A quick song review:

1. EXP - Drummer extraordinaire Mitch Mitchell plays a radio announcer who interviews a "very peculiar looking gentleman who goes by the name of Mr. Paul Carusoe."

2. Up From the Skies - A wah-wah drenched jazzy number that displays Hendrix's affinity for science fiction. Check out Mitchell's drumming.

3. Spanish Castle Magic - This song really doesn't need an introduction. Everybody from the Spin Doctors to Yngwie Malmsteen covered it.

4. Wait until Tomorrow - A funny little number about Jimi trying to run off with his sweetheart only to be told by her to "wait until tomorrow"; except for when her father shoots him.

5. Ain't no Telling - The most rocking song on Axis. It isn't even two minutes long and it has more twists than the hourly production at a pretzel factory.

6. Little Wing - The classic ballad with one of the most recognizable intros ever. You should also hear Stevie Ray Vaughan's version as well.

7. If 6 Was 9 - Hendrix's ode to being yourself even if the rest of the world changes. One of Hendrix's heaviest songs.

8. You Got Me Floatin' - A great pop love song with Hendrix's signature guitar feedback effects.

9. Castles Made of Sand - A simple little song about how plans don't always work out and how sometimes it's for the best.

10. She's So Fine - Bassist Noel Redding sings here like he would later on "Little Miss Strange" on Electric Ladyland. The weakest song on Axis, but it's still good.

11. One Rainy Wish - A beautiful love song with spectacular multi-tracked guitars and lovely lyrics.

12. Little Miss Lover - Hendrix played funk before people knew what funk was. Even a die-hard rap fan could fall in love with Mitchell's drumming.

13. Bold as Love - The majestic title track and album finale about someone whose feelings are in conflict with one another, yet it is love that prevails over all. Just ask the Axis...

Axis, IMO, isn't the best place to start for the beginning Hendrix aficionado. That place is reserved for Are You Experienced?. And it also doesn't show his talents as a guitar viruoso. You'd be better off going for Electric Ladyland if you want to hear that. But the underrated Axis shows his other talents like songwriting, singing (Yes, Hendrix was a great singer contrary to what many including Hendrix himself said about his singing), and his newfound studio expertise. Axis isn't an album you hear, it is an album you Experience. Extremely recommended.


Hendrix's most introspective album   November 16, 1999
Steve (Pennsylvania)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

After the fury of Are You Experienced and before the glory of Electric Ladyland, Hendrix put to tape his most soul-searching and beautiful album. Anyone who sees Hendrix as a guitar-burning, drug-taking, rock god must listen to this album. Axis shows what a beautiful songwriter Hendrix was and how his guitar playing could be quiet and beautiful as well as loud and powerful. It also shows what an innovator Hendrix was in the studio. My favorite tracks on Axis are Little Wing, If 6 Was 9, Bold as Love, You Got Me Floatin, and One Rainy Wish, but every track is a gem. If you are a fan of Hendrix and only own Are You Experienced, Electric Ladyland, and/or Band of Gypsies, you are missing out on something truly special.


it makes my heart ache every time i listen to it   December 23, 2002
gioconda la felice (sherman oaks, ca United States)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

To all you out there who were not around when this genius was alive, to all of you who were not yet born and never got to see him play, all I can say is buy this CD! All of them! Buy the live sets, put on a pair of headphones, close your eyes, and pray to the higher forces of the Universe that He comes back. This is one of the greatest musical artists that ever walked on Earth, a 20th century Mozart. Jimi and Wolfy would have really rocked together.

All bow down before the altar of Hendrix. Every song is a little gem to be examined from each angle, like a ruby or a sapphire or an emerald. Each has its own color, own vibe and own eternal energy. My favorites? Little Miss Lover, Spanish Castle Magic, Little Wing (listen to him do it live at London Royal Albert Hall if you can...heartrending). But I also love "You Got Me Floatin', One Rainy Wish, Bold As Love...32 years Later, I cherish these songs as the greatest art I have witnessed in my life.

