Electric Ladyland

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix — the great anomaly of popular music. Flamboyant, decadent, soulful and downright fearless on the guitar, Hendrix had a tendency to work up such a fury on his instrument that Mike Bloomfield and Eric Clapton almost cashed in their chips. But it would take a lot more than pyrotechnics and flashy picking to keep the flag flying. Nothing lasts without a good, solid foundation. "Purple Haze" and "Hey Joe" made Hendrix a star in 1966; two years later his genius took root and he became a consummate artist, a shaper and molder of sound, a masterful musician and songwriter. And from the ashes arose Hendrix's third and final album with the Experience, Electric Ladyland — a sonic masterpiece that almost defies description.

Recorded at the Record Plant in New York City, Hendrix is credited with both directing and producing the double album. In the process, the sessions were marked by moments of innovation, collaboration and separation — the latter due to growing dissension with bassist Noel Redding and the split with Chas Chandler, the man who discovered Jimi Hendrix. Apparently, it was getting a little too crowded in the control booth for the robust ex-Animal bassist. Eddie Kramer, the chief engineer on the record, claims Chandler's departure merely opened the floodgates. Hendrix started experimenting — layering with effects, overdubbing his parts, orchestrating the arrangements. Other times, he'd settle down on a lengthy instrumental jam and let the tapes roll.

"...And The Gods Made Love" winds up the pitch as the playful "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" invites you in. On "Crosstown Traffic," we get Hendrix on a comb and cellophane tape; on "Voodoo Chile," we get a monumental blues fest featuring Stevie Winwood on Hammond organ and Jack Casady on bass. Then the record dovetails into the Redding-penned "Little Miss Strange," one of the bassist's last recorded exchanges with Hendrix. The pot really starts to boil when a wah-wah guitar and harpsichord assume a mystical flair on "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp." Throw in the angelic cooings of Cissy Houston and the Sweet Inspirations, and you have perhaps one of Hendrix's most realized compositions. Next, the guitarist teams up with drummer Buddy Miles and organist Mike Finnigan on the R & B, jazzy meddlings of "Rainy Day, Dream Away" and "Still Raining, Still Dreaming." Hendrix, in his own mirthful style, straddles the two with the sci-fi, 14-minute opus, "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)."

The guitarist was no stranger to transforming certain classics into his own. He'd done it time and time again, covering everything from the Beatles’ "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to the show-stopping "Wild Thing" at Monterey. His version of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" became one of his best interpretations — even hailed by the author himself. Of course, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," the closing track is lauded to this day as one of Hendrix's greatest achievements. Sleeved in a number of different configurations and formats — the U.K. edition is wrapped in a bevy of naked women — Electric Ladyland stands as a pinnacle in the never-ending odyssey of Jimi Hendrix.

~ Shawn Perry

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