Axis: Bold As Love

Nice. I listened to this while insanely drunk and it enhanced my experience. I'm still not sober, so I don't even know what I'm writing right now. Man's got a lot of arms. They should call him Slimmy Jimi. I don't remember it that well, but I don't think it's exactly the album's fault.

Hot, sexy, soulful, groovy and trippy improv from the late great! No doubt other trios like Nirvana followed closely into the age of complex songs with minimalistic instrumentation. Back-to-back Little Wing & If 6 Was 9 is killer example of the diversity this record expresses. You Got Me Floatin’ & Castles Made Of Sand is another 1-2 punch of heavy lyrics and grooves. Really diggin’ in the hot tub. Thought of tipping some Hennessy into my coffee out here. Cannabis is probably too much before work. Shiiiiiit....Jimi, much obliged.

Never got Hendrix, never will. Fantastically skilled music and but just not my taste

5.0 + What a gift - one of the few records that realizes a fully psychedelic vision, in true technicolor fluorescence. Jimi is a science fiction superhero flying in swirls of brilliant pink, neon green and magenta.

it’s insane how good this music is

There are days when this is the best Jimi Hendrix record. Surely it has some of his best songs on it. The production and sound on this, for 1967, is HUGE. The stereo panning is a nice touch. It’s a succinct record that covers a lot of the sounds Hendrix was trying to make and isn’t as radio forward as his previous. This is a banger. Favorite song: all of em baby Least favorite song: none

I know this is like, blasphemous, or whatever. But I've always found Jimi Hendrix so incredibly boring. He's got skills, yes. He's got some hits, sure. But this album has nothing remotely interesting on it. This album is Hendrix at his worst, it's just so self-indulgent and obnoxious. The 39 minute runtime might as well be 39 years, it's just such a slog to get through.

It Jimi Hendrix how is it not 5 stars

To describe an album as being full of album cuts seems ungenerous (as well as illogical). But there we have it. Lots of noodles and doodling, some esoteric songwriting, but nothing of note, really.

There is not enough praise for this masterpiece. This album is responsible for my lifelong enjoyment of psychedelic rock music. Hendrix is on the Mount Rushmore of guitar greats. Everything about this album is masterful. The guitar, the drums, the bass, the vocals, the songwriting, the production, all of it. One Rainy Wish is at the apex of heavy psych guitar playing for me. Desert island album.

Trippy, groovy, fantastic. The noises hendrix squeals out of his guitar blow my mind

Pure psychedelic rock perfection from a true musical genius.

Amazing. Mind-altering. His most conventional yet most subversive.

This album is a revelation. First some background I'm 60 years old and Hendrix was the music of my older siblings...at least Are You Experienced was, and I love that album. But I never heard anything else, other than Smash Hits and Band of Gypsys. Recently I've listened to Electric Ladyland but I haven't been able to connect with it. My conclusion; Hendrix is not for me. Today was the first time I ever listened to Axis Bold as Love and I love it. I think it's a stronger album than Are You Experienced. Where AYE has some filler in my opinion, while every song on ABL is substantial. The songwriting is very strong and shows off more variety...jazzy and funkier than AYE and Electric Ladyland it seems that the production is cleaner and you can here more interplay between the instruments. A 5 🌟 album without a doubt.

This album features better songwriting than his debut and much more interesting arrangements. Songs like ‘little wing’ and ‘bold as love’ illustrate this well.

This guy was so far ahead of his time it's incredible. To think this album was released in 1967. Amazing. Little Wing is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5.

I remember exactly where I was when I first saw the recording of Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival, performing and then lighting his guitar on fire. My teenage brain exploded. I love this album, Jimi Hendrix can do no wrong. The only weak track was the Noel Redding one, it was such a break from the style of the rest of this masterpiece. Rock on, my dude. Rock on.

This might be the strangest Hendrix project. It grew on me over the many listens I gave it through the years, and some songs are truly among the best of his.

