Jimi Hendrix Axis

A self-taught guitarist, Hendrix began his musical career backing such R&B greats as Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and B.B. King. Brought to London from New York by former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, Hendrix quickly established himself as the brightest new star on the burgeoning progressive rock scene of the early '60s…

In the '70s, there was no shortage of posthumous Jimi Hendrix releases. Reprise and other labels knew that Hendrix's fans were an incredibly loyal and devoted bunch, and they knew that serious collectors would snag any Hendrix LP they could get their hands on. One of those posthumous releases was Crash Landing, which Reprise assembled in 1975. The LP's best-known tracks include "Message to Love" and "With the Power," both of which find Hendrix leading his Band of Gypsies power trio. Also enjoyable is a remake of the famous "Stone Free." But despite the presence of some gems, Crash Landing isn't essential - this record is strictly for collectors, and they are the ones who will want to hear such rarities as "Captain Coconut" (a psychedelic instrumental) and "Peace in Mississippi" (which is also instrumental and is the heaviest thing on the album)…

Jimi Hendrix’s immortal 1970 live album, Band of Gypsys, is one of his most influential releases, with the charismatic guitar icon testing the bounds of his creative approach to produce some of the most ambitious music of his career. Capitol/UMe will honor this landmark record on March 27, almost exactly 50 years from its original release, with special 50th anniversary vinyl editions of Band of Gypsys that recapture the album’s boundary-breaking spirit.

Axis: Bold As Love on Hybrid SACD from Analogue Productions!
Newly remastered by Bernie Grundman, from the original analog master tapes!
Includes both mono and stereo mixes — Pure DSD sound!
"If you want to truly experience this album, Analogue Productions' new SACD, mastered to DSD by Bernie Grundman and including both the stereo and mono mixes (mono for the first time in the digital domain), is the only way to do it. … Grundman's mastering has less bass than Marino's, as well as somewhat attenuated highs. There's much more air on songs like 'Spanish Castle Magic,' and the soundstage is also extremely wide. … this release is a home run for Analogue Productions.

Jimi Hendrix's second album followed up his groundbreaking debut effort with a solid collection of great tunes and great interactive playing between himself, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, and the recording studio itself. Wisely retaining manager Chas Chandler to produce the album and Eddie Kramer as engineer, Hendrix stretched further musically than the first album, but even more so as a songwriter…

Rolling Stone’s definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
83. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ‘Axis: Bold as Love’
Reprise, 1968
Jimi Hendrix’s first album remade rock & roll with guitar magic that no one had ever dreamed of; his second album had even more sorcery.