Tracks:
1. Foxy Lady: 8/10 only one track in and it's already evident Jimi Hendrix is something of an instrumental genius. The stuff he does with a rock guitar! Sure, the lyrics are nothing to write home about but the music itself is smashing.
2. Manic Depression: 9/10 listening to this is like having an avalanche coming down on your head. Despite some repetition this song overwhelms and enthrals.
3. Red House: 8/10 a slower track here which showcases some excellent Blues playing and puts a humorous twist on a well worn song formula of the singer's lover not wanting him anymore.
4. Can You See Me: 7/10 the guitar playing is as accomplished as ever but like the other songs it often fails to affect one on an emotional level
5. Love or Confusion: 9/10 this one will have nodding along to it within 30 seconds. It's very catchy and has great lyrics which can be compared to those of many other genius song writers of the era.
6. I Don't Live Today: 8/10 more boundary breaking innovation with an outro which justifies comparisons with the incredible finale of A Day in the Life.
7. May This Be Love: 9/10 one of the strongest lyrically on the album, this is a hugely enjoyable song. It uses a waterfall as a metaphor for love, which is a very interesting and unique choice of imagery.
8. Fire: 8/10 it's a song which I feel like I've heard before a few times, most notably from The Doors. Still, it's another exuberant and hard hitting smash hit.
9. Third Stone From the Sun: 8/10 an overlong but technically accomplished instrumental with 2 enigmatic spoken verses slotted in.
10. Remember: 6/10 a forgettable and overly familiar track, but certainly not bad and still a cut above much of the rubbish you hear nowadays.
11. Are You Experienced?: 9/10 despite being largely constructed from one chord, this one doesn't lose momentum, energy or your attention and it's a strong title track overall.
12. Purple Haze: 9/10 another 60s psychedelic track and a very good one. Hard hitting, heavy and brilliantly played, this stands out in the crowd of the many 60s psychedelic songs.
13. Hey Joe: 9/10 actually a cover, this is the most well known version of Hey Joe and deserves to be. It stands out from the rest of the album thanks to the excellent harmonies and emotion and is a great example of telling a story with music. One of the album's highlights.
14. The Wind Cries Mary: 8/10 musically it's perhaps one of the less striking ones but it's an excellent ballad with the best lyrics on the album. This one slightly feels like if Bob Dylan did a hard rock song.
15. Stone Free: 8/10 yet another 60s counter culture song, this one's pretty good. With its universal message, kinetic guitar playing and unpretentious lyrics the song will be accessible for all.
16.51st Anniversary: 7/10 this one's still good but it fails to stand out and is one of the less memorable ones on the album.
17. Highway Chile: 8/10 both as an entertaining and well written rock song and proof that 60s musicians were obsessed with rolling stones, it works.
Best song: Hey Joe
Worst song: Remember
Summary: A very strong debut album and completely worth listening to. For me, the album can't quite escape the feeling of an instrumental showcase since the songs occasionally feel a bit distant and unaffecting, but what an instrumental showcase it is. It sounds great now; it's unimaginable how it must have sounded to listeners back in the 60s who hadn't heard anything like this before. Pushing the boundaries, experimenting and innovating again and again Jimi Hendrix, with his versatility and multiple tricks basically turns the electric guitar into the instrumental equivalent of a Swiss army knife.
Final rating: 8/10
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