Flawless. Just ask the axis

''Axis: Bold As Love'', de middelste van een trilogie die tragisch genoeg ook het enige 'officiële' naslagwerk van Jimi Hendrix zou worden. Deze wordt gek genoeg vaak door critici en muziekliefhebbers gezien als zijn zwakste studio-album, but I beg to differ. Dit vind ik het album met de meeste balans, waarin je niet tomeloos wordt bekogeld met Jimi's ruige riffs en proto-metal geweld. Op deze plaat is ook ruimte voor wat meer akoestische rust, en zweverige space rock. Nummers als 'Little Wing', 'Castles Made of Sand' en delen van 'One Rainy Wish' zorgen ervoor dat de in vlammen opgaande vingers van Jimi - en daarbij ook onze oren - even tot afkoelen komen. Die drie zitten dan ook bij m'n favoriete songs van ''Axis'', en van Hendrix' kwaliteitsdiscografie in zijn geheel. Maar de liefhebber van de andere - bekendere - kant van dit fenomeen komt ook aan z'n trekken. Nummers als 'If 6 Was 9', 'Spanish Castle Magic' en 'Bold As Love' worden gekenmerkt door zijn signature psychedelische hard rock, die nog steeds bij vlagen smeriger is dan metal van tientallen jaren later. Die eerste is mogelijk mijn lievelingsnummer van Jimi, en bevat alle elementen die hem in mijn ogen zijn legendarische status opleverde. Lang niet alle nummers kunnen tippen aan de kwaliteit van de reedsgenoemde songs, en daardoor is het album wellicht niet zo consistent als zijn eerste en derde muziekstuk. Maar de variatie op deze plaat is second to none, en iets waar Jimi niet altijd de credits voor kreeg. Hij is meer dan die vlammende gitaar. 9/10 Highlights: Little Wing If 6 Was 9 Castles Made of Sand One Rainy Wish

While some, probably most, consider ‘Are You Experienced’ to be Hendrix’s best album (I mean it is among the top rated on this site) - I often found either this release or ‘Electric Ladyland’ to be the best of the trilogy of Hendrix albums; and it can honestly change between the two on any given day. ‘Are You Experienced’ was a very heavy record; just absolute firestorm rock music with Hendrix seemingly pushing his guitars to their absolute limit. It’s one hell of a fun LP. ‘Axis: Bold As Love’, however, sees Hendrix evolve and take some other avenues. It’s not nearly as full-on as its predecessor, with more varied tempos and Hendrix diving more into the sea of funk and psychedelic. But I do hold the opinion of ‘Axis’ being the better album all the more for it. ‘Wait Until Tomorrow’, ‘Little Wing’, the lengthy ‘If 6 Was 9’, the riff heavy ‘You Got Me Floatin’’, the legendary ‘Castles Made Of Sand’, the smoky ballad ‘One Rainy Wish’, and the absolutely addictive finisher ‘Bold As Love’. Sure, these are my particular highlights. But there isn’t a bad track on here; and the tracklist just flows so damn well. It’s over before you know it, but you leave it feeling so satisfied. While the musicality is little more restrained, it leads the way for Jimi Hendrix to really showcase his vocals; and on the more down tempo tracks you are treated to his more soulful side. So not only was this man an absolute monster when playing guitar, but he could also hang with some of the best vocalists out there. Jimi Hendrix was absolutely superhuman. It’s a fantastic LP in just about every aspect. The variation in styles, tempos, and production make up an absolutely phenomenal tracklist and, arguably, a collection of Hendrix’s best work. The man was ahead of his time, and there’s very few artists before or after his era that could match him; and ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ is a perfect showcase for that statement. 5/5

One of my favorite albums of all time.

Amazing sounds, that guy was a genius

This album was a straight classic man, I fuckin loved it.

Dunno if I should give this a 4 or a 5... On the one hand maybe not quite strong enough for a 5, but on the other, the stuff that's good is so good ...

Psychedelic blues at it's best, absolutely brilliant album.

