The second of only three albums by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, recorded at the Olympic Studios in London and released at the end of 1967. As with the first album, Chas Chandler as producer and Eddie Kramer as sound engineer are again involved. Together with his two bandmates Noel Redding (b) and Mitch Mitchell (dr), the string magician from Seattle, who died all too early, takes the listeners on a remarkable and varied musical journey. The album contains some powerful upbeat rockers that were radio-friendly, beautiful wistful ballads that impressively demonstrate Hendrix's remarkable development as a composer and lyricist, as well as never-before-heard experimental pieces in the style of avant-garde fusion and jazz rock.
Not only the album itself has a firm place in rock history, but also the eye-catching cover design by David King and Roger Law. It shows the three musicians as Hindu deities in an Asian world full of colours and symbols that reflect the taste of the time. The cover was highly controversial. The band wasn't asked and didn't like it. In Malaysia and some other Asian countries, it was even banned because of the offensive use of the image of Lord Vishnu.
Stereo finally replaced mono technology at the end of the 1960s. Nevertheless, some recordings were still released as mono editions in smaller quantities in order to include customers who could not (yet) afford expensive stereo equipment. Also the original English edition of this groundbreaking second album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience was released in both stereo and mono. The latter are impossible to find today and therefore expensive.
