Are You Experienced (1967)

Are You Experienced

• Hendrix and his band "The Experience” open up their 1967 outing with rattling psychedelic guitars and hazily mixed lyrics about a ‘dream’ Jimi had, setting the tone for the hour of music we’re about to experience; not hear – but experience. The album’s opener is a fairly popular track called “Purple Haze”, a song that has been adopted by heads and tweakers everywhere as a battle cry for the psychedelic experience and the highs and lows that come with it. Ending in a blurry combination of trippy vocals and high strung guitar licks, “Purple Haze” gives way into my favorite song on the album, “Manic Depression”. “Manic Depression” is a fairly upbeat jam that details Jimi’s struggles with ‘manic depression’ (more commonly referred to as bipolar disorder in today’s age), saying he “knows what he wants but doesn’t know how to go about getting it.” As someone who’s suffered from manic episodes before, this lighthearted ode to being manic and loving music makes it easier to cope with and relate to this disorder that afflicts many people worldwide. Just when you think Jimi and his band are gonna take it easy on us for the next track, they come back with a soulful ballad called “Hey Joe”. “Hey Joe” details the story of a man who caught his woman messing around and shot her down, a classic in the vein of 60’s storytelling broken up by a stoney guitar solo that just makes you want to sit back and enjoy a beautiful sunny day. Three songs into this album and things are looking great for Jimi and his band. Are You Experienced is considered by many to be a classic in the rock genre and is also considered to be Jimi Hendrix’s magnum opus (I disagree, Electric Landlady is far better than this album, both are great though). Through seventeen grooving tracks, characterized by the whining of Jimi’s guitar, which he rocked at, Jimi delves into lyrical matter ranging from love, his mental health and his daily life, to songs about driving around, getting high, and ‘experiencing’ life (you can take that how you’d like). Released right during the climax of the ‘psychedelic sixties’, one year before the famous ‘Summer of Love’, Hendrix’s Experience represents not only music, but a culture and a lifestyle that was lived by the many ‘drop-outs’ and ‘hippies’ that lived all over the country at the time. Capped off by the driving psychedelic riffs that make up the outro, “Red House”, Experienced sets a tone for a whole generation of users and music fans alike. There’s something for everyone here and there’s no denying that Jimi Hendrix and his Experience were immensely talented at what they did. Rest in Peace Mr. Hendrix, hopefully you’re up in that big Purple Haze in the sky now.