You can't go wrong with Jimi Hendrix

I love this album. Just banger after banger

Fantastisch album

Great, consistent experience from start to finish. Hard not to get up and jam out. Highlights: Spanish Castle Magic, Castles Made of Sand, Bold as Love, Little Wing. Really the whole album

The talent is undeniable. The style is unique and identifiable. Love the heavy interplay between percussion and guitar as well as the vocal style of Hendrix

Dull, jammy, underdeveloped

God True story my wife's uncle was a bouncy for a concert Jimi played just outside of Leeds England, he saw Jimi come out of the venue and walk down the street, didn't speak to him or get an autograph. 😭 'So fine' is a great inclusion as it highlights how far forward Jimi was compared to the average bands, with the obvious exceptions Polymath

Phsyclassic

Great album with great songs, including the "Little Wing" or "Spanish Castle Magic" hits and also some lesser known tracks as "You Got Me Floatin'" and "She's so fine". Actually, the whole album is perfect! What I like a lot about it is that, although it sounds heavy and excessive, it's at the same time subtle. While I love first Blue Cheer and Cream (two bands sounding more or less similar to Jimi), they are more like caveman blues rock to my ears. Jimi on the other side had this magical touch, which enabled him to play like a beast but sounding gentle at the same time.

It's surprising that I've never sat down and listened to this album from start to finish in a single setting. It still sounds fresh as it does almost 60 years later. There is a reason that Hendrix is held in such high regard.

I don’t consider myself a Hendrix fan, and then I listen to a record and am blown away every time. So maybe I am.

Great album. "Little Wing", "Castles Made of Sand" and "Bold As Love" my favourite songs on the album.

A much different vibe than 'Are You Experienced' or 'Electric Ladyland', often leaning towards a far more mellow, almost experimental sound, such as the more laid back groove of songs like 'Up From the Skies', 'Wait Until Tomorrow', and 'Little Wing', or the creative dynamics and transitions in 'If 6 Was 9'. The results are nothing short of incredible, particularly with 'Little Wing' - while only about 2 and a half minutes in length, Hendrix packs more soul and feeling into his guitar playing than many other artists can in a lifetime. On the other hand, songs like 'Spanish Castle Magic' or 'You Got Me Floatin'', you see the album mirroring the more frenetic energy of 'Are You Experienced', with Jimi's bombastic guitar virtuosity is put on full display as he oscillates seamlessly between rich, full rhythm playing and his technically marvelous solos. Additionally, it bears saying that, while Jimi Hendrix is always the one who gets the (well-deserved) recognition, Mitch Mitchell's drumming is incredible throughout. It's not easy to rhythmically complement Hendrix's guitar work, but Mitchell rises to the occasion. Moreover, I'm a huge fan of 'She's So Fine', where bassist Noel Redding took on vocal duties. The song has an infectious rhythm and energy, with Mitchell's ceaseless wholloping on the drums going hand in hand with Hendrix's drive. So yeah, there's a ton to enjoy here.

I'm glad I finally listened to one of his albums, the guy definitely did a lot for music. A great album to be sure.

Wow! Loved listening to this. Recorded in 1967, this is way ahead of its time. A glorious album that is truly experimental . The guitar is the star and I can hear how his inimitable style has influenced so much music after this. Great album.

Hendrix is amazing.

I've never actual sat and listened to one of Jimi's albums from front to back. It's always been collections, best ofs, soundtracks, etc. I don't think I had heard a single one of these songs before and yet, the album was incredible front to back.

A Masterpiece.

Absolutely brilliant!

Spanish castle is a favorite.

Good stuff. I listened to this a lot in 9th grade. Feels like floating.

Just brilliant. Never sat down to listen to his albums, just the ones still in common rotation today. This is brilliant all the way through.

Phenomenal, just phenomenal.

