Are You Experienced

This article is about the album. For the song, see Are You Experienced? (song).

Untitled

Are You Experienced is the debut album by the rock band the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album featured Hendrix's distortion and feedback-laden psychedelic electric guitar playing and launched him as a new international star.

Released in the UK on May 12, 1967, Are You Experienced spent 33 weeks on the charts, peaking at number two. The album was issued in the US on August 23 by Reprise Records, where it reached number five on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 106 weeks, including 27 in the Top 40. The US version contained some of Hendrix's best known songs, including the Experience's first three singles, which were all top ten hits in the UK: "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe", and "The Wind Cries Mary". The album was a critical and commercial success, and it is widely regard as one of the greatest debuts in the history of rock music.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Are You Experienced number fifteen on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. They described the double-platinum LP as Hendrix's "epochal debut", noting his "exploitation of amp howl", and characterizing his guitar playing as "incendiary ... historic in itself". In 2005, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress in recognition of its cultural significance to be added to the National Recording Registry. Writer and archivist Rueben Jackson of the Smithsonian Institution wrote: "it's still a landmark recording because it is of the rock, R&B, blues ... musical tradition. It altered the syntax of the music ... in a way I compare to James Joyce's Ulysses."

Background

By May 1966, Jimi Hendrix was struggling to earn a living playing the R&B circuit as a back-up guitarist. In an effort to improve his finances, he accepted an engagement at one of New York City's most popular nightspots, the Cheetah Club. During a performance there, Linda Keith, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards noticed Hendrix. Soon afterward, Keith recommended Hendrix to Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham and producer Seymour Stein. They failed to see Hendrix's musical potential, and rejected him. She then referred him to Chas Chandler, who was leaving the Animals and interested in managing and producing artists. Chandler liked the Billy Roberts song "Hey Joe", and was convinced he could create a hit single with the right artist. Impressed with Hendrix's version of the song, he brought him to London on September 23, 1966, and signed him to a management and production contract with himself and ex-Animals manager Michael Jeffery.

Immediately following Hendrix's arrival in London, Chandler began recruiting members for a band designed to showcase the guitarist's talents, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix met guitarist Noel Redding at an audition for the New Animals, where Redding's knowledge of blues progressions impressed Hendrix, who stated that he also liked Redding's hairstyle. Chandler asked Redding if he wanted to play bass guitar in Hendrix's band; Redding agreed. Chandler then began looking for a drummer and soon after, he contacted Mitch Mitchell through a mutual friend. Mitchell, who had recently been fired from Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, participated in a rehearsal with Redding and Hendrix where they found common ground in their shared interest in rhythm and blues. When Chandler phoned Mitchell later that day to offer him the position, he readily accepted. In late October, after having been rejected by Decca Records, the Experience signed with Track, a new label formed by the Who's managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.

Recording

The Experience, 1968

Are You Experienced and its preceding singles were recorded over a five-month period from late October 1966 through early April 1967. The album was completed in sixteen recording sessions at three London locations, including De Lane Lea Studios, CBS, and Olympic. Chandler booked most of the sessions at Olympic because the facility was acoustically superior and equipped with most of the latest technology, though it was still using four-track recorders, whereas American studios were using eight-track.

Chandler's budget was limited, so in an effort to reduce expenditures he and Hendrix completed much of the album's pre-production work at an apartment that they shared. From the start, Chandler intentionally minimized the creative input of Mitchell and Redding. He later explained: "I wasn't concerned that Mitch or Noel might feel that they weren't having enough—or any—say ... I had been touring and recording in a band for years, and I'd seen everything end as a compromise. Nobody ended up doing what they really wanted to do. I was not going to let that happen with Jimi." When the Experience began studio rehearsals, Hendrix already had the chord sequences and tempos worked-out for Mitchell, and Chandler would direct Redding's bass parts.

