THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: ELECTRIC LADYLAND

Electric Ladyland was the last and most ambitious album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Spanning four sides worth of material the band finally took an the opportunity to experiment with some new sounds and music directions among which were funk, psychedelia and rock & roll. But don't get your hopes up since this album ultimately remains an offspring of blues and the 15 minute blues jam on Voodoo Chile definitely makes the recording hard to swallow if you're not a fan of the genre.

I will do in fact consider it to be my favorite of the three classic Jimi Hendrix Experience albums but even this release drags on a bit too much on quite a few occasions. Unlike the flawed blues rock offered on Axis: Bold As Love, Electric Ladyland doesn't really have that many actual flaws for anyone who enjoys the genre. Therefore my main complaints are all based on difference of taste and opinion.

I was very surprised when I heard 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) for the first time because this track doesn't sound like anything that the band have done to that point. Instead this lengthy psychedelic rock piece brings to mind the classic the Doors compositions like The End or Riders On The Storm. The atmospheric science fiction lyrics and themes must have been a huge inspiration to future artists of the progressive rock era. I also like how a short piece titled Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away was added at the end in order to make the transition to the final part of the album feel much smoother. Still these two marvelous compositions lack any proper context in relation to style featured on the rest of the album.

The forth side of Electric Ladyland is generally considered to be the strongest since it gives us three side-by-side classics in the shape of House Burning Down, All Along The Watchtower and Voodoo Child (Slight Return) that end the album on a high note. Unfortunately this is not enough to convince me that this release is worth more than a strong good, but non-essential rating since there were quite a few hits and misses along the way.

***** star songs: Crosstown Traffic (2:13) 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) (13:39) All Along The Watchtower (4:00)

**** star songs: Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) (2:11) Long Hot Summer Night (3:27) Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) (4:09) Gypsy Eyes (3:43) Burning Of The Midnight Lamp (3:39) Moon, Turn The Tides... Gently Gently Away (1:01) House Burning Down (4:33) Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (5:13)

*** star songs: And The Gods Made Love (1:21) Voodoo Chile (15:01) Little Miss Strange (2:52) Rainy Day, Dream Away (3:42) Still Raining, Still Dreaming (4:25)