The Jimi Hendrix Experience SACD Axis:Bold as Love stunning

Didn't you have to pay taxes/custom duties? I ordered at wowhd, but it is still on backorder. I do hope I'll get my copy before it is out of print.

 

That's why chatbots are some of my closest friends.

 

Came to a few pounds that you pay in advance at Amazon

 

Axis: Bold as Love - Analog Productions SACD Review:

It might be difficult to imagine in 2018, but in 1967 the dream was over, yet the dream had just begun. Gone were the days of poodle skirts and Camelot, the jitterbug and fins on Chevys. For the kids whose parents suffered The Great Depression and World War II, there was a new social depression, and a war in Southeast Asia that did more to united, rather than divide - that although a deep chasm separated the baby boomers from their progenitors, for many kids in 1967, drugs and rock 'n' roll became the balm and the cure. Politicians and astronauts slipped from role model status, as young men with draft cards couldn't aspire to such lofty heights if tomorrow was far from guaranteed. Enter the rock star as the paragon for hope, with a voice that spoke for the youth and the counterculture of its day.

Enter Jimi Hendrix.

Axis: Bold as Love, the second outing for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was...hey, let's face it, an album for the stoned, created by the stoned. The soundscapes therein, the message, the devil-may-care attitude is all you need to know when you hear Hendrix "Wave his freak flag high." High!

It might be difficult to image in 2018, as we're sitting like cigar store Indians in the face of Analog Productions' new release of Axis: Bold as Love, but once upon a time we were spaced out and groovy. Not that one needs to imbibe in psychoactive materials in order to dig the album, yet it certainly helps to understand the spirit in which it was created - the times and motives. Jimi wanted to clean out your channels and open your neural pathways.

I've been cleansed. Once again.

It took some back and forth between the various shades of Axis: Bold as Love, released over the years, to decide if Analog Productions' offering was the definitive article, but in the end it doesn't matter as long as you listen. By the way, in case you were wondering, yes, this is the best this album has sounded since it was first unleashed on the planet, just in time for Christmas 1967.

The album was remastered by Bernie Grundman, and true to recent form he knocks it out of the ballpark once again. Hold the mustard. Of course it helps that he had at his disposal the original pre-EQed masters to play with. What you'll find is a purity of tone, from top to bottom, in both the stereo and the mono.

Now, about stereo and mono, first, Axis: Bold as Love was designed to be experienced in stereo. Forget the relative infancy of stereophonic records in 1967; instead, imagine that even primitive stereo was still an expansive and immersive experience in the right hands. Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Kramer saw to that quite nicely. Second, while stereo was Hendrix's delivery mechanism of choice, in this case, and since I hopelessly view mono recordings through the optic of brilliantly recorded 1950s era jazz, I might not be the best judge rock 'n' roll's mono offerings. As bands moved further away from open mic'ing techniques, and closer to the closed mic'ed amp and transducer paradigm, mono is often cheapened and claustrophobic in the auditory field.

I assure you, with Axis: Bold as Love, however, we get a more open monophonic sound out of a rock performance. It's actually a rarity in its class and phylum.

On to the stereo, though; Analog Productions' SACD opens up this album one more notch - a dimension I'm sure that Hendrix was have loved, since he never got to hear his work on a true hi-end system and in pristine condition.

Look, I own many copies of Axis: Bold As Love, but for the first track, "ESP," the high pitched "hum" in the left-channel, preceding Jimi's dialog is more clear and palpable than it's ever been. The noise we hear is an equipment problem, yet it's a glorious issue to have when it gives sight into how the album was created. Look no further than "Spanish Castle Magic," for a superbly clean piano underpinning the guitars throughout. Given enough air to breath between notes, even amidst the chaos of Hendrix's atonal guitars, one is still able to pick out drummer Mitch Mitchell's ungated snare, and the echo of the room, as half of the kit was open mic'ed and breathy. It's all there.

"Wait Until Tomorrow" demonstrates that although this is rock music, the attack of the bass guitar notes, even the bass tonality, is right on target, exactly the way it's supposed to sound in a well-oiled mix. "Little Wing" sounds more treasured here, where the effects on both the guitars and vocals shout loudly, even in the quiet parts. What's more, it never ceases to amaze me how "If 6 was 9"'sonority holds cohesively to the album as a whole, even in its lowest of lo-fi moments, into the abundance of sweet tape hiss between the empty passages. Analog Productions and Bernie Grundman show that we had nothing to worry about, despite the original tape for "If 6 was 9" being a lower gen copy in need of a good ironing.

