THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: ARE YOU EXPERIENCED

Jimi is one of my companion since January 1970 (I was almost twelve). I discovered him (as many continental Europeans I guess) thanks to his appearance at Woodstock which blew me away. What this guy could get out of his guitar was just stunning and unmatched.

IMO, there are two Hendrix: the studio one and the live one. I am quite found of the later.

Still, this album released in '67 is probably the most interesting of his studio recordings (but some might think differently). From the cover onwards, this album smells full psychedelia. It is definitely a key element of psyche music, along with ''Piper'' from Floyd and the early Airplane material.

There are some jewels on this album which will be timeless: ''Purple Haze'', Fire'', ''Foxy Lady'', ''Stone Free' and ''Red House''. Another one that I particularly like is the cover of ''Hey Joe'', but Jimi wasn't all that pleased with this track (just listen to his comment on the double live CD set ''Live at the BBC''). The title track also stands out.

This album is pivotal for the history of rock, for the guitar lovers and for anyone who is interested in music. Some improvisation during the longest track of this set (''Third Stone From The Sun'') is maybe not yet convincing, but the genious will quickly demonstrates his maestria in this aspect. His live sets (together with his bands being The Experience or Band Of Gypsys or a combination) will just confirm that.

This album fully deserves four stars. FYI, Jimi is catalogued in the section ''Classic Rock'' in my discography.