October through December 1966

Chandler and the Experience found time to record during breaks between performances in Europe. They began on October 23, recording "Hey Joe" at De Lane Lea Studios, with Chandler as producer and Dave Siddle as engineer. The song featured backing vocals by the Breakaways. Soon after the session began, Chandler asked Hendrix to turn his guitar amplifier down, and an argument ensued. Chandler commented: "Jimi threw a tantrum because I wouldn't let him play guitar loud enough ... He was playing a Marshall twin stack, and it was so loud in the studio that we were picking up various rattles and noises." According to Chandler, Hendrix then threatened to leave England, stating: "If I can't play as loud as I want, I might as well go back to New York." Chandler, who had Hendrix's immigration papers and passport in his back pocket, laid the documents on the mixing console and told Hendrix to "piss off". Hendrix laughed and said: "All right, you called my bluff", and they got back to work. Redding wrote in his diary that they completed two songs during the October 23 session, but the second one has never been positively identified. Author Sean Egan speculated that it might have been Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" or Wilson Pickett's "Land of a Thousand Dances". Chandler decided that they should use an Experience original for the B-side of the single, so he encouraged Hendrix to start writing; he composed his first song, "Stone Free", the following day.^[1] Chandler, in an effort to minimize studio expenses, purchased rehearsal time at the Aberbach House in London. Soon afterward, he abandoned this practice after realizing how quickly the group could learn songs while warming-up in the studio. On November 2, 1966, the Experience returned to De Lane Lea to continue work on their first single. During the session, they recorded "Stone Free" and a demo version of "Can You See Me". This marked the first time the Experience recorded a song that was eventually included on the original UK release of the LP.

Chandler had been dissatisfied with the sound quality at De Lane Lea, so he took the advice of Kit Lambert and booked time at CBS Studios. On December 13, 1966, after taking a five-week break from recording while they performed in Europe, the Experience reconvened at CBS. Assisted by engineer Mike Ross, the band were especially productive during the session, recording instrumentation and vocals for "Foxy Lady" and basic instrumental tracks for "Love or Confusion", "Can You See Me", and "Third Stone from the Sun". Ross recalled the impact of Hendrix's four Marshall stacks: "It was so loud you couldn't stand in the studio ... I'd never heard anything like it in my life." When Ross asked Hendrix where he would like him to place a microphone Hendrix replied: "Oh, man, just put a mic about twelve feet away on the other side of the studio. It'll sound great." Ross agreed, and with a Neumann U87 tube mic he recorded Hendrix's guitar playing in a large room that, according to Ross, "was absolutely vital to the uniquely powerful Experience sound." Ross noted that input from Mitchell and Redding was minimized, and he asserted that Chandler was clearly "the one in charge" of the sessions. The band played together live at CBS; the lead and backup vocals were overdubbed. Despite his dwindling finances, Chandler encouraged the Experience to record numerous takes of a song, affording them the luxury of repeated attempts at a satisfactory recording. With a live instrument track as the foundation of the recordings, they eschewed the common practice of piecing together parts of several takes to make one continuous piece.

On December 15, 1966, finishing touches were made on the four rhythm tracks recorded the previous session. Although Chandler enjoyed working at CBS and he appreciated the high-quality of the recordings they made there, he ended his professional connection with the studio after a disagreement between him and owner Jake Levy over his failure to make payment. Chandler had planned to pay CBS for the sessions after the album was completed, but Levy demanded payment upfront. Chandler viewed this as an unreasonable expectation, and he vowed that he would never again do business with CBS. The fifth and final song recorded at CBS was "Red House". Omitted from the American version of the album, the track would not see an official release in US until the 1969 compilation, Smash Hits. An unusual feature of the recording is that it does not contain a bass guitar track; Redding instead played rhythm guitar with his equalization set strongly in favor of bass tones. It is the only original twelve-bar blues written by Hendrix. As stereophonic sound was not yet popular among music fans, the CBS recordings were all monaural mixes; Ross explained: "back then ... mono was king. All the effort went into the mono." He estimated that they spent no more than 30 minutes mixing any one track.

The first Experience single, with "Hey Joe" as the A-side and "Stone Free" as the B-side, was released in the UK on December 16, 1966. Track was not yet operational, so their distributor, Polydor Records, issued the single with their logo. It reached number six on the UK chart in early 1967. On December 21, 1966, Chandler and the Experience returned to De lane Lea with Dave Siddle as engineer. They recorded two alternate versions of "Red House" and began work on "Remember"; both tracks were significantly re-worked in April 1967 at Olympic Studios.

January through April 1967

After taking a three week break from recording while they played gigs in England, including a December 29 appearance on Top of the Pops, the Experience reconvened at De Lane Lea on January 11, 1967. As "Hey Joe" was gaining chart momentum in the UK, they began working on their second single, which featured Hendrix's second songwriting effort, "Purple Haze" as its A-side. The track presented a more complex arrangement than the band's previous recordings, and required four hours of studio time to complete, which Chandler considered extravagant. The session marked the first instance where he and the group began experimenting with guitar effects. Acoustic engineer Roger Mayer introduced Hendrix to the Octavia, an octave doubling effect pedal, in December 1966, and he first recorded with the effect during the guitar solo to "Purple Haze". When Track records sent the master tapes for "Purple Haze" to Reprise for remastering, they wrote the following words on the tape box: "Deliberate distortion. Do not correct."

