Jimi Hendrix

They say that when Are You Experienced? was released in 1967, it actually scared people. Drenched in echo, panning from left to right every two seconds, howling feedback -- nothing had ever sounded this far out and blown apart. On top of it all there was this big black guy doing things with his guitar that seemed...dirty. Jimi changed the rules with this one.

Jimi Hendrix was arguably the greatest rock instrumentalist of the Sixties. His blunt attack
contrasted sharply with the meticulous virtuosity of an Eric Clapton; Hendrix preferred and
angry metal whine, molten steel to Clapton's polished chrome. His rough edges conveyed
far more than his awesome dexterity. In a genre where computerized pyrotechnics seem
the rule, Hendrix played with a rawness transcending idiomatic formalities.

Try to hear this bombshell debut as an English pop record--only two of the 11 skillfully paced paced tracks, three titanic bonus singles, and three fascinating B sides run over four minutes, and hooks abound. You could hum these tunes. Yet humming definitely didn't capture their essence, a roiling sea of guitar that would change how a generation of fans heard music and conceived their own blown minds. (Grade - *****)