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103-508: Experience Hendrix is the first comprehensive collection of Hendrix's songs overseen by Experience Hendrix, a family company that took over management of his recording legacy in 1997. Fifteen songs with the Experience band are included, as well as five with Hendrix's later backing musicians. No songs from the Band of Gypsys lineup with Buddy Miles are included. Experience Hendrix replaces

206-463: A Stax drummer [such as Al Jackson Jr. ] ... his rolls would clatter about a bit". However, his often described "fatback grooves" laid down a solid rhythmic foundation and the combination of Cox and Miles added a "heavy, rolling fluidity which brings out a very different dimension in Hendrix's playing". The mix of improvisation with R&B and funk elements is evident in "Who Knows", which

309-425: A soundcheck in the afternoon. Concert promoter Bill Graham billed the performances as "Jimi Hendrix: A Band of Gypsys", but Hendrix's new direction since the breakup of the Experience six months earlier had not been publicized. With a new lineup and material, Cox observed, "We didn't know what to expect from the audience and the audience didn't know what to expect from us". 24 different songs were performed over

412-406: A "true classic of the psychedelic rock era". In a retrospective review for Blender , Christgau wrote that it was the definitive work of psychedelic music , describing the record as "an aural utopia that accommodates both ingrained conflict and sweet, vague spiritual yearnings, held together by a master musician". In Charlotte Greig 's opinion, much like Are You Experienced , Electric Ladyland

515-522: A change in theme. Jimi's playful humor ... had been replaced with a strident sense of self-examination. In addition, Cox and Miles spurred Jimi's embrace of the R&;B tradition they shared [and] merged rock and funk with unparalleled ease. Most of the arrangements were developed through extensive jamming, with Cox's and Miles' playing influencing Hendrix's ideas. According to biographer Keith Shadwick, Cox explained in later interviews, "the process

618-606: A chief innovator in the liner notes to his What's Bootsy Doin'? album. Later funk-influenced artists Larry Blackmon (singer for Cameo ) and Nile Rodgers (guitarist for Chic and record producer) also cite the album's importance and influence. In addition to funk rock, Murray sees the Band of Gypsys as "tread[ing] an intriguing path along the common border between hard funk and heavy metal ; less psychedelic soul than black rock". Vernon Reid (guitarist for Living Colour ) and Ice-T (singer for Body Count ) have commented on

721-560: A color photo by Linda Eastman (later known as Linda McCartney following her marriage with Paul McCartney ) of the group sitting with children on the sculpture of Alice in Wonderland in Central Park , and drew a picture of it for reference. The company instead used a blurred red and yellow photo of his head while performing at Saville Theatre , taken by Karl Ferris . Track Records used its art department, which produced

824-464: A compromise: I don't know that Jimi felt that these concerts were his best performances, but there were parts of them that he was really happy with. Certainly, 'Machine Gun' and tracks like 'Message to Love' sounded pretty good. At the time he didn't want to include new songs that he wanted to finish in Electric Lady [Hendrix's new custom-built recording studio]. Jimi was kind of resigned to

927-484: A cover image by photographer David Montgomery , who also shot the inside cover portrait of Hendrix, depicting nineteen nude women lounging in front of a black background. Hendrix expressed initial displeasure and surprise with this "naked lady" cover (but later told Rolling Stone magazine that he "dug it anyway"), much as he was displeased with the Axis: Bold as Love cover, which he found disrespectful. The cover

1030-467: A day practicing this whole last week, straight ahead, and then we went into a funky little club and jammed down there to test it out". Early versions of some of the songs which eventually appeared on Band of Gypsys from two of the rehearsal sessions were released as The Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions by Dagger Records in 2002. As a new group, the Band of Gypsys needed to develop a repertoire. Several songs that had begun as ideas, jams, and demos with

1133-570: A drab, corrugated backdrop. The significance of posing the three with Hendrix was not evident as they had no known association with the Band of Gypsys nor the group's material. Hendrix was an admirer of Dylan and recorded some of his songs; Jones, who had died the year before, had participated in a recording session for Hendrix's " All Along the Watchtower " (a Dylan composition); and Peel had hosted BBC's Top Gear radio show when Hendrix performed there in 1967. Jeffrey remarked, "If ever there

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1236-427: A dramatic effect". His use of the wah-wah employs "rapid foot movement and wide sweeps [which] tend to make the melody fade in and out". Also, by using a triplet rhythm with the pedal, a polyrhythm with the prevailing 4 beat is created. The lyrics, some of which borrow from other R&B songs, are also improvised and show considerable differences between the two renditions. As it unfolds, there

1339-584: A family-managed company, assumed control of his recording legacy, more material from the Fillmore shows has been issued. A longer version of "We Gotta Live Together", along with "Hear My Train", "Stop", and other songs are included on the 1999 double CD Live at the Fillmore East . "Foxy Lady" was added to one version of the 2013 "Somewhere" single. An additional three songs from the second Fillmore show are included on West Coast Seattle Boy . In 2016,

