JIMI HENDRIX / AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE

Jimi Hendrix / Axis: Bold As Lovem

Artist: JIMI HENDRIX
Title: AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE
Date: December 1967
Release: MCA #10894

MUSTHEAR REVIEW:

An early peak in the painfully short career of the greatest guitarist ever. Axis: Bold as Love was a mind blowing journey through the uncharted sounds and emotions of an artist sharing his pure soul. Love was to be the axis of the new galactic order Jimi envisioned, with his music serving as the otherworldly vehicle designed to take us there at 33 1/3 rpm. Innovative beyond compare, Jimi made extraordinary use of the limited 4-track technology at his finger tips, crafting a complex and pivotal album of enduring brilliance. With "Little Wing," "Castles Made of Sand," and "One Rainy Wish," Jimi showed himself capable of creating gently textured songs of poetry that were no less powerful and compelling than the more jamming tunes like "Spanish Castle Magic." On the electrifying "If 6 Was 9," Jimi righteously sets forth the philosophy he lived by: "I'm the one who's gonna die when it's time for me to die/So let me live my life, the way I want to..." In the jazzed "Up From the Skies," Jimi sings of the world from the point of view of an extraterrestrial brother hovering high above the clouds. He brings his inventiveness to bear on the solid rhythm and blues of "Ain't No Telling," "You Got Me Floatin', and "Little Miss Lover," songs which were shamefully ignored by most R&B radio stations across the United States. Although largely appreciated by a white audience, Jimi really expanded the possibilities of black music, paving the way for the heavy funk explorations of Miles Davis, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, and others. Although Jimi was raised to the status of a rock god, he did a hell of a lot more than simply rock. Axis: Bold as Love covers a nearly cosmic spectrum of sounds, violating musical conventions, and defying what was once thought possible in the realm of the electric guitar and recorded music. It still has one of the all-time best endings of any album, with the title track "Bold As Love" closing out the record in a sweeping climax. An essential recording for all collections.
--John Ballon (email)

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Tracks:
1. EXP (1:55)
2. Up From The Skies (2:55)
3. Spanish Castle Magic (3:00)
4. Wait Until Tomorrow (3:00)
5. Ain't No Telling (1:46)
6. Little Wing (2:24)
7. If 6 Was 9 (5:32)
8. You Got Me Floatin' (2:45)
9. Castles Made of Sand (2:46)
10. She's So Fine (2:37)
11. One Rainy Wish (3:40)
12. Little Miss Lover (2:20
13. Bold As Love (4:09))

Players:
Jimi Hendrix: Guitar, Vocals, Flute (only on "If 6 Was 9")
Noel Redding: Bass, Vocals
Mitch Mitchell: Drums