46 Years Ago: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Release 'Electric Ladyland'

46 Years Ago: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Release 'Electric Ladyland'

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!         One of rock’s most groundbreaking and ambitious albums, The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s ‘Electric Ladyland,’ arrived in stores in October 1968. In a way, humanity is still trying to catch up to its futuristic musical vision.

Certainly, very few of those who heard the double LP upon release could easily wrap their heads around the eclectic and unpredictable songs sprawled across its challenging four sides of vinyl. And there’s no denying much had changed in the Hendrix camp (management, band upheavals, legendary drug consumption, etc.) over the course of ‘Electric Ladyland’’s oft-interrupted and continent-hopping yearlong recording process.

But once they got past the initial shock of absorbing so much music in one big lump, patient listeners came to realize that ‘Electric Ladyland’ further pushed the sonic breakthroughs Hendrix explored on the Experience’s first two records, ‘Are You Experienced’ and ‘Axis: Bold as Love,’ to the very limits of his boundless creativity (not to mention the era’s available recording technology).

Among the familiar Hendrix hallmarks pushed into overdrive are guitar-powered singles (‘Crosstown Traffic,’ ‘Gypsy Eyes’), ethereal psychedelia (‘Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland,’ ‘Burning of the Midnight Lamp’), traditional (albeit epic-length) blues jams (‘Voodoo Chile,’ ‘Still Raining, Still Dreaming’) and six-string fireworks galore (‘House Burning Down,’ ‘Voodoo Chile [Slight Return]’). And while the saxophone-infused ‘Rainy Day, Dream Away’ and arty space-jazz-fusion of ‘1983 … (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)’ tested listeners’ open minds, at least they were saved until side three.

So whether one recognized ‘Electric Ladyland’s’ formidable, if unwieldy, genius right away or had to work for it, the final studio album released during Hendrix’s lifetime was a stone-cold classic. An album both of its time and well ahead of its time, if you catch our meaning.

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Alice In Chains’ Mike Inez Discusses The Loss Of Layne Staley: ‘We Were Supposed To Grow Old Together’

This Just In From Seattle Music History!!!                                                                            Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez discussed the loss of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to drug addiction in a new interview with the Lucas H Gordon Show.

“Drug addiction is beyond the music business. Whether you’re a washer, dryer, or repair man, drug addiction and alcoholism seems to go through all walks of life. It’s a pretty crazy business we’re in already, it’s just such a shame when your friends pass away so young, we’re supposed to grow old together.” He added, “It’s just sad.”

Inez also discussed the Seattle Grunge scene and Los Angeles music scene.

“The difference between the LA scenes and Seattle scene, is a band like Soundgarden was together for 10 years before they got signed by a major label, so they had a lot of time to get together and gel as a band.”

“Even all of the bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains in the early days, Pearl Jam, and Mother Love Bone they had a lot of time to jam before they release their music to the world. So I think that was very important, where here in Los Angeles they were trying to mix and match bands like, ‘Oh we need a bass player with long blonde hair, we need a singer with curly hair.’ They were just trying to do that, so the music started lacking I think because of it.”

“But I tell you one thing about the LA scene, there were more girls in the 80’s here than I’ve ever seen in my life, it was a really fun time to see that. I was very young at the time, but it was nice in high school to see a band like Van Halen play a backyard party, or Motley Crue playing the Whiskey. It’s really cool to see these bands. Me and Slash are the only two guys born and raised here, everyone else comes here, but we’ve been here the whole time, we’ve seen it come and go.”