1442-420: A former manager. The new material signaled a new funk-influenced direction for Hendrix featuring more humanistic lyrical themes. The two songs written and sung by Miles bear the stylings of soul music . The anti-riot and anti-war " Machine Gun " draws on Hendrix's earlier blues aspirations, but incorporates new approaches to guitar improvisation and tonal effects. As the album's producer, Hendrix struggled with

1545-463: A lot. One of Miles' songs, "We Gotta Live Together", was pared down from fifteen to a little over five minutes and "Changes" was also trimmed, because, as Murray puts it, "a little of [Miles' vamping] goes an extremely long way". This editing also provided some lighter moments. One of Jeffery's assistants recalled, "Hendrix played me a tape and prefaced it by saying it represented the new direction in his music. He had made up this long loop of tape of

1648-821: A new bass player. The next day, after a potentially life-threatening riot following a concert in Denver, Colorado, Redding left the group to return to London and the Jimi Hendrix Experience came to an end. Hendrix then began experimenting with an expanded lineup for a limited number of American engagements. In addition to original Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell , he worked with bassist Billy Cox and second guitarist Larry Lee , as well as percussionists Juma Sultan and Gerardo "Jerry" Velez . Cox and Lee were two musicians with whom he had played in R&B bands in Tennessee in 1962, shortly after his stint in

1751-596: A new lyrical approach. According to Shapiro, the lyrics reflect "a Jimi Hendrix who felt an increasing need to impart his compassionate vision of human potentiality [and a] move away from cynicism and bitterness". Cox and Miles provide strong instrumental backing, where the rhythm is "locked-in" or "deep in the pocket", a common feature of funk and R&B. (Nearly all of Hendrix's music, and contemporary rock in general, uses common or 4 time ; " Manic Depression " ( 4 or 8 ), " Dolly Dagger " ( 4 ), "Stepping Stone" ( 8 ), and

1854-415: A remarkable degree of focus and precision on what were "perhaps his finest [live] performances." Sputnikmusic's Hernan M. Campbell believed that it departed from his more psychedelic recordings with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but still retained their intensity, particular on "Machine Gun", which Campbell called one of Hendrix's most captivating performances. On the other hand, Robert Christgau felt that

1957-487: A single in March; "Ezy Ryder" and "Earth Blues" were included on his first posthumous albums ). By January 21, Hendrix and Kramer narrowed the list to "Message to Love" (fourth show), "Hear My Train A Comin'" (first show), "Power of Soul" (third and fourth shows), and all four recordings of "Machine Gun". Hendrix and Kramer began preparing mixes of the multitrack recordings . During the process, Kramer recalled: Mixing

2060-523: Is "undoubtedly a rock album, albeit rock on the point of evolving into something else." Uncut magazine's John Robinson said that its music reconciles the psychedelic pop of Hendrix's earlier recordings with the aggressive funk he would explore on his 1970 album Band of Gypsys . During its recording, Kramer experimented with innovative studio techniques such as backmasking , chorus effect , echo , and flanging , which AllMusic 's Cub Koda said recontextualized Hendrix's psychedelic and funk sounds on

2163-586: Is a live album by Jimi Hendrix and the first without his original group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience . It was recorded on January 1, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City with R&B musicians Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, a grouping frequently referred to as the Band of Gypsys. The album mixes funk and R&B elements with Hendrix's psychedelic rock guitar and wah pedal -based jamming , an approach which later became

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2266-425: Is a relatively concise, soul music radio-friendly track. When Miles re-recorded it as "Them Changes", it became a Billboard top 40 Best Selling Soul Singles as well as appearing in the magazine's Hot 100 pop chart. The two Hendrix compositions, "Power of Soul" and "Message to Love", are also more structured and rehearsed songs. They represent Hendrix's new blending of funk, R&B, and rock together with

2369-447: Is able to transfuse and transfix on the strength of his guitar-work alone." The magazine's David Wild was more enthusiastic in a retrospective review and felt that songs such as "Message of Love" and "Machine Gun" still sounded powerful in spite of the unclear recording quality. According to Sean Westergaard of AllMusic , Band of Gypsys is one of the best live albums of all time and an important recording for Hendrix, who played with

2472-509: Is an R&B-style vocal call and response section between Hendrix and Miles, then separate vocal sections for each, which Miles follows with scat singing . During the middle section, most of the instrumentation drops out and returns with more Hendrix guitar tonal explorations before winding down at 8:23 (second show) and 9:32 (third show). While McDermott feels that the jam is underdeveloped and biographer Harry Shapiro criticizes Miles' vocals, Shadwick and writer David Henderson focus on

2575-581: Is an award for the worst taste album cover it must go to this". Responding to pressure, Track later replaced it with a photograph of Hendrix performing at the August 1970 Isle of Wight Festival . By the time of the album's release, the trio had already broken up. Their first show after the Fillmore East engagement was at the Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1970. There they struggled through "Who Knows" and "Earth Blues" before leaving

2678-457: Is as much about the late 1960s American race riots as the war in Vietnam . Guitarist Vernon Reid describes it as "like a movie about war without the visuals. It had everything—the lyrics, the humanism of it, the drama of it, the violence of it, the eeriness of it, [and] the unpredictability of it". In many commentaries about Band of Gypsys , "Machine Gun" is singled out as the highlight of

