Jimi Hendrix died on September 18, 1970 of an overdose on sleeping pills.  He was 27.

The Runaway Hippie

Jimi Hendrix came onto a scene which had never seen the likes of him before. He started out going backup guitar in bands which were not his own, often stealing the spot light and being kicked out of band after band. His aptness to be a star was clear from the beginnings of his career. In his short life, Jimi made a huge impression on the art world. His amazing musicality along with his cool style caused frenzies - he liked to make an impression. Big hair, big hats, bold prints as well as colors and hippie chic accessories are only some elements of his extensive wardrobe.

Stone Free

Stone free is ones of the songs in this album which channels a major theme of the album, and of the era at large. It is about the pressures of mainstream society and avoiding the toll which it can take on someones liberty and individuality. In this song in the opening stanza Jimi exclaims
"Everyday in the week i'm in a different city
If i stay too long people try to pull me down
They talk about me like a dog
Talkin' about the clothes i wear
But they don't realize they're the ones who's square"

In this he immediately draws in an audience of people who have been beat down by the stigmas of society and allows them to feel as if they are not alone. The minority is banned together in this song and with this beginning it allows for them to carry on their own struggles against those who persecute them for their differences. Jimi Hendrix said "All I'm gonna do is just go on and do what I feel." and that he did. He exuded a sense of bravery that manifested in his choosing and not choosing to do something. His songs conveyed his beliefs and this song in particular shows his conviction in those said beliefs.

He "cannot be tied down", and is reaching out to the majority to say that "it's so easy to break". Although he says its easy to break, the song has a sense of continuous movement. He is always moving because the pressures of society are catching up to him. This leads me to believe that he did not have an easy time always staying true to himself but because he knows it is worth it he picks up and moves again. He stays stone free so that he can "ride the breeze" and "stay free". By ride the breeze, he is referring to following his whims, doing what he pleases - whether that entails illegal actions i do not know but whatever it was it was potentially unacceptable in normal society.

Jimi liked to move around. His lifestyle was about innovation, and the style of this song it truly innovative. His raw talent and strong will combined allowed his song to go beyond being societal dissent, it allows him to in a way, rise above society. Being stone free there is nothing holding him down but the ordinary person is weighted to the ground. The freedom to be subject to your own emotions and not a ruling power is the utopia which Hendrix is pointing towards, but there is a sense of not being their yet - even himself - in the song also. The journey does not end when the song does, it begins.

The tone of the song is friendly yet resolute. He refers to the listener as "baby" and speaks in a relaxed way, as well as reaching out to the listener to experience it for them self. He truly believes in his music as a way of portraying his vision. So become stone free, be who you are and follow your own intuition to the ends of the earth. There is no need for him to change for other people and therefore he treats his audience as a whole, no hierarchy and no culprits and idols. He is saying that society has it all wrong and the way to live is in a loving and free atmosphere.

Hendrix, an Inspiration for Personal Creativity

Jimi Hendrix fan and follower, Chloe Arnow, plays an acoustic version of Hendrix's Purple Haze, the first song on the Are You Experienced Album.

She then discusses the reasons why she believes the album was iconic in the sixties and remains today, one of the most important rock albums of all time.

Jimi and his Guitar

Jimi got his first guitar when he was sixteen.  He told his dad about a deal for a secondhand acoustic guitar for five dollars and his dad agreed to buy it from him.  From that day forward, Jimi and the guitar were inseparable entities.  A year later, he bought Jimi an electric guitar.  While Jimi was a lefty, both of these guitars bought by his father were righty guitars.  Jimi therefore learned to play with the neck upside-down.  In the summer of 1961, Hendrix enlisted in the army; however the young man could not stay away from his music and soon formed small bands on the side of his army duties.  One of the men in his small army band, Billy Cox, became Jimi’s bassist in the Gypsies after Noel Redding left The Jimi Hendrix experience.  In 1962, Jimi left the army, realizing that it simply did not mesh with his personality type. 

Jimi continued to play back up guitar for many bands and was on his guitar as often as possible.  Jimi "expanded the range and vocabulary of the electric guitar into areas no musician had ever ventured before to create new sounds through both his technical ability and his creative genius.  When recording his lyric parts in  the studio, Jimi would do so using an acoustic at all times to keep himself focused, grounded and centered.  Therefore, even when listening to only the vocal tracks of the album, one can hear the mesmerizing sound of the Hendrix guitar in the background.   No matter how wild Jimi's life would become, he held one thing steady throughout and that was his guitar.  At a point, Jimi became at one with his instrument and it was as if the music simply poured out of this heart and soul with the help of his five stringed tool.  This was stated by a critic for the British music magazine Melody Maker who said, "he had great stage presence and looked at times as if he was playing with no hands at all".  Jimi Hendrix did not introduce his music saying "I'm Jimi Hendrix and this is music", but rather would say, "I am music".

Recognition of the Album

The Are You Experienced Albums is widely acknowledged as one of the greats of all time.  Here are some of the honors it has received. 

1984: Ranked sixth by Creem magazine in a list of the top ten metal albums of the 60’s.
1994: Ranked most influential guitar album of all time by Guitarist magazine  
1995: Purple Haze was ranked number two by Guitar magazine in a list of heaviest guitar riffs
1999: Included in a list of 100 essential albums of the 20^th Century by Vibe Magazine
2000:  A poll from Guitar World Magazine listed it as the greatest album of the millennium
2001: Named the fifth greatest album of all time by VH1
2003: Ranked Number fifteen on Rollin Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
2003: Named greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo Magazine  

#13-17: Wrapping Up the Album

The last five songs of the Are You Experienced Album have a very different tone than the first 12.  They are mellower, less psychedelic, an easy transition to the ending of one crazy album.  The change begins with 51^st anniversary, as this is the first time that Hendrix even addresses getting old and moving on.  He talks about relishing in his youth and saving every last moment he can where he is not tied to any serious commitments.  The next song, track number fourteen on the album, discusses the ‘highway chile’, the man who has lived through a crazy childhood, who has been hardened and almost exiled from civilization due to his rebellious actions as a youth.  Here Jimi talks about what he possibly sees in his own future, looking beyond the parties, and playing music, ahead to the time where “his old guitar slung across his back, his dusty boots is his Cadillac, Flamin’ hair just a blowin’ in the wind, ain’t seen a bed in so long it’s a sin”.  Hendrix states that while a future society may label this man as a tramp, he can see deeper than that, because he can see what he once was.  He can see that he is a highway child.  This term can be interpreted in two ways.  The first is more literal; a highway child is like a motorcycle dude, a man hardened by years of running with no place to call home.  The term can also be taken to mean a man who took the high road as a child, who sucked all the pleasure he could out of his youth and now lives in his own post-golden age world.   

The next song, Can You See Me, leaves the futuristic tense and goes back to Hendrix not wanting his golden age to end.  He says “Can you see me? Begging you on my knees…Baby please don’t leave”.  This song not only cries to an era begging it to continue, but it also screams to every listener to really pay attention and to hear what Jimi is saying.   As the album comes to a close, this is Jimi’s last beg for all of his fans to listen and try to understand his purpose for the album.  It is a funal reminder to “open up your ears …you better come home like you supposed to do”.

Remember is also a song looking back, reminiscing about the good old days.  An interesting aspect about these good days is that Hendrix characterizes them as a time when the birds used to sing.  This suggests that Hendrix believes that in any good time, music will be playing. 

The last song of the album, Red House, is bluesy, and sad, a very soft smooth song that allows the listener to exit the album and their album experience with a nice easy taste in his or her mouth.