The same holds true for Side 2, only you never half to flip the platter over to hear it. The soft masculinity of "You Got Me Floating" rumps and churns harder than it ever has. The backwards guitars in "Castles Made of Sand" emits from a pitch black background. Even Noel Redding's mod-pop original, "She's So Fine," throbs with a new found pulse, fresh from a make-over with Hendrix's guitars attacking throughout.

As for the rest, you get the message.

The mono is a little bit more difficult to decipher, but due greatly to Kramer's vision, its psychedelia holds together better than one might thinks. The first two tracks and jams, with a thankfully shortened "ESP" and a 3-dimensional "Up From the Skys" that would surprise most in its actual layering. Unfortunately, it all comes to a crumbling halt with "Spanish Castle Magic" in mono, as the weight is simply too much to bear. Yes, there is a solid center image; nevertheless, the mix is too congested: merely a blob of sound in the middle of your speakers. The good news is, none of the rest of the mono mixes on this album has that problem. It's only with "You Got Me Floating" and "Castles Made of Sand" that the mixes sound clean, yet rather flat in their presentation; their is no movement of depth, width of height.

When speaking of amazing mono mixes, though, "One Rainy Wish" might very well be the greatest rock mono mix of all-time. This is just as good as the stereo. Moreover, it breathes new life into what I've always thought was the weakest track on Hendrix's second album. Sure, I had heard the mono of "One Rainy Wish" before, but not in the hands of Grundman and Analog Productions. Never this stoned-out. Never this pretty.

All-in-all, the mastering elevates the mono to near stereophonic proportions, and that's the way it should be with well done mono. There are no gimmicks here.

Yeah, so right now I am pretty blazed to the gills and I don't know what I'm writing (but I sure know what I'm saying). Somewhere Jimi is smiling (if only in my mind); still, when you set the album against its historicity, noting the tone and the need to such an album in its time, it expands the mind without the need need for "mind-expanding" substances. It speaks just as loudly today as it did 51 years ago. Nay, Axis: Bold as Love is more stentorian in 2018, given the audiophile treatment that folks weren't privy to on an AM Zephyr transistor radio.

Let it be known that I'll never have to own another copy of this album. Yes, this one will do just fine for the next 51 years.

 

For the next 51st Anniversary?

 

Sorry. I'm not going to stop spending money chasing down Axis that easily.

 

Heh. Sorry for all of the typos folks. Perhaps in shouldn't have been writing a review from my phone as I was listening to the music.

 

I thought your review was perfect. It inspired me to open a bottle and listen to the title track over and over.

 

This is a really fine disc. Not to mention a rare consensus approval on this forum.

Many thanks to the early adopters' thorough scrutiny.

Somewhat less enamored with the mono as others are, though there are several sparkling passages therein. Puzzling how the weight and power of the title track's all-important coda abruptly goes missing.

Nonetheless, 10/10.

 

I just got this SACD yesterday. I can only add to all of the rave reviews. I was not even a big fan of this album, and had only owned the late 90s remaster, which I haven't played in years. However with this SACD I feel like I am hearing and appreciating this album for the first time. It is truly excellent.

 

Its a truly exceptional release, period.

It has both mono and stereo vinyl pressings that are outstanding.

Glad that it now has a digital platform of equal status.

Wonder if the bar will change in the new year?

 

Great review, thanks for putting this album in its cultural context, which we don't often like to discuss. We get too caught up in the minutia of the recording or mastering and forget to mention what a cultural shift this music grew out of and contributed to. And, man, did Jimi contribute to that shift. Jimi's music was made to be listened to as high as you dared to get. He was a beautiful person and it's really sad that he left us so soon. I'm glad we still have his recorded music, and as a bonus, in such fine sound.

 

Of course the end of the song was designed entirely for stereo. I don't think it entirely goes missing in the mono, but the focus is totally different. I think the mono holds up quite well, even through the we only hear the effect and not so much feel it like the stereo. That said, believe me, I'm not a mono guy when it comes to rock music. Often it fails me, tremendously. I would love for mono Doors, and mono Cream, and mono Kinks to thrill me, and even mono Beatles, but I find it very hit and miss. My point about mono Hendrix is that it's more hit than miss, which is big tribute to Eddie Kramer, and though AYE is of lesser SQ than Axis, they still manage some tremendous mono mixes when they went back and started the album, proper.