2781-438: Is generally regarded as the album's highlight and one of Hendrix's greatest achievements. The influence of Band of Gypsys is heard in the funk rock developments of the 1970s and has been cited as an inspiration by various later rock musicians. Reissues of the album on compact disc included three extra songs recorded during the Fillmore East shows, and additional material has been released on later albums. In 1969, Jimi Hendrix

2884-480: The Band of Gypsys album was a challenge. It was like Jimi was really almost pressured into doing it. Hearing Buddy's [vamping or musical improvisation ] seemed to bother him. We were sitting there and he was like. 'Oh man, I wish Buddy would shut the fuck up.' He would listen to him and say, 'Can we cut some of those parts out?' I ended up editing a lot of Buddy's quote unquote 'jamming', where he would go off and sing

2987-777: The UK Albums Chart , number 133 on the US Billboard 200 , and number 34 on the Canadian RPM chart. It was ranked number 187 on Nielsen Soundscan 's Canadian Top 200 Albums of 2002. In 2006, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it as "2× platinum" for shipping two million copies. The titles and running times are taken from the original Experience Hendrix CD US release. Other releases may show different information. Entries under "Original release" are for both

3090-569: The "easy groove" and "lilting flow". Besides adding a fresh rhythmic element to his music, it also gives Hendrix more room to experiment with different approaches and sounds on guitar. Similarly, the Buddy Miles song "We Gotta Live Together" is a jam piece. It forms the second part of a medley with "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and had only been performed once before at the Baggy's rehearsal room. The song features Miles attempting to engage

3193-419: The "overrated" album was decent by live rock standards, but unexceptional in Hendrix's discography. Christgau also believed that Hendrix was limited by the straighter, simpler rhythm section, but added that "Who Knows" and "Machine Gun" "are as powerful if not complex as anything he's ever put on record". He stated that Hendrix was more reliant on wah-wah guitar lines for the second half of the album, except for

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3296-435: The "rapid fire" "Message to Love". Writer Rickey Vincent describes Band of Gypsys as "a never-heard-before amalgam of punishing guitar riffs over crisp rhythm and blues grooves ... The funk-rock sound would change the face of black music, setting a template for the spectacular glam-funk of the 1970s". Murray sees their influence in the early 1970s radio hits " Freddie's Dead " by Curtis Mayfield and " That Lady " by

3399-564: The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever, and number 37 on The Times ' 100 Best Albums of All Time. Music journalist and author Peter Doggett argued that it is very likely the greatest rock album of all time because of its exceptional concept, artful melodies, experimentation, and skilled musicianship, which he felt remains unparalleled by any other rock artist. The album was included in "A Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of

3502-460: The 1969 deadline, Hendrix summed it up: I wasn't too satisfied with the album. If it had been up to me, I never would have put it out. From a musician's point of view, it was not a good recording and I was out of tune on a few things ... not enough preparation went into it and it came out a bit 'grizzly'. The thing was, we owed the record company an album and they were pushing us, so here it is. On February 25, 1970, Michael Jeffery delivered

3605-498: The Band of Gypsys as an early influence. Trey Anastasio , guitarist for Phish , commented that "I remember, like many guitarists, being obsessed with Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys . It was the record. I listened to that solo on 'Machine Gun' a million times". During interviews in the 1999 documentary Band of Gypsys: Live at the Fillmore East , Reid, Velvert Turner , Slash , and Lenny Kravitz discuss "the inspiration and continuing influence that Band of Gypsys has provided". During

3708-528: The Band of Gypsys rehearsals in November 1969, Hendrix and Miles recorded the backing track for "Doriella Du Fontaine", with Lightnin' Rod (later known as Jalal Mansur Nuriddin ) of the Last Poets . Although it was not released until 1984, McDermott cited it as " a pristine example of Hendrix's embrace of hip-hop during that music form's infancy". Writer Gene Santoro describes it as "foreshadow[ing]

3811-497: The Buddy Miles songs "Changes" and "We Gotta Live Together". He also decided on "Power of Soul" and "Message to Love", studio versions of which had been considered for release as a single (these studio recordings were later included on South Saturn Delta and West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology ). Songs with recording problems and those Hendrix wished to complete as studio recordings were withheld (studio versions of "Izabella" and "Stepping Stone" were released as

3914-622: The Experience and Gypsy Sun and Rainbows (but unreleased) were carried over to the Band of Gypsys. These included " Lover Man ", " Hear My Train A Comin' ", "Izabella", "Machine Gun", " Bleeding Heart ", " Stepping Stone ", and "Message to Love". Three new songs featuring vocals by Buddy Miles were added: "Changes", "We Gotta Live Together" (both Miles compositions) and "Stop", an R&B song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Mort Shuman , which had been recorded by Howard Tate in 1968. Hendrix contributed new material as well, including "Power of Soul", " Ezy Ryder ", "Earth Blues", "Burning Desire", and