On January 11, 1967, the Experience worked on their second B-side, "51st Anniversary", a song that marked their first use of overdubbing in lieu of retakes as a method of achieving a satisfactory track. Chandler explained: "There were five guitar overdubs all linking in together to sound like one guitar." The song, which Redding and Mitchell had not yet heard before that day, was completed during the session. Chandler had decided that they should discard the rough version of "Third Stone from the Sun" from December 13 and re-record the song; they completed a basic track for the piece, but were unable to achieve a finished master. The group managed to produce an acceptable live recording of the basic track for "Fire" after seven takes. Next, they attempted Hendrix's newly written ballad, "The Wind Cries Mary", which Redding and Mitchell had not yet heard. Without the benefit of rehearsals, the band recorded the song in one take, with Hendrix adding several guitar overdubs; Chandler estimated that they spent approximately 20 minutes on the completed rhythm track. According to Chandler, by this time Redding and Mitchell had begun to express dissatisfaction regarding their limited input. Chandler explained that financial considerations influenced the creative dynamic: "[They] were sort of fighting the fact that they had no say during recording sessions ... they were starting to come up with suggestions, but ... We didn't need to be arguing with Noel for ten minutes and Mitch for five ... We just couldn't afford the time."

From January 12 through February 2, 1967, the Experience took a break from recording while they played 20 dates in England, including a second appearance on Top of the Pops, on January 18. Chandler was dissatisfied with the sound quality of the January 11 recordings and frustrated by the large number of noise complaints that they had received from people living and working near De Lane Lea. He explained: "There was a bank above the studio ... and it was at the time when computers were just coming in ... we would play so loud that it would foul up the computers upstairs." Brian Jones and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones encouraged Chandler to try Olympic Studios, which was considered the top independent London studio. Despite the growing chart success of their first single, Chandler's money problems persisted. Olympic required advance payment for studio time, but Polydor had not yet released any funds to Track for disbursement. When Chandler went to Polydor asking for relief they responded by securing a line of credit for him at Olympic, which they guaranteed.

With his budget concerns alleviated, Chandler booked time at Olympic, where on February 3, 1967, he and the Experience met sound engineer Eddie Kramer. During Kramer's first session with the group, he deviated from the standard recording method that they had been using at CBS and De Lane Lea, which was to record bass and drums in mono on two tracks. He instead recorded Mitchell's drums on two tracks in stereo, leaving the remaining two tracks available for Redding's bass and rhythm guitar parts played by Hendrix. Kramer's unorthodox approach, which was inspired by a conversation with Hendrix during which the guitarist bemoaned the limitations of four-track recordings, captured the live sound of the band using all four available tracks. Kramer and Chandler then pre-mixed and reduced the first four tracks down to two, making two more tracks available for lead guitar overdubs and vocals. This method satisfied both Hendrix's perfectionism and Chandler's desire to reduce the number of takes required for a satisfactory rhythm track, thus minimizing their expenses. Another change instigated by Kramer was the use of a mixture of close and distant microphone placements when recording Hendrix's guitar parts, whereas during previous sessions the microphones had been placed about twelve feet away from Hendrix's amplifiers. In addition to the usual choices, Kramer used Beyer M1 60 ribbon microphones, which were typically not used to record especially loud music.

During the February 3, 1967, session at Olympic, the Experience improved the January 11 master tape of "Purple Haze" by re-recording the vocal and lead guitar parts and adding another Octavia guitar overdub, which was sped-up and panned at the end of the song. The group reconvened at Olympic on February 7, continuing their work on "Purple Haze" by recording Hendrix's rhythm guitar and vocal parts, as well as Redding's background vocals. They spent time overdubbing ambient background sounds by playing tapes through a set of headphones that were held near a microphone, creating an echo effect as the headphones were moved closer; they completed a final mix of "Purple Haze" the following day. During the session, they worked on the De Lane Lea master tape of "Fire", replacing everything except Redding's bass line, which he double-tracked in an effort to accentuate the recording's lower frequencies. Kramer placed the second bass line on a dedicated track and blended Redding's original bass line with Mitchell's newly recorded drum part. They also recorded Mitchell and Redding's backing vocals. "Foxy Lady" was another song that they reworked on February 8, with Redding recording a new bass line and Hendrix and Mitchell adding overdubs to their existing parts. After recording backing vocals by Redding and lead vocals from Hendrix, Kramer prepared the song's final mix.

