Electric Ladyland
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Electric Ladyland is the third and final album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on October 16, 1968 on Reprise Records (see 1968 in music). Written and produced by Jimi Hendrix, the album is seen as the peak of Hendrix's mastery of the electric guitar, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It is not only the last of his albums released as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but 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 breadth of new 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 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 social 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] as well as "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", a staple of both radio and guitar repertoire.
Recording and production
After a troubled tour of Scandinavia, a brief period of recordings for Electric Ladyland at Olympic studios in London, England and a prestigious concert at the Paris Olympia, Hendrix moved back to the USA for the start of his first proper tour there. Three months later he began work on the LP at engineer Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone's newly opened Record Plant Studios which was situated close to his favorite clubs. It was recorded by Jimi's favorite engineers Eddie Kramer and Gary Kellgren, but although "other people have taken credit for the record, about ninety percent of it was done in Studio A in New York with Gary and Jimi." [Chris Stone] [2]. During the recording of the album he fell out with producer Chas Chandler and bassist Noel Redding.
With a hectic tour schedule and also trying to record a masterpiece, Hendrix still wanted to have a life, so he combined work with pleasure by inviting his friends and acquaintances to the studio. Chas obviously hated spending so much time in the studio and partly blamed it on these guests, but Jimi was determined to have his way and so his regular producer, manager and mentor Chas Chandler eventually 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. But then Hendrix went on to produce his most successful LP himself[3] and several very successful tours, mostly sold out.
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 having to go back on tour before the album was finished, 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 Dave 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 (who was of the same opinion about time spent in the studio as Chandler) 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 used his bass.[4] 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; it was Hendrix's only #1 album. The UK edition reached #5 upon its release amid considerable controversy. A letter Hendrix wrote to Reprise described exactly what he wanted for the cover, but it was mostly ignored. He expressly asked for a colour photo by Linda Eastman of the group sitting with children on a sculpture from Alice in Wonderland in Central Park, NY,[5] even drawing a picture of it for reference. The company instead used a blurred red & yellow photo of his head, taken by Karl Ferris. Track Records had its own art department, which produced a cover depicting of several nude women lounging in front of a black background.[6] The original UK & German CD release from the 1980s features the UK artwork cover, while Allan Douglas' re-master CD issue from 1993 features the front half of it. The U.S. version by Ferris, however, has since become the official cover of Electric Ladyland outside the UK. The company Experience Hendrix, which owns the rights to the album and most of Hendrix's catalogue, has stated that the original UK nudes cover will not be used any longer, since Hendrix himself did not like it; nonetheless Hendrix's own choice, the Eastman photo, is still ignored. A dispute nearly happened with the album's title. In the final stages of production, a studio technician renamed the album "Electric Landlady."[7] The album was almost released under this official title until Hendrix noticed the error, 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
- "...And the Gods Made Love" – 1:21
- "Have You Ever Been (to Electric Ladyland)" – 2:11
- "Crosstown Traffic" – 2:13
- "Voodoo Chile" – 15:00
Side two
- "Little Miss Strange" (Noel Redding) – 2:52
- "Long Hot Summer Night" – 3:27
- "Come On (Part 1)" (Earl King) – 4:09
- "Gypsy Eyes" – 3:43
- "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" – 3:39
Side three
- "Rainy Day, Dream Away" – 3:42
- "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" – 13:39
- "Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away" – 1:01
Side four
- "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" – 4:25
- "House Burning Down" – 4:33
- "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan) – 4:00
- "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[8] to have the tracks in the incorrect one-four-two-three order (e.g. "Voodoo Chile" followed by "Still Raining, Still Dreaming"
Personnel
The following credits are from the CD booklet.[9]
- 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)
- Steve Winwood – organ (on track 4)
- Al Kooper – piano (on track 6)
- Cissy Houston and The Sweet Inspirations – background vocals (on track 9)
- Larry Faucette – congas (on tracks 10 and 13)
- Mike Finnigan – organ (on tracks 10 and 13)
- Freddie Smith – tenor saxophone (on tracks 10 and 13)
- Buddy Miles – drums (on tracks 10 and 13)
- Brian Jones- percussion {on track 15}
- Dave Mason – Acoustic 12-String guitar (on track 15), backing vocals (on track 3)
- Chris Wood – flute (on track 11)
Production
- Producers - Jimi Hendrix & Chas Chandler
- Engineers - Eddie Kramer & Gary Kellgren
- Mixed by - Jimi Hendrix & Eddie Kramer
- Arranged by Jimi Hendrix
- US cover liner note by Jimi Hendrix
- US cover design - Karl Ferris
- US cover inside photos - Linda Eastman (McCartney) & David Sygall
- US art direction - Ed Thrasher
- UK cover design - David King, Rob O'Connor
- UK cover inside photos - Richard Montgomery
1st remaster by Allan Douglas
- Remastering - Joe Gastwirt
- Liner notes - Michael Fairchild
2nd remaster by Experience Hendrix
- Remastering supervisors - Janie Hendrix, John McDermott
- Remastering - Eddie Kramer & George Marino
- Art direction - Vartan
- Liner notes - Jeff Leve
- Essay - Derek Taylor
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Billboard Top 200 Albums | 1 |
| 1968 | UK Albums Chart | 5 |
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
- ^ Dimery, Robert "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", p.136
- ^ THE MIX – Chris Stone Interview – by David Schwartz – September 1978
- ^ Classic albums Electric Ladyland DVD
- ^ Liner notes of Alan Douglas supervised CD edition of the album, that was published in the early 1990s
- ^ sleeve notes to Experience Hendrix/MCA re-release of Electric Ladyland
- ^ Classic Albums Electric Ladyland DVD
- ^ Electric Ladyland - television document about the making of the album
- ^ Polydor 823359-2 double disc, "Nudes" cover
- ^ Some detailed information, including bass playing credits, is based on liner notes of Alan Douglas supervised CD edition of the album, that was published in the early 1990s
- 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
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