4017-475: The Experience. According to writer Jeremy Wells, "critics have usually seen the Band of Gypsys' one album as the least significant of the [four] recordings Hendrix released during his lifetime". Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1970, music journalist Gary von Tersch said that the album was hampered by poorly recorded vocals and Miles' unpleasant drumming, and instead viewed it as a showcase for Hendrix's virtuosic guitar playing: "With just bass and drum support he

4120-524: The Isley Brothers . (Hendrix was influenced by Mayfield early in his career and was a member of the Isley Brothers' touring band before the Experience). George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic , who defined funk for the 1970s, were also influenced. P-Funk's " Maggot Brain ", a ten-minute guitar opus by Eddie Hazel , draws on "Machine Gun" and bassist Bootsy Collins identified Hendrix as

4223-753: The North American market. A concert film of a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London in February 1969 was entangled in legal disputes and its release was uncertain. In May, while en route to a performance in Toronto, Hendrix was detained and charged with illegal possession of narcotics . If convicted of the felony, he faced as many as 20 years in prison. On June 28, 1969, Hendrix announced he planned to work with new musicians, including

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4326-648: The Seventies (1981). In 1999, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame , and in 2000, it was voted number 32 in Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums . In 2003, Q magazine named Electric Ladyland as one of the 100 greatest albums. Rolling Stone ranked it 54th in the 2003 edition of its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" publication and 53rd in the 2020 edition. The original US Reprise and UK Track albums did not list running times for

4429-568: The UK it peaked at number 6, where it spent 12 weeks on the British charts. Electric Ladyland includes a cover of Bob Dylan 's " All Along the Watchtower ", which became the Experience's best-selling single, reaching number six in the UK and number 20 in the United States. Although the album confounded critics upon its release, it has since been viewed as one of Hendrix's best works and one of

4532-523: The US Army. The aggregation, often referred to as "Gypsy Sun and Rainbows", performed as the final act at the Woodstock Festival on August 18, 1969 (while introducing the group at Woodstock, Hendrix added "It's nothing but a band of gypsies"). After a couple more appearances, including a September 8 episode of the late night American television The Dick Cavett Show without Lee and Velez,

4635-748: The US and UK, unless otherwise indicated. All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix , except where otherwise noted Bonus disc The album was also released in a two-CD limited edition. The bonus disc contains eight tracks, taken from The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set (2000). All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix , except where otherwise noted Personnel information is taken from the original Experience Hendrix CD US release; other releases may show different information. Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Band of Gypsys Band of Gypsys

4738-490: The Watchtower" became the band's top-selling single and their only US top 40 hit, peaking at number 20; it reached number five in the UK. The album also included one of Hendrix's most prominent uses of a wah-wah pedal , on "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", which reached number 18 in the UK charts. Hendrix had written to Reprise describing what he wanted for the cover art , but was mostly ignored. He expressly asked for

4841-416: The album lacked structure and sounded too dense. Melody Maker called it "mixed-up and muddled", with the exception of "All Along the Watchtower", which the magazine called a masterpiece. Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1968, Tony Glover said Hendrix's original songs sometimes sound unstructured and was somewhat disappointed by the "heavy handed guitar" on "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" and

4944-507: The album on CD in 1997, it was given a "Double Platinum" award on January 16, 1998, for sales over two million. Additionally, the 1999 Live at the Fillmore documentary DVD has received a platinum award. Band of Gypsys was re-released on compact disc in 1991 by Polydor Records in Europe and Japan. In addition to the original tracks, it included three extra songs recorded during the Fillmore East shows: " Hear My Train A Comin' " from

5047-757: The album was not released in the UK for nearly two more months. When Track Records issued it on June 12, 1970, it quickly entered the British charts , where it remained for 30 weeks and reached number six. For the album cover, Capitol Records used a grainy photograph of Hendrix taken during the Fillmore East shows illuminated by the multi-colored liquid light show projected by the Joshua Light Show . However, Track used album cover art which proved controversial, as they had done with Electric Ladyland . It depicted puppets or dolls that resembled Hendrix, Brian Jones , Bob Dylan , and John Peel huddled next to

5150-509: The album. Both McDermott and Shadwick call it one of Hendrix's greatest achievements, setting a standard that the rest of the album does not live up to. The material for Band of Gypsys was recorded over two consecutive nights at the Fillmore East. The group was scheduled for two shows on December 31, 1969, and another two on January 1, 1970 (because the shows went beyond midnight, the actual dates were December 31 – January 1 and January 1–2; for ease of reference, these are referred as

5253-498: The album. Electric Ladyland is a cross-section of Hendrix's wide range of musical talent. It includes examples of several genres and styles of music: the psychedelic " Burning of the Midnight Lamp ", a UK single the previous summer (1967), the extended blues jam " Voodoo Chile ", the New Orleans-style R&;B of Earl King 's " Come On ", the epic studio production of " 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be) ",

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5356-468: The audience in a call and response "testifying" soul music -style vocal section, which was mostly edited out for the album release. Hendrix and Cox back Miles' vocal sections with parallel funk-style lines, before a guitar solo using Hendrix's new combination of effects. Shapiro comments: At that point, it picks up into double-time and the sounds of electronic equipment not yet invented stream out of Jimi's Stratocaster at breakneck speed. Coming after