Hendrix was not as confident a singer as a guitarist, and because he strongly disliked anyone watching him sing he asked the engineers at Olympic to construct a privacy barrier between him and the control room for his use when recording vocals. This created problems when the studio lights were low, and the engineers were unable to see him, making his visual cues and prompts difficult to communicate. As was the case at De Lane Lea, Hendrix's penchant for using multiple amplifiers at extreme volume drew criticism and complaints from people living and working near the studio. Olympic tape operator George Chkiantz recalled: "Sometimes, it got so loud we'd turn the [control booth] monitors off and there was really very little difference." Chkiantz noted that reactions to Hendrix's music were not always positive: "I seem to recall a lot of musicians, a lot of people, saying, 'I can't see what all the fuss is about myself', or 'I don't know how you listen to all that noise; I'd be scared to work with him' ... Chas was convinced that he was on to something. Not everyone was convinced that Chas was right." Another issue that complicated the sessions was the large number of female fans who would show up at the studio wanting to watch the Experience record. As a habit, Hendrix would indiscriminately tell people where we would be on any given day, which led to large groups of fans following him everywhere. Olympic employees were tasked with keeping them under control and at a safe enough distance so as to not unduly burden the recording process. Chkiantz commented: "It was extraordinary. I worked with the Stones. I worked with the Beatles. I worked with Led Zeppelin. I was not as jumpy; it was not as difficult as with Hendrix. It was something of an open house. Hendrix was not difficult at all, but I personally would have preferred not to have a loads of girls lurking in the woodwork."

On February 20, 1967, the Experience continued working on Are You Experienced, but scheduling conflicts at Olympic led Chandler to book time at De Lane Lea. During the session they recorded "I Don't Live Today", which featured a manual wah effect that predated the pedal unit. They managed to complete a working master by the end of the day, though Hendrix would later record a new lead vocal at Olympic. After a week of playing gigs in England, the band returned to De Lane Lea on March 1 to attempt a studio recording of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone". Although the song had long been a staple of the group's live show, they failed to achieve an acceptable basic track, owing mostly to Mitchell's inability to keep consistent time during the session.

The second Experience single, "Purple Haze"/"51st Anniversary", was released on March 1, 1967. It entered the UK singles chart on the 23rd, peaking at number three. During March, the band took another long break from recording while they played gigs in Belgium, Germany, and England, including appearances on the UK television show Dee Time and the BBC radio show Saturday Club. Scheduling conflicts at Olympic led Chandler to book a March 29 session at De lane Lea. On this date, the band worked on another newly written Hendrix composition, "Manic Depression"; they finished a rough mix by the end of the session that was later rejected in favor of a re-mix completed at Olympic. On April 3, the Experience returned to Olympic, adding overdubs and completing final mixes on several unfinished masters. During the eight-hour session, the band recorded three new songs, including "Highway Chile", "May This Be Love", and "Are You Experienced?". The album's title track featured backwards rhythm guitar, bass, and drums; the replication of the which caused Mitchell some consternation. Chandler completed final mixes for "I Don't Live Today", "Are You Experienced?", and "May This Be Love" before the end of a session that Kramer described as "very organized."

During an April 4, 1967, session at Olympic, further reduction mixing was completed for "Are You Experienced?" in an effort to free-up space for Hendrix's lead vocals. With the title track complete, the Experience shifted their focus to the January 11 rough demo of "Third Stone from the Sun". Chandler decided to discard the original De Lane Lea tape in favor of the new recordings made at Olympic. During the session, Kramer prepared a reduction mix of "Highway Chile", which made two tracks available for Hendrix's lead guitar and vocal overdubs. Though stereo and mono mixes were completed for the song, Chandler preferred the mono version, which he paired with "The Wind Cries Mary" for release as the group's third UK single. A new reduction mix was prepared for "Love or Confusion", with Hendrix filling the vacant tracks with his lead guitar and vocals; a final mix was completed before the end of the session. On April 5, Chandler participated in a mastering session at Rye Muse Studios for "Highway Chile" and "The Wind Cries Mary", during which preparations were made so that Track could begin manufacturing vinyls. On the 10th, he and the Experience returned to Olympic, spending the bulk of the session on editing dialogue segments for "Third Stone from the Sun", which were slowed down and mixed into the song.

