CAN YOU SEE ME?

Are You Experienced is one of the great albums of all time. Over the course of the original UK version’s 11 songs, as well as the three singles and B-sides which preceded it, Jimi Hendrix – the man whose vision and talent both powered it and set it apart from everything else – integrated and manipulated guitar chords, riffs, solos and myriad effects in ways that revolutionised the sound, style and substance of popular music.

Less fulsomely acknowledged are Hendrix’s skills as a singer and songwriter, who applied a ready wit and poetic imagination to words, melodies, and the rhythmic components of his compositions that was every bit as artful as his guitar playing. Nowadays, with the benefit of 50-plus years to study and digest the full panoply of Hendrix’s technical skills, there are plenty of guitarists who are able to emulate his playing style, often with eerie accuracy. But no one has yet been able to replicate the unique personality of his vocal style or to recreate the sly humour and cinematic resonance of his lyrics.

Often overlooked altogether is the unique chemistry between Hendrix and the two other musicians who created this incredible album: drummer Mitch Mitchell and bass player Noel Redding. In the case of Hendrix and Mitchell, introduced to the world a musical symbiosis of a quite exceptional nature, as evidenced on tracks including , , and others. The guitarist and drummer maintained a musical relationship of extraordinary creativity and empathy until Hendrix’s death in London, four years later, after which Mitchell