5459-416: The basis of funk rock . It contains previously unreleased songs and was the last full-length Hendrix album released before his death six months later. After his appearance at Woodstock with an interim group that included Cox, Hendrix began developing new songs and recording demos. When Miles became involved, he and Cox agreed to record a live album with Hendrix to be used to settle a contract dispute with

5562-502: The best-selling 1992 compilation The Ultimate Experience , which features a similar track list but contains fewer songs from posthumous releases. In a review for AllMusic , Bruce Eder gave the compilation four out of five stars. He felt that the collection "just misses being the perfect single-CD Jimi Hendrix anthology": while the compilation includes some of Hendrix's noteworthy later work, it lacks several songs from his earlier Smash Hits compilation. The album reached number 18 on

5665-501: The connection: "Jimi liked what I had done with Kind of Blue and some other stuff and wanted to add more jazz elements to what he was doing. He liked the way Coltrane played with all those sheets of sound, and played his guitar in a similar way". As indicated by Hendrix's dedication of the song "to all the soldiers that are fighting in Chicago and Milwaukee and New York, oh yes, and all the soldiers fighting in Vietnam", "Machine Gun"

5768-570: The ensemble disbanded. Lee returned to Tennessee, Sultan and Velez left to pursue other opportunities, and Mitchell joined Jack Bruce 's touring group. In October 1969, Hendrix and Cox began jamming and recording demos with drummer Buddy Miles. Miles had played with various R&B and soul musicians, as a member of the Electric Flag and fronting the Buddy Miles Express , both blues rock -R&B fusion groups. Miles

5871-419: The fact that here we are, we have to mix this, we got to give it to Capitol, it wasn't a Warner's record [his official record company], let's do the best we can with it. Early on, Billy Cox believed that the primary goal was to resolve the matter with Chalpin. Later, he commented, "Overall, the feeling was, 'What the heck, the album doesn't belong to us anyway. Let's just move on and forget it'". Already past

5974-510: The first show and " Foxy Lady " and the Jerry Ragovoy and Mort Shuman song "Stop", both from the third show. These had been originally released in the US by Capitol Records in 1986 on the Band of Gypsys 2 album (despite the title, only half of the album's songs were recorded with Cox and Miles). In 1997, when Band of Gypsys was re-released on CD in the US, Capitol only included the original six tracks. After Experience Hendrix,

6077-480: The first show was essentially a warm-up set and they performed eleven new songs (it was the only show not to include any familiar Experience songs). There were some microphone problems during the first two songs, which re-appeared for the first two songs of the second show as well. Hendrix also experienced tuning problems with his guitar. His heavy use of the Stratocaster's whammy bar ( vibrato arm ) stretched

6180-418: The first show was issued as Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show . The box set Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts , released in 2019, contains 43 songs from all four shows. In addition to new recordings, it presents longer versions of "Changes", "Power to Love" (as "Power of Soul"), and "We Gotta Live Together". The trio was filmed performing two of the songs that are included on

6283-485: The first show, second show, third show, and fourth show). The recording was supervised by Wally Heider , an experienced sound engineer who ran a recording studio and had made several live recordings . He had already recorded Hendrix live several times, including at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969. Portable recording equipment was set up at the venue and the trio performed for

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6386-420: The four shows, for a total of 47 recorded versions. The group did not prepare set lists or otherwise plan for their performances. McDermott notes, "Hendrix called out tunes to Miles and Cox and would often make time and tempo changes on the fly, alerting his partners with a simple head nod or raising of his guitar neck". Miles also saw improvisation as a key element of their approach. According to Shadwick,

6489-465: The greatest albums of all time, being featured on various "greatest albums" lists, including Q 's 2003 list of the 100 greatest albums and various editions of Rolling Stone ' s list of the " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ", on which it was ranked 53rd in the 2020 iteration. The Experience began recording Electric Ladyland at several studios in the United States and UK between July 1967 and January 1968. Recording resumed on April 18, 1968, at

6592-566: The greatest double-albums in Rock." According to author Michael Heatley, "most critics agree" that the album was "the fullest realization of Jimi's far-reaching ambitions"; Guitar World editor Noe Goldwasser called it his greatest work. The record was also deemed an essential hard rock album in Tom Larson's 2004 book History of Rock and Roll , and Clash reviewer Robin Murray viewed it as

6695-495: The kind of stuff Jimi could play in his sleep, the contrast is even more startling. The passage is quite short, but it has an eerie abstract quality. "Changes" is another song written and sung by Miles and it benefits from more development and structure. Although it includes a prominent guitar line by Hendrix, it is Miles' showcase piece. The song was performed during each show with little variation, except for Miles' vocal improvisations. With these sections edited out, "Changes"

6798-496: The master tapes for Band of Gypsys to Capitol Records executives in Los Angeles. Capitol rush-released the album one month later on March 25, and it entered Billboard 's Top LPs chart at number eighteen. It reached number five during a stay of 61 weeks on the chart and, at the time of his death, was Hendrix's best selling album in the US since Are You Experienced . Due to legal wrangling by Ed Chalpin and PPX,