Chandler, Hendrix, and engineer Eddie Kramer completed the final mixing of Are You Experienced at Olympic on April 25. The third Experience single, "The Wind Cries Mary"/"Highway Chile", reached number six in the UK in May.

Music and lyrics

Are You Experienced is comprised of diverse musical styles, including the blues track "Red House" and the R&B song "Remember". It also features the experimental science fiction piece, "Third Stone from the Sun", which Hendrix wrote about a visiting space alien who, upon evaluation of the human species, decides that people are not fit to rule Earth, destroys their civilization, and places the planet in the care of chickens. The album's title track, which author Sean Egan described as impressionistic, featured the post-modern soundscapes of backwards guitar and drums. "I Don't Live Today" served as a medium for Hendrix's guitar feedback improvisation and "Fire" was driven by Mitchell's drumming. "The Wind Cries Mary" is a ballad Hendrix wrote after an argument with his girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, whose middle name is Mary. She explained: "I smashed plates on the floor, [and] he swept them up. He locked me in the bathroom for absolutely ages and ... eventually Chas's girlfriend Lotta let me out ... I ran out to get a taxi and was standing under the traffic lights, and I had red hair and a red dress. I went back after I'd cooled down and he'd already written it." Egan characterized "Stone Free" as a "vehement message in favour of personal freedom" that demurred the concept of long-term relationships.

The UK version of Are You Experienced opened with "Foxy Lady", a song that, with the exception of overdubs, was recorded in one session at CBS. Hendrix wrote the song about Heather Taylor, a highly desirable London socialite who would later marry the Who's Roger Daltry. The track begins with the fade-in of an F note that Hendrix is bending-up to F♯ while applying generous finger vibrato. Using his guitar's control knob, he slowly increases volume until an audio feedback loop develops and he slides into the song's dominate F♯m7 chord. While author Peter Doggett compared the song's beat to slow memphis soul, David Stubbs described the track as a prototype for heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath.

Hendrix described "Manic Depression" as "ugly times music"; during a live performance he explained the meaning of the lyrics: "It's a story about a cat wishing he could make love to music instead of the same old everyday woman." The song is unusual in that its tempo is written in triple metre, or 3/4 time, which is the time signature commonly associated with a waltz, whereas most rock music is written in 4/4. Although his delivery is rock oriented, Mitchell's exceptional drumming on the track is reminiscent of Elvin Jones's fluid jazz patterns. In honor of his Cherokee heritage, Hendrix dedicated, "I Don't Live Today", to the American Indians and other minority groups. Author Ritchie Unterberger considers the song's gloomy lyrics to be more at home in a gothic rock setting than in psychedelia, however; he describes the music as being "played and sung with an ebullience that belies the darkness of the lyrics." Side two of the original UK release began with "May This Be Love", a soft ballad that, along with "The Wind Cries Mary", demonstrated Hendrix's ability to write thoughtful lyrics and subtle melodies.

Although the lyrics to "Purple Haze" are often misinterpreted as describing an acid trip, Hendrix explained: "[It] was all about a dream I had that I was walking under the sea." He speculated that the dream may have been inspired by a science fiction story about a purple death ray. According to Redding, Hendrix had not yet taken LSD at the time of the song's writing, which was after a gig in London on December 26, 1966. The first draft of the song's lyrics stretched over several pages, so Chandler and Hendrix reduced its length to something appropriate for mainstream pop music. It opens with a guitar/bass harmony in the interval of a tritone that was known as the diabolus in musica during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. The Catholic Church prohibited medieval composers of religious music from using the tritone, or flattened fifth, because as musicologist Dave Whitehill wrote: "to play it was like ringing Satan's doorbell." Rolling Stone described the song as the beginning of late-60s psychedelia.

Album cover

In Europe this LP was released by three different companies: the new "independent" Track Records, which produced the original cover with a picture by Bruce Fleming; the independent Barclay Records in France, which produced a completely different cover featuring a photo of Hendrix performing on a recent French TV show, surrounded by "psychedelic" painted, swirling graphics; and Track parent Polydor Records in Germany, Italy and Spain. In Germany, Polydor used the original Track Records cover but added "Jimi Hendrix" in similar lime green text above the white Are You Experienced logos on the front; in Italy this added text was red, while in Spain it was yellow. These Polydor releases featured "fake" stereo, processed from mono. The back cover had a track list added.

