Electric Ladyland [Remaster] (CD - 1968)

Additional personnel: Chris Wood (flute); Freddie Smith (tenor saxophone); Al Kooper (piano); Mike Finnigan, Steve Winwood (organ); Jack Casady (bass); Buddy Miles (drums); Larry Faucette (congas).

Principally recorded at the Record Plant, New York, New York in April and May 1968.

Personnel: Jimi Hendrix (vocals, guitar, piano, harpsichord); Noel Redding (vocals, bass guitar); Jeanette Jacobs (vocals); Dave Mason (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Chris Wood (flute); Fred Smith (saxophone, tenor saxophone, horns); Al Kooper (piano, keyboards); Mike Mandel (piano); Mike Finnigan, Steve Winwood (organ); Mitch Mitchell, Buddy Miles (drums); Larry Faucette (congas); The Sweet Inspirations (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Jimi Hendrix.

Audio Remasterers: Eddie Kramer; George Marino; Joe Gastwirt.

Liner Note Authors: Derek Taylor; Michael Fairchild; Jimi Hendrix.

Recording information: Mayfair Studios, New York, NY; Olympic Studios, London, England; Record Plant Studios, New York, NY; Record Plant, New York, NY; The Record Plant, NY.

Director: Jimi Hendrix.

Photographers: Gered Mankowitz; Richard Montgomery; John Adler; David Sygall; Ed Thrasher; Axel Rad; David Montgomery; Karl Ferris; David Montgomery; Linda McCartney.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Jeff Leve; John McDermott.

Arranger: Jimi Hendrix.

Jimi Hendrix's third and final album with the original Experience found him taking his funk and psychedelic sounds to the absolute limit. The result was not only one of the best rock albums of the era, but also Hendrix's original musical vision at its absolute apex. When revisionist rock critics refer to him as the maker of a generation's mightiest dope music, this is the album they're referring to. But Electric Ladyland is so much more than just background music for chemical intake. Kudos to engineer Eddie Kramer (who supervised the remastering of the original two-track stereo masters for this 1997 reissue on MCA) for taking Hendrix's visions of a soundscape behind his music and giving it all context, experimenting with odd mic techniques, echo, backward tape, flanging, and chorusing, all new techniques at the time, at least the way they're used here. What Hendrix sonically achieved on this record expanded the concept of what could be gotten out of a modern recording studio in much the same manner as Phil Spector had done a decade before with his Wall of Sound. As an album this influential (and as far as influencing a generation of players and beyond, this was his ultimate statement for many), the highlights speak for themselves: "Crosstown Traffic," his reinterpretation of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," the spacy "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)," and "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)," a landmark in Hendrix's playing. With this double set (now on one compact disc), Hendrix once again pushed the concept album to new horizons. ~ Cub Koda

On ELECTRIC LADYLAND Jimi Hendrix stretched and experimented in the studio, going beyond the power-trio format on what would be his last studio album with the Experience. ELECTRIC LADYLAND was revolutionary in its scope and execution. Using New York City's Record Plant as a gateway to free expression, Hendrix traversed an abstract landscape containing compositions as weird and wonderful as "...And The Gods Made Love" and "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)."

Simultaneously looking forwards and backwards, Hendrix mixed in a song reminiscent of his time on the chitlin' circuit (Earl King's "Come On [Part 1]"), a Bob Dylan favorite ("All Along The Watchtower"), and one of his snappiest singles ("Crosstown Traffic"). Although Hendrix produced and wrote most of this masterpiece, others weighed in with their own contributions. Noel Redding penned "Little Miss Strange," and other guests such as Al Kooper and Buddy Miles showed up to play. Traffic's Steve Winwood and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane also made cameos, appearing on this classic album's spiritual center, "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)." minimize