6901-419: The musical uptake". Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray noted, "Cox's funky, uncluttered bass style would give Hendrix's new music a more solid, less frenetic underpinning [than Noel Redding's style]. In every way, Cox's function would be to provide the steadiness Hendrix so urgently required". Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt described Miles' style as "pleasantly messy ... He wasn't as tight as

7004-418: The newly opened Record Plant Studios in New York City, with Chas Chandler as producer and engineers Eddie Kramer and Gary Kellgren . Hendrix was famous for his studio perfectionism; he and drummer Mitch Mitchell recorded over 50 takes of " Gypsy Eyes " over three sessions. Hendrix was insecure about his voice and often recorded his vocals hidden behind studio screens. He sang backing vocals himself on

7107-565: The original Capitol Band of Gypsys album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame , which "honor[s] recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance". On June 23, 2019, the Band of Gypsys were inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame , at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit, Michigan. Billy Cox , the last surviving member of the group

7210-530: The original album. Black and white footage for part of "Who Knows" was filmed by Woody Vasulka from the hall, while Jan Blom shot "Machine Gun" from the balcony. It was later included on the 1999 DVD documentary Band of Gypsys: Live at the Fillmore East . Footnotes Citations References Electric Ladyland Electric Ladyland is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience , released in October 1968. A double album , it

7313-418: The perception of Hendrix's capabilities as an improviser and musician", according to Shadwick. Although based on a "minor drone-blues" in the line of " Voodoo Child (Slight Return) ", Hendrix's performance has been compared to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane 's approach to improvisation. Miles Davis, with whom Coltrane had recorded several albums in the 1950s, including the influential Kind of Blue , noted

7416-472: The portions edited out of 'We Gotta Live Together'. I flipped out and he started cracking up". After several more editing and mixing sessions at Juggy Sound, the material for the album was readied on February 17. The following day, Hendrix and Kramer met with Bob Ludwig , who supervised the final mastering. Hendrix chose to work with his own mastering engineer because he had been dissatisfied with his record company's results on Electric Ladyland . The task

7519-631: The production exceptional—"the best job of stereo for its own sake I know"—and was surprisingly impressed by the quality of the lyrics. While most guitarists in rock believed improvisation to be a straightforward endeavor, Christgau said "Hendrix achieves unique effects, effects you'll never get from Kenny Burrell ", citing "Voodoo Chile" as an example. He later named Electric Ladyland the fifth-best album of 1968 in his ballot for Jazz & Pop magazine's critics poll. Over time, Electric Ladyland ' s critical standing improved significantly, with author and musicologist John Perry describing it as "one of

7622-477: The rap-meets-metal crossover of later artists like Run-DMC ". In 1990, the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground extensively sampled "Who Knows", the opening song from Band of Gypsys , for "The Way We Swing" on the Sex Packets album. McDermott concludes that it would be difficult "to accurately measure the lasting impact Band of Gypsys has made on rock, funk, R&B, and Hip-Hop". In 2018,

7725-453: The riff for the jam song "Who Knows". The trio began rehearsing a set of songs for the four upcoming Fillmore shows. Many of these songs represented a change in Hendrix's music from his Experience repertoire. Biographer and later Hendrix producer John McDermott elaborates: Hendrix's new songs made clear the emerging shifts in his musical direction. The titles alone—"Message to Love", "Power of Soul", "Earth Blues", "Burning Desire"—suggest

7828-654: The science-fiction conclusion to "House Burning Down". Ultimately, Glover appreciated the "energy flow" unifying the songs and described Hendrix as "amazing", adding that Electric Ladyland serves as "an extended look into Hendrix's head, and mostly it seems to have some pretty good things in it (who among us is totally free of mental garbage?)". Robert Christgau was more enthusiastic in Stereo Review , regarding it as an explosive showcase of rock's "most important recent innovation"—the "heavy" guitar aesthetic—and "an integrated work-in-itself in more ways than one". He found

7931-403: The slow blues " Red House " and "Belly Button Window" (both 8 ) are among the exceptions.) Jazz innovator Miles Davis felt that Cox and Miles were the best rhythm section for Hendrix and freed him from the constraints of the Experience. Guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly , who played with Davis, commented in an interview: Band of Gypsys was the ultimate in terms of what he [Hendrix]

8034-560: The social commentary of "House Burning Down", and the sixties-era British pop of Noel Redding 's "Little Miss Strange". The album also features an electric reworking of the Bob Dylan song " All Along the Watchtower ", which has been highly acclaimed by critics as well as by Dylan himself, and also " Voodoo Child (Slight Return) ", a staple of both radio and guitar repertoire. Rolling Stone 's Holly George-Warren praised "Crosstown Traffic" for its hard rock guitar riff. "All Along