Barclay Records of France added final punctuation to the album title: Are You Experienced. Some tracklists of the album also add the question mark to the title track. The South African Polydor release (due to the apartheid racial barrier, and that the main customer base was seen to be "whites") had no pictures, only text on a plain red background (mono only). Japan, Australia and New Zealand Polydor (mono only) copies used the original UK layout.

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Blender
Down Beat
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Q
Rolling Stone

Are You Experienced received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Within seven months of its release, it had sold more than one million copies. Since then, it has been regarded by many as one of the greatest debut albums in the history of rock and roll. Writer and archivist Rueben Jackson of the Smithsonian Institution wrote: "it's still a landmark recording because it is of the rock, R&B, blues ... musical tradition. It altered the syntax of the music, if you will, in a way I compare to, say, James Joyce's Ulysses." American musicologist Gilbert Chase asserted that the album "marked a high peak in hard rock." In 2003, The Guardian wrote that it "remains a watershed of psychedelic rock."

In a retrospective review for Blender, music critic Robert Christgau described Are You Experience as "a roiling sea of guitar that would change how a generation of fans heard music". Noe Goldwasser, the founding editor of Guitar World magazine, described it as "the album that shook the world ... leaving it forever changed". That same year, Hit Parader magazine ranked the album number 35 in their list of the top 100 Metal Albums. Creem magazine named the album number six on the Top Ten Metal Albums of the 60s. Kerrang! magazine listed the album at number 41 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". Mojo magazine listed Are You Experienced as the greatest guitar album of all time. In 2005, Rolling Stone called the double-platinum LP Hendrix's "epochal debut", and they ranked it the 15th greatest album of all time, noting his "exploitation of amp howl", and characterizing his guitar playing as "incendiary ... historic in itself".

In 1994, Guitarist magazine named the album number one on their list of the Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums Of All Time. In 2000, a poll from Guitar World Magazine named Are You Experienced the greatest album of the Millennium. In 2006, a reader's poll from that magazine placed the album at number three on a list of the Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone placed four selections from the album in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: "Purple Haze" (17), "Foxy Lady" (153), "Hey Joe" (201), and "The Wind Cries Mary" (379). In 2005, Are You Experienced was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Release

Europe

Released in the UK on May 12, 1967, Are You Experienced spent 33 weeks on the charts, peaking at number two. It was prevented from reaching the top spot by the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The album was released in the UK without the first three singles, as was the custom in the UK at that time. At the time of release, the Jimi Hendrix Experience had played a few dates in North West Europe and appeared on TV there. During the winter of 1966–67, they played mostly in and around London. They embarked on their first tour of the UK (as support to the Walker Brothers) shortly before its release and played more gigs in North West Europe including several TV shows. This appears to have paid off, the album became one of the defining releases of the psychedelic movement, reaching number two in the UK behind the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

North America

Although popular in Europe at the time, the Experience's first US single, "Hey Joe", failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart upon its release on May 1, 1967. The group's fortunes improved when Paul McCartney recommended them to the organizers of the Monterey International Pop Festival. He insisted that the event would be incomplete without Hendrix, whom he called "an absolute ace on the guitar", and he agreed to join the board of organizers on the condition that the Experience perform at the festival in mid-June. The performance, which Hendrix climaxed by burning his guitar, was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker for the documentary Monterey Pop. It was only after this show-stealing performance that his American and Canadian label, Reprise Records, prepared the album for release, but with some significant changes. Released in the US on August 23 by Reprise, Are You Experienced reached number five on the Billboard 200. The US and Canadian versions of Are You Experienced featured a new cover by Karl Ferris and a new song list, with Reprise removing "Red House", "Remember" and "Can You See Me" to make room for the first three single A-sides omitted from the UK release: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary".

Although Hendrix selected the US running order, "Red House" was excluded from the album against his wishes. He was told that the US did "not like the blues". The spelling of the song "Foxy Lady" was also changed to "Foxey Lady" on the US and Canadian releases. This selection of tracks was also remixed into stereo. In August, the US version of Are You Experienced saw issue in both the original mono mix and the new stereo mix and became a strong and enduring seller; the US line-up proved hugely influential, with the album peaking at number five and remaining on Billboard's album chart for 106 weeks, including 27 in the Top 40.

CD releases

The original North American Reprise CD track listing was identical to the stereo LP version, whereas the European CD release used the original UK track list, but substituted the Reprise stereo remix versions (except for the original mono version of "Red House," which has never been mixed into stereo, and "Remember," which used the mono version processed to "sound stereo").

