Axis: Bold as Love | ||||
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Studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience | ||||
Released | December 1, 1967 | |||
Recorded | May–June, October 1967 | |||
Studio | Olympic Studios, London | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock, blues rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 39:21 | |||
Label | Track | |||
Producer | Chas Chandler | |||
Jimi Hendrix American chronology | ||||
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Jimi Hendrix British chronology | ||||
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Singles from Axis: Bold as Love | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Retrospective reviews | |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Down Beat | |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Music Story | |
PopMatters | 10/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by English-American rock band the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded to fulfill the Experience's contract, which stated that they had to produce two records in 1967.
Axis: Bold as Love was first released in the United Kingdom by Track Records in December 1967, as the follow-up to the band's successful debut Are You Experienced, which had been released months earlier in May. It was not sold in the United States until 1968 because of the record company's fears that it might disturb the sales of the first album. Axis: Bold as Love charted at number five in the UK and number three in the US. The album also peaked at #6 on the Billboard R&B chart.
Following the completion of Are You Experienced at the end of April, 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience continued their schedule of regular recording sessions, returning to Olympic Studios in London on May 4, to begin composing material for a follow-up LP. With Chas Chandler as producer, Eddie Kramer as engineer, and George Chkiantz as second engineer, the band started the session by working on a Noel Redding original that he had written about hippies titled, "She's So Fine". It featured back-ground vocals that were performed by Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell; Redding later recalled that Hendrix was enthusiastic to record the song because it was written in A with an open G chord that he enjoyed playing. They achieved a working master on the 23rd take, over which Redding overdubbed his lead vocal. The band also made initial recordings of what would become "If 6 Was 9", using the working titles of "Section A" and "Section B" to identify its two distinct segments. During a session that took place the following day, Hendrix and Mitchell improved "Section B", now titled "Symphony of Experience", by re-recording most of their guitar and drum parts. A reduction mix prepared by Kramer made room for additional overdubs, including Hendrix's lead vocal, backing vocals, and a percussion effect created by Chandler, Hendrix, and guests Graham Nash and Gary Leeds stomping their feet on a drum platform. As an additional oddity, Hendrix played a recorder on the track, achieving what they considered a satisfactory sound despite his complete lack of formal training with the instrument. Also recorded during these sessions was the experimental track "EXP". In the span of two days, the group recorded basic tracks for seven compositions, though only three of them were included on the album.