Electric Ladyland

Electric Ladyland
Studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Released	October 16, 1968 (U.S.) October 25, 1968 (UK)
Recorded	Record Plant Studios, New York, July 1967, December 1967, January 1968, April–August 1968
Genre	Psychedelic rock, acid rock, psychedelic soul, blues, hard rock
Length	75:58
Label	MCA
Producer	Jimi Hendrix
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Jimi Hendrix chronology
Axis: Bold as Love (1967) Electric Ladyland (1968) Smash Hits (1969)

Electric Ladyland is a rock album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in 1968 (1968 in music). It is seen as the peak of Jimi Hendrix's mastery of the electric guitar, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Not only the last Jimi Hendrix Experience album, it was also the last of Hendrix's studio albums to be professionally produced under his own supervision. After Electric Ladyland, Hendrix spent the remaining two years of his life attempting to organize a new band and recording a great number of songs. Released as a double album, Electric Ladyland is a cross-section of Hendrix's wide range of musical talent. It includes samples of several genres and styles of music, including the psychedelia of "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" (previously a UK single in the summer of 1967), the soul-turning bluesy guitar jam "Voodoo Chile", the New Orleans-style rock and roll of "Come On", the epic studio production of "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)", and the political commentary of "House Burning Down". The album also features a cover version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" that was widely praised by many, including Dylan himself ^[1], followed by "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", a staple of both radio and guitar repertoire.

Contents 1 Recording and production 2 Release and reception 3 Track listing 3.1 Side one 3.2 Side two 3.3 Side three 3.4 Side four 4 Personnel 4.1 Production 5 Charts 5.1 Album 5.2 Singles 6 References 7 See also

Recording and production

The recording of the album was extremely problematic. After a troubled tour of Scandinavia and England, Hendrix decided to relocate back to the United States from England. Frustrated by the limitations of commercial recording, he decided to establish his own state-of-the-art multitrack studio in New York, to which he could have unlimited access to realise his expanding musical visions. Construction of the studio, called Electric Lady, was beset with problems and it was not finally completed until mid 1970. As a result, he recorded the bulk of Electric Ladyland at Record Plant Studios. Hendrix's formerly disciplined work habits were also becoming erratic, and the combination of interminable sessions and studios filled with hangers-on finally led regular producer Chas Chandler to quit in May 1968. Chandler later complained that Hendrix's insistence on doing multiple takes of every song ("Gypsy Eyes" apparently took 43 takes, and he still wasn't satisfied with the result), combined with what Chandler saw as Hendrix's drugged incoherence, led him to sell his share of the management company to his partner Michael Jeffery. Hendrix's studio perfectionism was indeed legendary – he reportedly made guitarist Dave Mason do over 20 takes of the acoustic guitar backing on "All Along the Watchtower" – yet he was always insecure about his voice and often recorded his vocals hidden behind studio screens. Hendrix sings all the backing vocals himself on the title track and on "Long Hot Summer Night." He was said to be very happy with the vocal results on the title track. Despite the difficulties of its recording, many of the album tracks show Hendrix's vision expanding far beyond the scope of the original trio and saw him collaborating with a range of outside musicians including Mason, Chris Wood and Steve Winwood from Traffic; future Band of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles; Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady; and former Dylan organist Al Kooper. Co-operation between Hendrix and bassist Noel Redding was strained during the production of the album. Hendrix plays bass tracks (on a right-handed bass guitar) on many tracks including the bass solo parts on "1983." While recording "All Along the Watchtower" Redding went to a nearby bar for a beer and Hendrix took his bass.^[2] Sometimes Hendrix recorded bass tracks just in order to make things go on faster. Redding plays acoustic guitar and sings lead vocals with Mitchell on his own track, "Little Miss Strange."

