The original album cover was produced by Bruce Fleming in Europe and it aired in Britain release May 12th, 1967. Later, Barclay Records in France produced the more famous cover with swirling colors and psychedelic shapes showing a photo of the band performing on a French show. The bright yellow cover that was created under track records for the United States had lage purple letters where the the colors are distorted just as the music. The band looks cooler than ever in the center of the album cover, as they exude a sense of energy through their clothing and demeanor. While Jimi Hendrix is the starring figure head of the album, the cover shows that the band is a unified front that together as one created sounds that changed the world.
The feeling of the cover is one of ease as well as excitement. The shapes are trippy. The letters are spaced and shaped to allow the onlooker to begin the experience which the album truly is. It is the first impression of the music that the consumer has and it does a good job of conveying the wild and colorful beauty of the music. The album cover is one of the most memorable ones of the era as it exemplifies the drug culture which existed and shocked the population (often in a positive way). Everybody has to listen to the album that conveys a unique vibrancy.
The UK Album cover
The US album cover. As time passed, the Jimi Hendrix Experience took a turn for the psychedelic. This can be seen in their change in album art in just a few short months.
In Rock and Roll, a three piece band was referred to as a power trio. This style first came around in the 1960's, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience epitomizes it! Amplifier and electric guitar/bass guitar technology gave the band a full sense and the soul embodied brought it all home.
ReplyDelete