Amazing album that beats Electric Ladyland for me. Any track could be my favourite, but Exp and Little Wing are great. 9/10, nice

Beginning is strange with a kinda random allotment of sounds but the album grows, after Little Wing most songs are great. Hendrix has great guitar as always.

Next level Creativity + craftsmanship and musicianship of these 3 is worthy of praise

Soooo gooood.

Excelente

This was pretty sweet, another legend I’ve never really listened to and definitely should have before now.

One of the greats to me. Listened to this so many times but I'm still struck by the variety in a not particularly long album. Engaged from beginning to end.

very good

Un classique!

It's Hendrix it is great

A wild, loud, jazzy romp. They threw caution to the wind with this one and did everything they could to assault your ear drums, with care-free lyricism highlighting individuality shining through. A drug and alcohol filled smoky room personified. Almost nothing exists with more abandon.

It's nearly impossible to follow up an album like Are You Experienced, but this album does an admirable job. I enjoy the expanded sonic palate and some of the songs here are absolute rippers.

Dosta zanimljiva zavrzlama oko covera, nikad nisam išla za time. Oduvijek imam mixed feelings oko Hendrixa, iako sam, naravno, svjesna kolika je legenda. Mislim bez sumnje je ovo vrhunski, samo da, nekako nismo kliknuli, nezz. Kako bi Tiho rekao, "ne vlaži mi pizdu" 😂. Mislim da mi je najveći problem što mi on nimalo nema karizmu, a ni njegova glazba. Opet kažem, kužim ja koliko je ovo kvalitetno i važno glazbeno nasljeđe, samo jbg, kad ne sjeda ne sjeda. Uzevši sve u obzir, meni će ovo biti 4/10 ili 7/10.

So I was quite familiar with Jimi’s work while in middle school and high school via the great FM station in Cleveland at the time, WMMS 100.7 – but never owned a Hendrix album until I got to college in 1981… That was when I really dove in, and vividly remember listening debut album “Are You Experienced” all the way through the first time – and it absolutely blew my mind… I then worked through the next 2, and while there are amazing tracks on both “Axis: Bold As Love” & “Electric Ladyland”, neither could touch the start-to finish magic of “Are You Experienced” … Really enjoyed the album, and you could hear the progression in Jimi’s song-writing and musical compositions… As for me, the best tracks are listed below, along with my usual 7-star ratings scale – because you know that 5 isn’t quite enough, and 9 would just be silly… : ) “Spanish Castle Magic” – 5-stars out of 7… “Ain’t No Telling” – 5-stars out of 7… “Little Wing” – 7-stars out of 7… “If 6 Was 9” – 6-stars out of 7… “Castles Made Of Sand” – 5-stars out of 7… I will say that the album loses stream after “Castles Made Of Sand”, as those are several of the weaker tracks on the album – also have no idea why Noel the bass player sang “She’s So Fine” – probably his song, but would have been better if Jimi had sung it – but still the most forgettable track on the album… Since “Are You Experienced” is going to be a 5 for me, I’d probably have “Axis: Bold As Love” clock in at a 4.25, so will round it down to an “exceptional” 4 in my book…

Nr. 141/1001 Exp NR Up From The Skies 3/5 Spanish Castle Magic 3/5 Wait Until Tomorrow 4/5 Ain't No Telling 3/5 Little Wing 5/5 If 6 Was 9 2/5 You Got Me Floatin' 4/5 Castles Made of Sand 4/5 She's So Fine 4/5 One Rainy Wish 4/5 Little Miss Lover 3/5 Bold As Love 3/5 Average: 3,5 Unquestionably a incredibly talented guitar player. Still I sometimes struggle with his songwriting. Like A Bird is a classics though.

Actually very good. It’s the first Jimi Hendrix album I’ve ever listened to

I know, he's a genius. I even like some of his songs, like "Up From The Skies" for example. But I don't enjoy listening to Jimi Hendrix.

Super

Jimmiah is very cool ngl

Excellent Jimi music

Amazing

It's where it all began! Before this album, I'd never heard anyone rock so much and decided I needed to play guitar like Jimi. 5/5, even nostalgia aside. It's like an album of Jimi jamming.