The 1993 Alan Douglas re-release (MCA 10893) had a chronological track list, starting with the first three UK single A and B sides replaced by the Reprise stereo mixes (except for "Stone Free," "51st Anniversary," and "Highway Chile") and followed by the original track list of the UK LP. The version of "Red House" included on this CD edition was the same as that originally included on the US LP Smash Hits in 1969 and different from the version of "Red House" present on the original Track UK LP. That original Track UK LP version can be heard on the compilation CD Blues. It might also be noted that at the end of the version of "Red House" on the original UK Track LP, a bit of studio dialogue between Hendrix and Chas Chandler can be heard, while on the Blues CD only a snippet of Hendrix speaking from the beginning of the dialogue can be heard.

In 1997, after Jimi's father, Al Hendrix, had won back the rights to his son's musical catalog, Are You Experienced was again reissued (MCA 11602). As of 2010, it's now under Sony Music Entertainment worldwide, preserving the UK and US versions in their respective territories and including the extra tracks missing from the respective editions as well as restoring the original mono version of "Red House" (minus the dialogue at the end). The 2010 release includes a booklet with pictures of the band, lyric sheets (handwritten by Hendrix) and gear rental receipts of a music supplier in London.

Track listing

Original UK and international edition

Since the first release of Are You Experienced in 1967, there have been six distinct versions of the track listing.

All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Foxy Lady"	3:22
2.	"Manic Depression"	3:46
3.	"Red House"	3:53
4.	"Can You See Me"	2:35
5.	"Love or Confusion"	3:17
6.	"I Don't Live Today"	3:58

Side two

No.	Title	Length
7.	"May This Be Love"	3:14
8.	"Fire"	2:47
9.	"Third Stone from the Sun"	6:50
10.	"Remember"	2:53
11.	"Are You Experienced"	4:17

Original US and Canadian edition

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Purple Haze"	2:46
2.	"Manic Depression"	3:46
3.	"Hey Joe"	3:23
4.	"Love or Confusion"	3:15
5.	"May This Be Love"	3:14
6.	"I Don't Live Today"	3:55

Side two

No.	Title	Length
7.	"The Wind Cries Mary"	3:21
8.	"Fire"	2:34
9.	"Third Stone from the Sun"	6:40
10.	"Foxy Lady"	3:15
11.	"Are You Experienced?"	3:55

Personnel

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

• Jimi Hendrix – lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, handclaps on "I Don't Live Today", sound effects of "Star Fleet" on "Third Stone from the Sun", piano on "Are You Experienced?".
• Noel Redding – bass guitar, backing vocals on "Foxy Lady", "Fire", and "Purple Haze".
• Mitch Mitchell – drums, percussion on "Can You See Me", "May This Be Love", "Remember" and "Stone Free", backing vocals on "I Don't Live Today" and "Stone Free".

Production personnel

• Chas Chandler – production, sound effects of "Scout Ship" on "Third Stone from the Sun".
• Dave Siddle – engineering on "Manic Depression", "Can You See Me", "Love or Confusion", "I Don't Live Today", "Fire", "Remember", "Hey Joe", "Stone Free", "Purple Haze", "51st Anniversary", and "The Wind Cries Mary".
• Eddie Kramer – engineering on "The Wind Cries Mary", "Are You Experienced?" and "Red House", additional engineering on "Love or Confusion", "Fire", "Third Stone from the Sun", and "Highway Chile".
• Mike Ross – engineering on "Foxy Lady", "Red House" and "Third Stone from the Sun".