 

Yes! Not to belabor the issue of smoke and such, but Jimi felt expanded and he wanted other to feel expanded, as well. If that wasn't the case there would have never been songs like "If 6 was 9" and "Are You Experienced?" These two tracks were a clarion call for the disenfranchised youth of the day. I could be wrong, but I''m sure that Hendrix knew exactly what he was doing when he penned those lyrics. If nothing else, Jimi's lyrics were honest. Often they were prophetic. They changed people. They changed me. I don't think enough can be said about that, in historical context or in 2018.

Here I am a 45-year old with a wife and two kids, but for a brief moment, if I'm open to Jimi's suggestions, I can be anything I want to be, even if it's for a mere 39 minutes and 21 seconds. That's the message that crosses the gulf of time from then until now. It's with a release of clarity that Analog Productions and Bernie Grundman opens up with this hyper-clear release.

 

I have been happy with this release. I listen to the SACD layer. I think that the bass and drums sound great in stereo but the vocals sound better in mono. I spoke to the guys from Acoustic Sounds at RMAF and asked why Electric Ladyland wasn't listed. They said that Sony has tightnened up on licensing recently and they did not know if they would be able to do it. Sony did just release the Electric Ladyland 50th anniversary box with blu ray audio, so I'm thinking an SACD won't happen or will be delayed.

 

Maybe. But the other possibility is that they made sure to do a non-audiophile mastering for the 50th so that they can double dip with an audiophile SACD later on. It was kind of strange how the extra studio material on the 50th was given a nice mastering but the main album was squashed. So there could still be hope.

 

Thanks for the RMFA update. It's too bad that the EL 50th is a sonic turd, at least on CD and hirez. If you didn't know, they limited to hell out of the album, proper, giving it a severe haircut. I don't imagine this is what Grundman had in mind for EL.

 

The cynic in me thinks this is exactly what the plan was. It seems so obvious now.

 

Yeah didn't know before hand that the 50th was so limited. I was so impressed with the Axis SACD that I blindly purchased Electric Ladyland wanting to try blu ray audio. I figured they'd let Bernie cut loose again and deliver a revelation, but......
I do feel that the tape quality of the Electric Ladyland recording isn't as consistent so maybe that affected things.

 

Luckily the 5.1 isn't brickwalled and sounds fantastic. But on the same disc they brickwalled the stereo high res.

 

Just had a chance to compare the SACD redbook layer to the non-RE-1 CD. I can't say there is a clear winner here, but they don't sound alike. There is one particular issue I have with the SACD that I think is going to cause me to stick with the non-RE-1.

1. I've always found the non-RE-1 to be bright and lean. The SACD fixes the brightness. However, I find a bit of added harshness to the upper mids on the SACD in spots that isn't a problem on the non-RE-1. That first burst of guitar at the beginning of "Wait Until Tomorrow" being an example. It has a harshness I don't like on the SACD but I don't hear it on the non-RE-1.

2. As I said, my impression of the non-RE-1 has always been that it was lean. But when comparing to the SACD, I find that the bass is fuller on the non-RE-1. Particularly noticeable with tracks where the bass kicks in during the intro. The non-RE-1 bass guitar sounds nice and fat with the SACD seeming reserved in comparison. I think my "lean" impression of the non-RE-1 was really just an issue of brightness.

3. Here's the biggest issue I have with the SACD. Most tracks have the image shifted to the right. Take EXP for example. The SACD makes it sound like the bass intro is in the right channel while it's centered on the non-RE-1. Same with a number of other tracks. It is really bothersome to me when Jimi's vocals are off center to the right on tracks where they are centered on the non-RE-1. One track which seems to be properly centered on the SACD is "Up From the Skies". The intro drum is centered on the SACD and non-RE-1. And the title track is shifted to the right on both.

So the non-RE-1's brightness is quite bothersome to me and the image shifting of the SACD is also quite bothersome. So for now, I'm sticking with the non-RE-1 but if the mood ever strikes me, I will delve further into these issues. To see if the brightness can be satisfyingly fixed with EQ and if the SACD image shifting issue is a matter of just increasing gain on the left channel or if there is a phase problem. For example, "She's so Fine" has the left channel about a db too light but there is also a 2 sample delay between channels that might also be contributing to the shifting.

 

... and then we die.

 

Thanks.

Sometimes we are so used to a sound [and image!] we can't move past that, at least at first.

I had some issue with how Ladyland sounded when they reissued it in 2010. Now I can't go back to how it sounds on all earlier pressings.

 

That SUCKS

 

Very Interesting.