8137-516: The sometimes problematic recordings and expressed dissatisfaction with the final product. Shortly after its release, Band of Gypsys reached the top 10 of the album charts in the US and UK as well as appearing in charts in several other countries. Although it was as popular as his albums with the Experience, it received mixed reviews. Some faulted the performances as tentative and underprepared; additionally, Miles' drum and vocal contributions have been characterized as plodding and obtrusive. "Machine Gun"

8240-440: The songs. Track lengths are taken from the 1968 International Polydor Production album. Some of the song titles differ slightly between the original US and UK album editions and between the titles shown on the album back cover, the inside liner notes, and the labels on the records themselves; the titles listed here are those shown on the record labels. All songs are written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted. Credits taken from

8343-411: The stage. Jeffery, who reportedly was never happy with the lineup, fired Buddy Miles on the spot. Gerry Stickells, Hendrix's tour manager, points to "Jimi's own lack of commitment to the Band of Gypsys concept as its fatal flaw". Two songs, "Stepping Stone" and "Izabella", that the trio had recorded, were issued as a single by Reprise Records two weeks after Capitol released Band of Gypsys . Hendrix

8446-446: The standard of recording performances that would provide an album that would settle the bitter legal dispute with Ed Chalpin. All of the six songs that were chosen for the Band of Gypsys album were recorded on the second night during the third and fourth shows. After the main set, Hendrix played for his last encores "Wild Thing", " Hey Joe ", and "Purple Haze". On January 12, 1970, Hendrix and recording engineer Eddie Kramer began

8549-551: The strings and led to pitch problems which he was often forced to correct mid-song. For the second show, in addition to new songs, Hendrix added " Stone Free ", " Foxey Lady ", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", and " Purple Haze ". On the second night, the group performed a mix of new and older material for the third and fourth shows. The contrast between the first and second nights has been noted by Hendrix biographers. Based on interviews with Cox and Miles, concert reviews, and film footage, McDermott and Shadwick conclude that Hendrix

8652-411: The studio; you couldn't move. It was a party, not a session." Redding, who had formed his own band in mid-1968, Fat Mattress , found it increasingly difficult to fulfill his commitments with the Experience, so Hendrix played many of the bass parts. The album's cover states that it was "produced and directed by Jimi Hendrix", which disturbed Chandler since he produced some of the songs. The double LP

8755-654: The task of deciding which songs to include on the new album (Cox and Miles did not participate in the process). The review and subsequent audio mixing was undertaken at Juggy Sound Studios in New York, where the trio had started rehearsing in October. Excluding Experience and cover songs, there were multiple versions of thirteen new, previously unreleased songs from which to choose. Among those that received Kramer's and Hendrix's attention were "Machine Gun", "Earth Blues", "Burning Desire", "Ezy Ryder", "Who Knows", and "Hear My Train A Comin'". Early on, Hendrix chose to include

8858-440: The title track and on "Long Hot Summer Night". As recording progressed, Chandler became frustrated with Hendrix's perfectionism and his demands for repeated takes. Hendrix allowed friends and guests to join them in the studio, which contributed to a chaotic and crowded environment in the control room and led Chandler to sever his professional relationship with Hendrix. Bassist Noel Redding recalled: "There were tons of people in

8961-586: The trio began preparing for the upcoming concerts and new album. Between then and the end of December, the trio rehearsed at Juggy Sound Studios and recorded several demos at the Record Plant Studios in New York City, where Hendrix recorded much of Electric Ladyland . After Hendrix's December 10, 1969, acquittal in his Canadian trial, the trio rehearsed their material at Baggy's Studios up until their first concert appearance on December 31. In an interview, Hendrix explained, "We spent 12 to 18 hours

9064-436: Was "groundbreaking, introducing audiences to a style of psychedelic rock rooted in the blues". The Washington Post critic Geoffrey Himes names it an exemplary release of the progressive soul development from 1968 to 1973. Author Amy Wallace called the album a "classic of acid rock ." Electric Ladyland has been featured on many greatest album lists, including a number 10 ranking on Classic Rock magazine's list of

9167-413: Was also a frequent jam partner of Hendrix and had played the drums the year before on the two-part song "Rainy Day, Dream Away"/"Still Raining, Still Dreaming" for Electric Ladyland . Cox and Miles expressed an interest in performing and recording a new album with Hendrix. Hendrix's manager, Michael Jeffery , saw the opportunity to record a New Year's performance at the Fillmore East for a live album and

9270-524: Was banned by several record dealers as "pornographic", while others sold it with the gatefold cover turned inside out, or in a brown wrapper. In France and the Benelux countries, Hendrix's recordings were released by Barclay Records , and Electric Ladyland featured a front cover photograph by Alain Dister , and inner sleeve photographs by Jean-Pierre Leloir and Donald Silverstein. Electric Ladyland

9373-485: Was based on building up rhythm patterns and that each pattern dictated the shape and character of a portion of a song in which it appeared". Record producer Alan Douglas witnessed the approach during a jam at the Record Plant and saw it as inefficient. On the other hand, Shadwick feels that it was necessary: "it seemed the only way available, especially as neither Cox nor Miles, in particular, were exactly swift on