Sources

• Aledort, Andy (1996). Jimi Hendrix: A Step-by-Step Breakdown of his Guitar Styles and Techniques. Hal Leonard. ISBN 0-7935-3659-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Black, Johnny (1999). Jimi Hendrix: The Ultimate Experience. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-240-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Cross, Charles R. (2005). Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix. Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-8841-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Doggett, Peter (2004). Jimi Hendrix: The Complete Guide to his Music. Omnibus. ISBN 978-1-84449-424-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Egan, Sean (2013). Jimi Hendrix and the making of Are You Experienced (updated and expanded ed.). Askill. ISBN 978-0-9545750-5-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• George-Warren, Holly, ed. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (2005 revised and updated ed.). Fireside. ISBN 978-0-7432-9201-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Heatley, Michael (2009). Jimi Hendrix Gear: The Guitars, Amps & Effects that Revolutionized Rock 'n' Roll. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3639-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hendrix, Janie L.; McDermott, John (2007). Jimi Hendrix: An Illustrated Experience. Atria. ISBN 978-0-7432-9769-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Larkin, Colin (1998). Virgin All-time Top 1000 Albums. Virgin. ISBN 978-0-7535-0258-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Levy, Joe, ed. (2005). Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (First Paperback ed.). Wenner Books. ISBN 978-1-932958-61-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• McDermott, John (2009). Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions. BackBeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-938-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• McDermott, John (1992). Lewisohn, Mark (ed.). Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight. Grand Central. ISBN 978-0-446-39431-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Moskowitz, David (2010). The Words and Music of Jimi Hendrix. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-313-37592-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Murray, Charles Shaar (1989). Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and the Rock 'n' Roll Revolution (First US ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-04288-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Potash, Chris, ed. (1996). The Jimi Hendrix Companion. Omnibus. ISBN 978-0-7119-6635-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Roberts, David, ed. (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (18 ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 978-1-904994-00-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Roby, Steven (2002). Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix. Billboad Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-7854-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Roby, Steven; Schreiber, Brad (2010). Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius. Da Capo. ISBN 978-0-306-81910-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Shadwick, Keith (2003). Jimi Hendrix: Musician. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-764-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Caesar (1995) [1990]. Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy (New and Improved ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-13062-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Stubbs, David (2003). Voodoo Child: Jimi Hendrix, the Stories Behind Every Song. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-537-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Unterberger, Richie (2009). The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84836-002-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wenner, Jann (2010) [2004]. 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone. OCLC 641731526. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Whitehill, Dave (1989). Hendrix: Are You Experienced. Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-0-7119-3654-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

• Barker, Steve (2012) [1967]. "Jimi Hendrix talks to Steve Barker". In Roby, Steven (ed.). Hendrix on Hendrix: Interviews and Encounters with Jimi Hendrix. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-322-5.
• Brown, Tony (1992). Jimi Hendrix: A Visual Documentary -His Life, Loves and Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-2761-2.
• Etchingham, Kathy (1999). Through Gypsy Eyes Hendrix. Firebird Distributing. ISBN 978-0-7528-2725-4.
• Fairchild, Michael (April 1991). "The Experience of a Lifetime". Guitar: For the Practicing Musician. 8 (6).
• GP staff (May 2012). "Hendrix at 70". Guitar Player. 46 (5).
• Geldeart, Gary; Rodham, Rodham (2008). Jimi Hendrix from the Benjamin Franklin Studios. Jimpress. ISBN 978-0-9527686-7-8.
• Halfin, Ross; Tolinski, Brad (2004). Classic Hendrix. Genesis Publications. ISBN 978-0-904351-90-3.
• di Perna, Alan (2002) [2000]. Kitts, Jeff (ed.). "Jimi Live!". Guitar Legends (57). {{cite journal}}: |chapter= ignored (help)
• Lawrence, Sharon (2005). Jimi Hendrix: The Intimate Story of a Betrayed Musical Legend. Harper. ISBN 978-0-06-056301-1.
• Marshall, Wolf (1995). Marshall, Wolf (ed.). "Wild Thing". Wolf Marshall's Guitar One. 2.
• Mayer, John (2011). "Jimi Hendrix". In Brackett, Nathan (ed.). Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Morello, Tom (December 8, 2011). Wenner, Jann (ed.). "Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone (1145). {{cite journal}}: |chapter= ignored (help)
• Owen, Frank; Reynolds, Simon (April 1991). "Hendrix Lives! Why Jimi still matters". Spin. 7 (1).
• Roby, Steven (2012). Hendrix on Hendrix: Interviews and Encounters with Jimi Hendrix. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-322-5.
• Whitburn, Joel (1988). Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles, 1942–1988. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-068-3.

Documentaries

• Joe Boyd, John Head, Gary Weis (Directors) (2005) [1973]. Jimi Hendrix (DVD) (in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1). Warner Home Video. ASIN B0009E3234.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Roger Pomphrey (Director) (2005). Classic Albums - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (DVD). Eagle Rock Entertainment. ASIN B0007DBJP0.
• Bob Smeaton (Director) (2013). Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin' (DVD, Blu-ray) (in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Sony Legacy. ASIN B00F031WB8.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Bob Smeaton (Director) (2012). West Coast Seattle Boy: Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child (DVD, Blu-ray) (in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Sony Legacy. ASIN B007ZC92FA.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• Are You Experienced (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)