Release and reception

Electric Ladyland was first released in the U.S. in October 1968 and became a massive hit becoming Hendrix's only #1 album. The UK edition reached #5 upon its October release amid considerable controversy. The album's intended artwork did not reach the UK in time to press the album, so a cover of naked women lounging in front of a black background was issued in its place. The U.S. cover by Karl Ferris, which Hendrix had intended, has since become the official cover of Electric Ladyland internationally. Hendrix's family, who own the rights to the album and most of his catalogue, has stated that the original UK cover will not be used anymore since Hendrix himself did not like it. There exists a rare CD issue from 1980s that features the original UK cover. A similar event nearly happened with the album's title. In the final stages of the album's production, a studio technician renamed the album "Electric Landlady."^[3] The album was almost released under this title until Hendrix noticed it, which upset him considerably. Kirsty MacColl later used this alternate title for an album of her own. In 2005 Q magazine readers voted Electric Ladyland the 38th greatest album of all time; in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 72. In 2003, Rolling Stone declared it the 54th greatest album of all time. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All songs composed by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted.

Side one

1. "...And the Gods Made Love" – 1:21
2. "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" – 2:11
3. "Crosstown Traffic" – 2:26
4. "Voodoo Chile" – 15:05

Side two

1. "Little Miss Strange" (Noel Redding) – 2:52
2. "Long Hot Summer Night" – 3:27
3. "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" (Earl King) – 4:09
4. "Gypsy Eyes" – 3:43
5. "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" – 3:39

Side three

1. "Rainy Day, Dream Away" – 3:42
2. "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" – 13:39
3. "Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away" – 1:01

Side four

1. "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" – 4:25
2. "House Burning Down" – 4:33
3. "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan) – 4:00
4. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" – 5:13

As was traditional with multi-LP albums, Sides one and four were pressed back to back on the same platter, likewise sides two and three. This has led to some CD releases^[4] to have the tracks in the incorrect one-four-two-three order (e.g. "Voodoo Chile" followed by "Still Raining...").

Personnel

The following credits are from the CD booklet.^[5]

• Jimi Hendrix – electric guitar, bass guitar (on tracks 2, 6, 8, 11, 14 and 15), electric harpsichord (on track 9), percussion, lead vocals (on all non-instrumental tracks except 5 in which Mitch and Noel sing), background vocals, kazoo made of comb and paper (track 3), a slide used in "All Along the Watchtower" is actually a cigarette lighter
• Mitch Mitchell – drums (on all tracks except 10 and 13), percussion, background vocals, lead vocals (with Redding on track 5)
• Noel Redding – bass guitar (on tracks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 16), background vocals, acoustic guitar (on track 5), lead vocals (with Mitchell on track 5)
• Jack Casady – bass (on track 4)
• Larry Faucette – congas (on tracks 10 and 13)
• Mike Finnigan – organ (on tracks 10 and 13)
• Al Kooper – piano (on track 6)
• Dave Mason – guitar (on track 15), backing vocals (on track 3)
• Buddy Miles – drums (on tracks 10 and 13)
• Freddie Smith – tenor saxophone (on tracks 10 and 13)
• Steve Winwood – organ (on track 4)
• Chris Wood – flute (on track 11)
• Cissy Houston and The Sweet Inspirations – background vocals (on track 9)

Production

• Jimi Hendrix – produced by
• Gary Kellgren, Glen Kolotkin, Eddie Kramer – engineers
• Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Kramer – mixing
• Janie Hendrix, John McDermott – remastering supervisors
• Joe Gastwirt, Eddie Kramer, George Marino – remastering
• Jimi Hendrix – arranger
• Ed Thrasher, Vartan – art direction
• David King, Rob O'Connor – UK design
• Karl Ferris – U.S. cover design
• Linda Eastman (McCartney), David Sygall, Richard Montgomery – U.S. inside shots
• Jeff Leve – writer
• Derek Taylor – essay
• Jimi Hendrix, Michael Fairchild, Derek Taylor – liner notes

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1968	Billboard Top 200 Albums	1
1968	UK Albums Chart	6

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1967	"Burning of the Midnight Lamp"	UK Singles Chart	18
1968	"All Along the Watchtower"	Billboard Hot 100	20
1968	"All Along the Watchtower"	UK Singles Chart	5
1969	"Crosstown Traffic"	UK Singles Chart	37
1970	"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"	UK Singles Chart	1
1971	"Gypsy Eyes/Remember"	UK Singles Chart	35
1990	"All Along the Watchtower EP (with "Hey Joe" & "Voodoo Chile")	UK Singles Chart	52
1990	"Crosstown Traffic"	UK Singles Chart	61