9476-467: Was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with bassist Noel Redding and the Experience format. During the recording of Electric Ladyland , he and producer Chas Chandler parted ways and Hendrix began to explore recording with other musicians and different musical styles. By the middle of the year, he had not completed any promising material and Reprise Records resorted to issuing his April 1968 UK compilation album, Smash Hits , with some new tracks for

9579-474: Was completed on February 19, 1970, and the final track listing included two songs from the third show and four from the fourth and last show. According to Shadwick, "The process of choosing and mixing the live album was not a pleasant one: Hendrix only fulfilled his legal obligation to PPX/Capitol under duress and with the greatest reluctance". McDermott questions why some arguably superior tracks that Hendrix recorded were not used instead. Kramer sees it as

9682-620: Was dissatisfied with the mix and the single was quickly withdrawn without ever appearing in the charts. Three other songs that were recorded with Cox and Miles were later used for early posthumous Hendrix albums, including The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge . Additional studio recordings by the trio in various stages of development were released on South Saturn Delta , The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set, Burning Desire , West Coast Seattle Boy , and People, Hell and Angels . Band of Gypsys has been viewed by some rock critics less favorably than Hendrix's three studio albums with

9785-496: Was doing. I thought the rhythm section was perfect for him. Billy Cox and Buddy Miles—those were two cats who could hit. I mean, it was so solid that when Hendrix went into his psychedelic stuff it was like a perfect contrast. You could see how far he was traveling because the ground was so clear! "Machine Gun" is another song that Hendrix had spent time developing. By the Fillmore East concerts, it had become an extended guitar improvisational piece, which "would completely change

9888-409: Was less animated during the third and fourth shows, when he stood mostly in place until the final encores, seemingly concentrating on recording. In frequent interviews and in his autobiography, Bill Graham claimed that his own criticism of Hendrix's delivery to the audience (although he seems to confuse which shows) had spurred him on. However, according to McDermott, Hendrix was determined to deliver

9991-628: Was on hand to accept, along with representatives of the Buddy Miles and Hendrix estates. All tracks were written by Jimi Hendrix, except "Changes" and "We Gotta Live Together" by Buddy Miles, and "Stop" by Jerry Ragovoy and Mort Shuman . Production personnel In the US, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) first certified Band of Gypsys as a "Gold Record", signifying sales in excess of 500,000 copies, on June 3, 1970, less than two months after its release. On February 5, 1991, it achieved "Platinum Record" status (more than one million copies sold). After Capitol Records re-released

10094-488: Was released in the US on October 16, 1968. It was a "hit psychedelic album", Richie Unterberger later wrote, and by mid-November, it had reached number one in the US, spending two weeks atop the pop charts . The double LP was the Experience's most commercially successful release and Hendrix's only number-one album. In the UK, it peaked at number six and charted for 12 weeks. Electric Ladyland confounded contemporary critics; reviewers praised some of its songs but felt

10197-730: Was the only Experience album mixed entirely in stereo. Hendrix experimented with other combinations of musicians, including Jefferson Airplane 's Jack Casady and Traffic 's Steve Winwood , who played bass and organ, respectively, on the 15-minute slow-blues jam " Voodoo Chile ". In March 1968, he was joined onstage at the Scene Club in New York by Jim Morrison of the Doors and in early April, Hendrix appeared at an impromptu jam with B.B. King , Al Kooper , and Elvin Bishop . According to music journalist David Stubbs , Electric Ladyland

10300-465: Was the only record from the Experience with production solely credited to Hendrix. The band's most commercially successful release and its only number one album, it was released by Reprise Records in the United States on October 16, 1968, and by Track Records in the UK nine days later. By mid-November, it had reached number 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, spending two weeks there. In

10403-639: Was the opening song for the second (after the brief "Auld Lang Syne") and third shows. It is a loose jam rather than a structured composition and during the performance for the second show Hendrix teases the audience with "I hope you don't mind us jamming a little bit, we're just messing around ... seeing what we're gonna play next". Built on Hendrix's guitar figure, "Who Knows" is framed by Cox's economical funk-blues bass line and Miles' steady drum beat, which Murray describes as "a thick, lazy twitch". Hendrix explores guitar phrases using different tones and effects between vocal sections. According to Cox, Hendrix

10506-498: Was under pressure from his manager and record company to record a follow-up to his hugely successful 1968 album Electric Ladyland . He was also required to produce an album's worth of new material for Capitol Records in order to satisfy a contract dispute with former manager Ed Chalpin and PPX Enterprises . Capitol had released two misleading Chalpin-produced Curtis Knight albums with Hendrix on guitar, which competed directly with his own Experience albums. Additionally, Hendrix

10609-514: Was using a new combination of effects for the first time. These included a Uni-Vibe phase shifter , an Octavia (developed for him by Roger Mayer during the recording of his first album), a Fuzz Face distortion box , and a wah-wah pedal . One mixture of them produces a "whistling, shimmering, ring-modulated tone so rich with upper harmonics" in the higher range, while in the lower range "it almost sounds like Froggy Went a-Courtin'  ... all these [lower] oct[ave]-intervals give it such

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