Axis: Bold As Love CD

re-released with a 24 page colour booklet. 'axis: bold as love' was the follow-up to 'are you experienced?', and represented a much more conscious use of the recording studio's possibilities. where his live shows continued to showcase the raw rocking power of the experience, the recording studio gave hendrix the composer / arranger a broader palette. there are still plenty of powerful blues / rock-inflected songs, such as the menacing 'if 6 was 9', the rolling 'spanish castle magic' and the spatial title tune. but 'up from the skies' is a jazzy trio romp, featuring hendrix's bluesy, vocalised wah-wah pedal. and on the ballads 'little wing' and 'castles made of sand', hendrix shifts the focus from the band to the silvery chord / melody accompaniments he often employed to complement his vocals. they are an orchestral effect unto themselves.