Just like a lot of teenagers, now more than 30 years ago, I had the rock n roll awakening at around 15, and started discovering music other than what was on MTV and the radio (though it helped that at that age, the bands on MTV and radio were bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains who worshipped these guys). The first wave of bands I was obsessed with were indeed Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin, a perfect 15 year old starter set. The second wave, I had borrowed (I am still borrowing the CD to this day) Are You Experienced?, and discovered Jimi Hendrix. I played that thing non-stop and if you want to find the primary source behind why I developed an appreciation for blues, jazz, and much of rock music, it all comes back to this album. That’s easily the most baggage any album I listen to on this journey will have.
However, it’s been a while since I revisited this particular album. Frankly, none of the wonder and amazement has worn off at all. This spritual combination of distortion meets rock, blues and jazz is as potent as my teenage years. The riffs and day and so viscerally satisfying. The solos are mind boggling. The rhythms are addictive. And in the context of this journey, it seems like this music came from another dimension, sent down from outer space to redefine and unrefine everything that came before it. Purple Haze really wraps up all this in a nice 3 minute package, but you can also point to the deconstructed almost nature of the title track in terms of focusing in just on that distortion, or the riff and vocal delivery on Foxy Lady, or the spaced out jams on Third Stone From the Sun. Jimi really does it all on this thing, and in that singular way no one has ever been able to replicate. This is still, 30+ years after I first heard it, one of the best and mind blowing albums I have ever heard.
The Essential Track: Purple Haze
Up Next: Grateful Dead - Anthem of the Sun
