Customer Reviews
An under-rated classic - By: Shaolin_monkey, 20 Sep 2008 
It could be that this was my first introduction to Hendrix, but I maintain to this day it is the best of the 'Jimi Hendrix Experience' studio albums. I say this for a great number of reasons.
First of alll, lets assume you've never heard an 'Experience' album before, & want to dip your toe in the water. This album is a great place to start, as it eases you in with a nice gentle, yet sublimely funky number, before it crushes your head with Spanish Castle Magic. The album is like a gentle roller coaster ride of funky rocky highs, & gentle mellow dips, with an ease of access missing from the other two studio albums.
So that gets you into it, & opens your mind to the possibility of exploring Hendrix further. At this point you may be drawn to purchasing 'Are You Experienced' & 'Electric Ladyland'. However, you're going to be torn between two extremes; the former is hard, fast & in your face, & the latter segues into many experimental meanderings.
I found myself reeling away from those two, a bit stunned, back to this album, & finding solace in the 'inbetweenness', in which you have both hard paced tracks of the first, & the beginnings of experimentation of the third. That is by no means a bad thing though - in fact, to the contrary you come to the conclusion that while Hendrix can maintain the hard innovative edge, he can also provide enough structure & control to make a tight album that still sounds fresh & original.
Over the years I have also found it is a very layered album. Different stereo systems & even different headphones have revealed nuances I have not been able to detect previously. As a result of this, I have come back to this album again & again. I have owned it on tape, vinyl, CD & now MP3. I wish the same could be said of the other two.
So, in summary, this is both the best album for newcomers, & also, in my opinion, his best album.
Jimi's Thee Greatest! - By: Rush K. Shukla, 10 Apr 2008 What can anyone reallly say about Jimi Hendrix that hasnt already been said?
So i'm not gonna bore you with a cornucopia of superlatives or eulogies that would be ssssssso so deja vu, but i will say two things anyway.
1) I have the original gatefold vinyl copy of this wonderful second album i bought from a local 2# hand record store in Reading that no longer exists & i paid £3 for it!!! And i aint selling!
2) There are guitar players & then there is Jimi Hendrix. Whether it be The Experience, Band Of Gypsies or any other ensemble to grace his name he was & continues to be the most creative, colourful & bewildering guitarist/singer/composer & force ever. And 40 yrs on theres still no one that can touch him.
We miss you so much.
JIMI'S THEE GREATEST!
not the first but the best - By: Msp Khan, 29 Sep 2007 one day i woke & discovered that axis was the best hendrix album.I got fed up with the riff based songs on 'are you experienced'. Most of that album seems reallly commercial to me,it does not work as whole album but a collection of songs where as axis is cohesive as whole. It opens with a jarring insrumental ipersonationg a flying saucer & seques into 'up from the skies'. It is great song that predicts global warming decades before anyone else. It has superb jazz feel.Next is 'spanish castle magic' with great lyrics & a rocker of amazing frenzy. One song follows another till we reach the masterpiece 'little wing'.The opening by even hendrix standard is superb as well as a great love song . If six was nine is three songs in one & ends with an inredible freak out ending with not guitar but flutes. The energy is maintained on the hard & poppy 'you got me floating'. the song is an amazing feel good song which makes the next song feel so unusal on this album.'castles made of sand' makes you come down to earth with three stories of ironies of life. Noel redding song is another piece which grounds the album. the remaining songs lift it up again particularly 'bold as love' which is one of the great hendrix tracks.What makes this album so special among hendrix albums is that no singles were released. I think it is the greatest hendrix album. buy it.
Let me live my life the way I want to - By: Bob Sherunkle, 23 Aug 2007 Intriguingly poised between the raw power of "Experienced" & the first two singles, & the sprawling, flawed masterpiece of "Ladyland", this album shows the Experience flexing their muscles & enjoying it. It produced no singles during Jimi's lifetime, other than the rather odd decision by Reprise in the USA to release Up From the Skies & One Rainy Wish (which barely grazed the Hot 100).
The stand-out tracks are Little Wing & If Six Was Nine, one of the many inspired selections for the Easy Rider soundtrack. There is real feeling in Castles Made of Sand, a song of broken dreams. However a strong aspect of many tracks is Jimi's sly sense of humour. How many people could write a song with such a dark theme as "Wait Until Tomorrow" & still leave you smiling?
The album includes Noel Redding's first Experience composition, She's So Fine - not up to Jimi's standard, musicallly or lyricallly, but more memorable than many songs from other groups of the era.
It's not hard to detect the "influences" which were at work during recording sessions, but unlike many bands of the period the Experience don't alllow this to dent the quality of their work. Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful.
Underpinning everything is the smooth, confident drumming of Mitch Mitchell. This album has enough quiet tracks for him to demonstrate his subtlety, & on Up From the Skies he even gets the chance to go back to his jazz roots.
As a transitional album, with less pyrotechnics than usual, this may be a surprise to many new listeners, but give it a try - it's well worth it.
Moo - By: Brian O'Hanrahanrahan, 10 Feb 2007 The middle of the three Experience albums, 'Axis: Bold As Love' shows Hendrix at his most laid back. Whilst less well-regarded than their other two efforts ('Are You Experienced' & 'Elecric Ladyland') it is a sublime effort, with a wide range of styles that showed Hendrix growing both musicallly & lyricallly.
The album kicks off with the unusual 'EXP', with drummer Mitch Mitchell posing as a radio presenter rudely interviewing Jimi posing as Paul Carusoe, an expert on alien life. Hendrix's guitar then takes over, & God only knows how he can make those noises. 'Up From The Skies' is the earlies use of a wah-wah pedal (I think - certainly Hendrix was the first to use it) & is a sublime classic that is far too often overlooked.
'Spanish Castle Magic' is a heavier song, showing Hendrix's range, & has some of best lyrics, too. 'Wait Until Tomorrow' bears the influence of soulsters like Curtis Mayfield, & 'Ain't No Telling' is the shortest song in the Hendrix canon (and there are many.)'Little Wing' is beautiful, a true classic, but the solo is far better live. 'If 6 Was 9' is the longest song on the album (over five minutes) & is so cool it's unbelievable.
'You Got Me Floatin'' is Hendrix cruising, but 'Castles Made Of Sand' is yet another classic. 'She's So Fine' is Noel Redding's contribution, sounds like Cream but it's better than Cream. 'One Rainy Wish' & 'Little Miss Lover' are good, & the closing 'Bold As Love' has one of the best guitar solos ever.
'Axis: Bold As Love' may take a few listens, but when it hits you, you realise that Hendrix's talent knew no bounds. The solos, the lyrics, the riffs, the mastery of effects pedals - he had it alll & more. He reallly was the best ever.