I first saw him play at lunchtime on the UCLA campus at noon. After that, I saw him play anywhere I could get to, and that included flying to San Diego or San Francisco or wherever! He changed my entire life, everything. He was plugged into some kind of energy. In concert, he could make you feel like a warm sirocco wind was blowing across your body, or a fire was burning above your head, or we were all swimming together in some kind of mystical warm turquoise gold-flecked cosmic ocean. He made you believe in God, stars, forces of the universe. Anything was possible. It took weeks to recover every single time I heard him play. What an aura this guy had around him! Sheer magic!

I miss him every day of my life, and you guys out there have nothing like this in your lives, which is a shame. My heart aches when I think of him, and I want him to come back. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to have heard him.


C'mon guys, it's Hendrix...   April 21, 2001
Brian (Oot)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

The musical genius at a pivotal point in his career. Jimi Hendrix long ago proved to the world his genius with "Are You Experienced?" and anyone who questioned that genius had to only listen to the follow up to that album.

Axis: Bold as Love is a fantastic album, and definetely on my top ten list of fave albums. It's behind Electric Ladyland, but it equals AYE. However, AYE and ABAL are vastly different albums. Where AYE focuses on distorted guitars and heavy tracks, Axis focuses on the more spiritual, beautiful and surreal side of Jimi.

With any other band I'd choose the distorted guitars, but what makes the difference is the intensely beautiful and poetic lyrics that echo from the mouth of Jimi. As well, the album still mantains the same fury as AYE, only in a different manner. While AYE was rock 'n' roll, Axis was much more of an experiment in blending the styles of blues, folk, rock, soul and just about every other music form out there. With most artists, a blend like this would often be difficult to listen to, but Jimi has a way to make the tracks move almost seamlessly. However, in the vein of blending styles, Axis is outdone by it's respective follow up "Electric Ladyland."

Each track is as listenable as the others, there are no real stand-out tracks, because Hendrix concentrated on creating an album, not one single and filler, like a lot of bands out there today.

The oft imitated, rarely duplicated guitar work remains, but it isn't put as far forward in the mix as the other two albums. It seems almost an afterthought when you take into account all of the beatiful lyrics throughout the record. However, it is still fantastic, and ingenious as it ever was. Especially on songs like "Little Wing," and my personal fave "Castles Made Of Sand" the guitar is particularly beautiful, adding to the overall texture and mood of the record.

This record is often missed by record-buyers because of the two albums the respectively preceded and followed it, but it remains a fantastically written, well-thought out experience that remains true to this day. It almost feels as if it was recorded yesterday. If you don't have this album, I say "buy it right now!" It is probably one of the five best in my 90 CD collection, which is a compliment, since it's being placed beside such classics as Led Zeppelin IV and Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.

If I was allowed to have one complaint about this album, it would be the length. Because Ladyland was my first album I became accustomed to 8 and 12 minute tracks. The 2-5 minute vein in song lengths is somewhat hard for me to adjust to. The fact that the album clocks in at under 45 minutes is a dissapointment, although I'd hardly expect someone to be able to write that much material at that high of a quality. I guess that's Jimi for you...


buy this album!   June 23, 2000
anna (Maine, USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Axis:Bold as love, is, and always will be, one of my favorite c.d.'s. I am only 12 years old, and my mom had the c.d. lying around. That's when I was first introduced to Jimi Hendrix. In my mind one of the most brilliant musicians of all time, this album does anything but take off and fly! My two all time favorites are Wait till Tommorow(Extreamly good for dancing, and a VERY catchy toon), and Little Wing (It makes me cry every time I hear it, it's so soulful and he sings it so tenderly.) Every song on the album is unique and memorable. Amazing guitar and vocals. I used to be in love with teen fads like N'SYNC and the Backstreet Boys. Now I'm in love with Jimi Hendrix. You will not be dissapointed in the least if you buy this c.d., I can guarentee you.