Artist: The Jimi Hendrix Experience · Year: 1967 · Label: Track / Reprise · Rolling Stone Rank: 30 / 500
Are You Experienced is one of the most explosive debuts in rock history. Jimi Hendrix arrives seemingly fully formed: a guitarist who treats the instrument as a vehicle for distortion, feedback, blues, jazz, soul and outer-space sound design—all at once.
It’s not just about solos; it’s about rewriting what a power trio can do.
Context: From Backing Guitarist to Frontline Visionary
Before London discovered him, Hendrix had paid his dues in the U.S. as a sideman for Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and others. Chas Chandler of The Animals brought him to the UK, paired him with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, and helped shape The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
In a scene already buzzing with The Who and Cream, Hendrix still felt like an alien visitor. His mixture of virtuosity, showmanship and songcraft was on a different axis entirely.
Sound, Songs and Sonic Innovations
Depending on whether you spin the UK or US version, the tracklist changes, but the impact doesn’t. “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Foxy Lady,” “Fire”—it’s a ridiculous run of early classics.
Hendrix’s guitar tone—wah-wah, fuzz, feedback sculpted like clay—was revolutionary. But listen closer and you hear a deep blues vocabulary and jazz-like phrasing beneath the pyrotechnics. Mitch Mitchell’s drumming and Noel Redding’s bass playing give him a fiercely interactive rhythm section; they’re not backing him, they’re sparring with him.
The title track, “Are You Experienced?,” uses reverse tapes and studio manipulation to create a swirling psychedelic vortex that still feels uncanny decades later.
Impact and Legacy
Every rock guitarist after Hendrix has had to reckon with this album. It opened up new possibilities for distortion, stagecraft, songwriting, and the idea of the guitar hero. From Prince to Eddie Van Halen, from John Frusciante to St. Vincent, the line runs straight through Hendrix.
It also helped merge Black musical traditions with the emerging psychedelic rock scene, even if Hendrix himself was often marketed primarily to white rock audiences.
How to Listen Today
Start with the hits, but don’t stop there. Pay close attention to the rhythm guitar work, not just the solos—Hendrix paints with chords as much as leads. Listen to how the band turns simple riffs into swirling storms through dynamics alone.
For SlaveToMusic: Are You Experienced is a foundational text in the architecture of electric guitar sound.