The Experience's second release is probably their least regarded. But for this compulsive and convulsive Hendrix-listener, it's just as seminal as the other two. I love that the psychedelia is simultaneously reined-in and fully explored, w/ only 'If 6 Was 9' exceeding the five-min mark and 'Little Wing' the pithy exponent of singer-songwriter hallucinational rock. It's an album comprised of songs, not just ideas, but since it's Hendrix (+ Mitch + Noel), every strum, pluck, and hit is experimental in nature. Lyrically, it's loaded but never dense: 'I just wanna know about / the rooms behind your minds / Do I see a vacuum there / or am I going blind?' It's always uncanny hearing Jimi out, the pivotal instrumentalist in rock music, and a voice lazy as pert.

Solid album, couple of good hits the rest were likable no skips 4.8

Always a joy listening to Jimi Hendrix. For the album considered the ''least'' of his 3 big albums, this one sure is filled with a lot of great songs. There's a vague alien concept going on here but the strength of this album mainly comes from all the great individual songs on here. I love Hendrix' playing and his subdued voice really fits the album.

7 months after his debut Hendrixed dropped gold. The pinnacle of late 60s psychedelic blues fusion. Hendrix is blues and rock royalty because of this masterpiece. I need'nt say much more. If you don't know shame on you.

Just ask the Axis. The knows everything. This is the height of creativity and a record you must know. It’s an hour long but doesn’t feel like it at all. The bands performances are great and jimi was getting away from blues driven volume rock and into compositions. If 6 was 9 sounds like it could be released today.

Helt fantastik skiva, har aldrig lyssnat på hela skivor av Hendrix förut. Mycket finare och mjukare än jag trodde. Förstår verkligen att detta slog hårt när det kom. Högsta betyg med det i åtanke.

I love Jimi Hendrix. Hot take I know. Insanely good guitarist who was taken from us far too soon. I got the middle child of the Hendrix albums - I know why people don’t talk about this one as much being surrounded by the debut at Electric Ladyland but it’s a shame because this album stands toe to toe with and may even be better than those albums (I’d have to relisten to them first tho) “Up From The Skies” is one of the more chilled songs on the album and I love it. “Spanish Castle Magic” is driving with a lot of distorted guitars and is one of the best on the record in terms of showing off Joni’s guitar skills, “Little Wing” is smooth and might be my favorite here, though my favorite also might be “Castles Made Of Sand”, “You Got Me Floatin’” is also really great. “She’s So Fine” is another with heavy guitar all over and it’s great. “One Last Wish”, “Little Miss Lover”, and “Bold As Love” are also amazing. Like seriously an album that deserves to be talked about with the same level of adoration or at least close to the same level as Are You Experienced and Electric Ladyland.

Interesting start to an album I'm used to John Mayer's cover of Wait Until Tomorrow, so it always been slightly strange to me hearing the original Overall it was a great album. The wailing guitars were insane on this record

Wave your freak flags high, Jimi, Noel and Mitch! Now and forever. ✌️

Just incredibly. You can hear the studio being used as an instrument and the guitar as a sound effects pedal straight from the first track. Spanish Castle Magic sounds like proto-heavy metal. You can hear Sgt Peppers feeding into this then this feeding into songs like Helter Skelter. Such a prodigous talent, so much good music at this time. Might actually be my favourite Hendrix record.

Grateful for the spaceship that brought Jimi. This stuff is not of this world. My GOAT

pffff

This album is actually pretty wild. Some of the songs are unfinished all songs start out pretty straightforward and then go into outer space. There’s like an undertone of anger throughout this. I’m picking up. if six was nine has an ocarina solo, which is so amazing.

Love Hendrix, love this album. Favourite track - if six was nine.

5/5 Some of the best rock songs ever written on this album with some in-between songs that showcase Jimi's wild and wonderful mind.