References

• UK Chart positions
• Rice, Tim; Gambaccini, Paul & Rice, Jonathan (1995), Guinness British Hit Singles (10th ed.), London: GRR Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-85112-633-2

See also

• Classic Albums
• The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

This box:  •  • edit Jimi Hendrix

Bands The Jimi Hendrix Experience • Gypsy Sun and Rainbows • Band of Gypsys • The Cry of Love Related bands: The Dirty Mac • The Noel Redding Band • Ramatam • The Gypsy Sun Experience Personnel Noel Redding • Mitch Mitchell • Billy Cox • Buddy Miles • Larry Lee • Juma Sultan • Jerry Velez Discography Original releases Studio albums: Are You Experienced (1967) • Axis: Bold as Love (1967) • Electric Ladyland (1968) Live albums: Band of Gypsys (1970) Compilations: Smash Hits (1969) Posthumous releases Studio albums: The Cry of Love (1971) • Rainbow Bridge (1971) • War Heroes (1972) • Loose Ends (1973) • Crash Landing (1975) • Midnight Lightning (1975) • Nine to the Universe (1980) Live albums: Monterey International Pop Festival (1970) • "Experience": Original Soundtrack from the Feature Length Motion Picture (1971) • Isle of Wight (1971) • Hendrix in the West (1972) • More "Experience" (1972) • Soundtrack Recordings from the Film "Jimi Hendrix" (1973) • The Jimi Hendrix Concerts (1982) • Jimi Plays Monterey (1986) • Live at Winterland (1987) • (1994) • Live in Denmark (1995) • Live at the Oakland Coliseum (1998) • Woke up this Morning and Found Myself Dead (1998) • Live at the Fillmore East (1999) • Live at Clark University (1999) • Live at Woodstock (1999) • Live in Ottawa (2001) • Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight (2002) • Jimi Hendrix: Live at Berkeley (2003) • Stockholm Concert (2004) • Live at the Isle of Fehmarn (2005) • Live at Monterey (2007) Compilations and box sets: Jimi Hendrix (1972) • The Essential Jimi Hendrix (Vol. 1) (1978) • The Essential Jimi Hendrix (Vol. 2) (1979) • The Singles Album (1983) • Kiss the Sky (1984) • Johnny B. Goode (1986) • Band of Gypsys 2 (1986) • Radio One (1988) • (1990) • Sessions (1991) • Footlights (1991) • Stages (1991) • The Ultimate Experience (1993) • Bleeding Heart (1994) • Blues (1994) • Voodoo Soup (1995) • First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) • South Saturn Delta (1997) • BBC Sessions (1998) • Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix (1998) • The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000) • Morning Symphony Ideas (2000) • Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (2001) • The Summer of Love Sessions (2001) • The Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions (2002) • Astro Man (2003) • Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix (2003) • Axis Outtakes (2003) • Live in Copenhagen (2004) • Hear My Music (2004) • (2005) • Rainy Day Dream Away (2006) • Burning Desire (2006) • Jimi Hendrix His Greatest Hits (2006) Anticipated releases Black Gold Songs "All Along the Watchtower" • "Angel" • "Astroman" • "Bold as Love" • "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" • "Castles Made of Sand" • "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" • "Fire" • "Foxy Lady" • "Freedom" • "Gypsy Eyes" • "Hey Joe" • "I Don't Live Today" • "If 6 Was 9" • "Little Wing" • "Machine Gun" • "Manic Depression" • "My Friend" • "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" • "Purple Haze" • "Red House" • "Spanish Castle Magic" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "Stone Free" • "Third Stone from the Sun" • "Up from the Skies" • "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" • "Voodoo Chile" • "Wild Thing" • "The Wind Cries Mary" Related articles Early life of Jimi Hendrix • Electric Lady Studios • Jimi Hendrix's musical equipment • Management: Chas Chandler, Michael Jeffery Monika Dannemann • Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix