hendrix was on his own planet, in his own parallel universe
as a guitar alchemist of extraodrinary gifts and limitless creativity!
He took the raw & low-down gut-bucket blues of the delta and the
electric blues of Chicago and took it Venus, Jupiter and Neptune!! (-:
There was Hendrix, then there were all other rock guitarists:
Clapton, Townsend, Beck, Paige, Vai, Van Halen...they all bow
at the alter of Jimi's left-handed genius stratocaster and
electronic distortional experimentation that some still haven't
figured out to this day! (-:
Also, I love Jimi's lyrical approach to songwriting as well as
his quirky and not-so-technical approach to singing that's uniquely his own.

UNIQUE & BEYOND CATEGORY are the only words one can think of when describing
one of the baddest axe-slingers to come on the scene, change the whole rock game
in 4 albums, record and leave behind a whole vault of material which has been
released, studied and puzzled over for the last 40 yrs, and then make his exit
as abruptly as he came! Nobody can touch him!---NOBODY!!
This was the follow-up to he and The Experience's groundbreaking debut
"Are You Experienced" (see my review for that) which knocked the established
rock gods and psychedelia bands of the UK as well as the US on their lethargic
earthbound butts! AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE is every bit the masterpiece and continued
Jimi Hendrix and The Experience's paradigm-shifting creative run through
the second half of 1967 and into early 1968.
In fact, Jimi was so bad and ahead of his time that "Are You Experienced",
"AXIS: Bold As Love", "Electric Ladyland" and "Band Of Gypsys" stayed on the
charts at different positions from 1967 to 1973, which was three years after his death!
Today, his estate still clocks in at 4 to 6 million albums sold per year worldwide,
so it's safe to say what he and the musicians whom he chose to work with
put down on tape all those years ago is infinitely vital & inspirational!
Every song on these 4 albums is slamming!---Just put them on and take the journey! (-:

The Experience's second album is no letdown (March 11, 2010)

Axis: Bold As Love (1967) is the follow-up to the hugely successful Are You Experienced? (1967). This album was released in 1967 in England but was not released in the U.S. until 1968. This album contains a lot of classic Hendrix Experience tunes. Songs such as Spanish Castle Magic, Wait Until Tomorrow, Little Wing, If 6 Was 9, Little Miss Lover, and the title track are essential Hendrix classics to listen to forever.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience made only three albums, but their impact on rock music in the 1960s and beyond is undeniable. Hendrix, in my opinion, is the greatest guitarist of all time. He wasn't the greatest singer, but his guitar playing kind of makes up for it.

If you wanna rock Hendrix style, then this second offering from The Jimi Hendrix Experience is highly recommended.

Probably my favorite album of all time (February 1, 2010)

If I was forced to pick one album to take with me to be stranded on a deserted island, it would probably be this one. Well, either this one, or Meddle by Pink Floyd, or, heck, Are You Experienced or Electric Ladyland. But even though it's pretty much impossible to rate the Hendrix albums between themselves, they are all equally amazing, I always seem to pick this one as my favorite. Are You Experienced is composed almost entirely of classic masterpieces, Electric Ladyland gave Hendrix the room to experiment in awesome ways(1983 . .. If a Merman I Should Turn to Be is incredible, as are, of course, Voodoo Child(Slight Return) and All Along the Watchtower) but this one holds a special place in my heart for oozing '60's psychedelic rock awesomeness, and for containing 3 songs so frickin' badass that they just about defy description. Castles Made of Sand, Little Wing, and Bold as Love are just other-worldly. Jimi's songwriting was as good as anyone's, and he's in top form here. In addition, the guitar-playing on all three tracks is beyond belief. Little Wing is well respected for it's beautiful guitar intricacies, but I'm shocked that Bold as Love doesn't get more respect for the guitar heroics on display. I can listen to the lead guitar after the break with the flanged drums over and over, and have my mind blown every time. Whereas I consider Voodoo Child(Slight Return) to be the greatest guitar song ever, I consider the playing at the end of Bold as Love to be the greatest snippet of guitar playing I've ever heard. There are a few songs on this album that don't rank among my personal favorites, but when you add Spanish Castle Magic, One Rainy Wish, etc. to the list of songs I already mentioned, it's just a mind-bogglingly awesome album.

colors everywhere (January 30, 2010)

i had't listened to this in a long time. it is wonderful realizing the effects jimi was trying to acheive and his big heart.definately a time warp but also inspiring.

The most underrated rock album of all time (December 30, 2009)

People always talk about the importance of Are You Experienced? and the masterful guitar work found on Electric Ladyland, but the sheer brilliance of Axis: Bold as Love is sadly overlooked. Noel Redding (the bass player) called this his favorite album the band ever made. What makes Axis: Bold as Love so special is the sheer perfection of the sequencing of the songs. From the silly sci-fi excursions of "EXP" to the tender, emotional "Bold as Love", there is not one song that is out of place. I have read reviews of people saying that Revolver or Abbey Road is perfect or Who's Next is perfect and, who knows(?), maybe they're right. I would put Axis: Bold as Love in this elite company with those classic albums and I think this was the best the band could do. It fully lived up to the band's potential. I mean seriously, there is not one note that I would take out of the album...even the feedback to finish off the album is masterfully done. With the exception of "If 6 Was 9", the band doesn't really go for epic songs and that is part of the charm. Hendrix went for the opposite effect on the band's following album Electric Ladyland, with almost all of the songs being long and Hendrix should indeed be applauded for experimenting with different song structures instead of trying to please the record company (or manager for that matter) at the time. Axis: Bold as Love pretty much showcases everything the band excelled at; whether it's ballads, psychedelia, or hard rock, the band mixes up styles and moods seamlessly. Say what you want about The Doors or Led Zeppelin but Jimi Hendrix and The Experience were the masters of the classic rock ballad and this album is probably Hendrix at his most emotional. The four ballads "Little Wing", "Castles Made of Sand", "One Rainy Wish", and "Bold as Love" rank with the best ballads classic rock has ever produced. "Little Wing" and "Castles Made of Sand" in particular contain some of Hendrix's most poignant vocals. What I love about Hendrix's ballads is that they're never boring and do a great job of captivating the listener. You can't help but admit that many bands suck at ballads, but this band had ballads down cold. Of course, the rockers on the album are just as good, if not better, than the ballads. This is Jimi Hendrix we're talking about after all. "Spanish Castle Magic" is Hendrix at his heaviest, "Wait Until Tomorrow" and "Ain't No Telling" are as catchy and musical as late-60's rock gets, "Little Miss Lover" is almost as funky as "Fire", and "She's So Fine" has some of classic rock's greatest drumming (in my top five drumming ever). The best word I can use to describe Mitch Mitchell's drumming throughout the album is "textbook". The late comedian Bill Hicks said that music should be played from the heart. On Axis: Bold as Love, Hendrix and company demonstrate what this concept is all about to the fullest. A+