With occasional reflection on the perpetual absurdity/intrigue of life and society in general.

Sunday, June 26, 2022

The Optical Files #89: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love (1967)


For those of you who have read my previous writeups on Jimi Hendrix albums, I want to make this promise right up front: I will not use this space to talk any more shit about Noel Redding. Everybody knows how I feel by now, so I will discuss neither his deficiencies as a bass player, band member, nor songwriter. That means I will not touch on "She's So Fine," which is so, so fine by me.

Put a gun to my head & I'll probably choose this as my favorite of the 3 Jimi Hendrix Experience albums. While I've already discussed how Electric Ladyland is the most important to me historically, I think that Axis on the whole has better songs. While the followup would blossom into a full psychedelic flower, this sophomore effort is still approached like a pop album, & I think that's to its benefit. There's no 13-plus minute freakouts here--the longest song is "If 6 Was 9" at a relatively lean 5 & a half. When done right, I love the craft of the 3-minute pop song, & Jimi fires off several of them here without sacrificing his fiery rock instincts: "Spanish Castle Magic," "Wait Until Tomorrow," "Little Wing," "You Got Me Floatin'" & "Castles Made of Sand" all do miraculously sophisticated rocking while remaining hooky & not outlasting the 3-minute AM radio barrier. The pacing & sequencing is perfect for a pop album too, with the furious rocking of "You Got Me Floatin'" transitioning to the wry resignation of "Castles Made of Sand" with its backmasked solos.

My formative adolescent Hendrix years coincided with my discovery of science fiction, & knowing Jimi was a fan of the genre as well, I always loved when his music incorporated SF concepts. They're frontloaded here, with the opening noise track leading into the smoky jazz number "Up From the Skies," where Jimi imagines an alien's perspective on planet Earth over delicate brushwork from Mitch. Then again, the gorgeous "One Rainy Wish" (in my opinion the loveliest ballad Jimi ever wrote) & the finale "Bold As Love" are both redolent of fantasy--I was reminded of David Lindsay's transcendental sword & planet affair A Voyage to Arcturus.

Apparently, Hendrix often described musical moods in terms of colors. I always noticed his lyrics were full of those descriptions, but this album seems fixated on a journey through colors. We travel from the aggressive multitracked guitars evoking "battlegrounds red & brown" of "Spanish Castle Magic" to 2 different gardens: one golden in "Wait Until Tomorrow," & one green in "Castles Made of Sand." Sunset's "sleepy red glow" in "You Got Me Floatin'" gives way to a dream of gold, rose, misty blue & lilac in "One Rainy Wish." Finally we arrive at "Bold as Love," where several different colors are coded emotions, personified as warriors, monarchs, or possibly gods. I don't know if this color scheme is deliberate, but it demonstrates the kind of connection & depth that artistry like Jimi's can provoke in a listener. I'm so glad I found Jimi back when I did.

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