This is pretty great. I've never had anything against Jimi Hendrix—I got the greatest hits from BMG a million years ago, for what that's worth—but I really appreciated the deeper cuts and other songs I haven't heard a million times.

Dope

love it! gorgeous quitar play. it reminds me of old rock and roll somehow? or maybe it has a little bit of jazz? i just compare what im hearing with what i know. reminds me also of 20th century's America and its my fav.

In my graphic design career, I have met and worked with other designers that made me want to hang up my hat and just go home. They are just too fucking good it makes me wonder why I am even trying. Likewise, It must have been such a bummer to be a rock band in the time of Jimi Hendrix. I imagine Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend, Carlos Santana, and more must have felt pretty chilly standing in Jimi's shadow. And Jimi earned it—he was a dedicated musician who played for hours and hours and hours every single day. What's more though, you can hear clear as day that this dude was born to do it. Aside from being a virtuoso guitarist at such a young age, he also had such a talent for songwriting and composition. Jimi was apparently also very open when it came to collaboration and taking notes from producers and engineers. On this record he slips effortlessly from these glassy fluid figures into arpeggiated rhythms soaked in blues so often it sounds like his guitar has an actual voice and isn't something simply laying the foundation for the vocals. Even in slower tracks, there is an energy to his music that just feels vital... I mean, it bleeds. This masterpiece opens with straight up UFO references kinda suggesting War of the Worlds and moves into wild-ass panning distorted guitar noise. It gave me chills. All over this thing the band plays with rhythm and time signatures in really compelling ways. "Castles Made of Sand" grooves in smooth liquid textures and yet has this incredibly propulsive rhythmic foundation that hits and complements the swirly reversing guitar notes. It's in 4/4 but somehow sounds almost like 5/8. I think a lot about how he wrote his watery melodies. Although they seem scale-based, they are also super complex and the playing of them comes across as effortless. Ultimately, however, this is a very drum-forward record. Although everyone pulls their weight, Mitch Mitchell is an absolute monster on practically every track. Axis: Bold as Love is psychedelic rock at its absolute peak. This album is totally overflowing with imagination. You can tell Eddie Kramer had a blast in the studio after the session applying phaser effects and taking it to another level. Like the other songs about castles, "Spanish Castle Magic" absolutely rocks and grooves at the same time. "Little Wing" is gorgeous, and I cannot believe they got away with using a freakin' glockenspiel on a 60s rock ballad, but here we are. Where the melodic figures come from in "If 6 Were 9" boggles the mind. The completely random recorder freakout at the end is fabulous. Apparently Jimi just found the weird flute we all played in grade school laying around the studio and decided to use it. The cover art, although iconic, is a pretty hefty slice of mid-century American Orientalism, so that part kinda sucks. But the colors are juicy and the typography sends a very clear message about what you're getting into (even though you don't hear a single fucking sitar). Finally, the girl who popped my cherry put the song "Bold As Love" on a mixtape for me in the 90s and that will forever canonize this record as a holy relic of my life's story. We never fell in love, but we had a pretty good time. Maybe it was a commentary on my performance, after all, "Orange is young, full of daring, But very unsteady for the first go 'round..."

Bold is love is one of my favorite songs

A true original, influenced so much that came after. Drew from so many different styles and sounded only like himself. Everyone should hear this album

Legen-dary!

I don’t need to even listen to this, I know the record off by heart. One of my all time favourites

I hate not to rave about this album, but words cannot capture its creativity, talent, breadth of styles, or influence. Listening is sheer joy, always. And, in a not-so-subtle nod to the Desert Island Album selection committee, there is even a sing about sand castles. An easy 5. Strong candidate for 🐐.

This was great. Was expecting to not appreciate it but I did!

Very 1967 coded and definately more eclectic than I was expecting - maybe a little less guitar virtuosity orientated than the other Hendrix I have heard - looser, perhaps a little jazzier and a bit more...far out.

Favorite

Fly on little wing

Classic