The timeless music of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Axis: Bold As Love has received a new remastering and a special limited-run reissue in the Ultra High Quality Record (UHQR) format, which makes for sensational-sounding vinyl. Originally recorded at Olympic Studios in London in 1967 with producer Chas Chandler and the studio’s soon-to-be-renowned staff engineer Eddie Kramer, the album continues to shine as a masterpiece of Hendrix‘s great songwriting and influential guitar wizardry.
Analogue Productions has released the limited-run UHQR reissue in what’s billed as definitive 45-RPM stereo and mono editions. With a 45 RPM playtime, the album occupies four sides of 200-gram Clarity Vinyl, pressed at Acoustic Sounds’ Quality Record Pressings from the original master tapes and remastered by engineer Bernie Grundman. The Stereo release is limited to 4,500 copies, while the Mono version is limited to 2,500. There’s also a 16-page booklet with photos and a new essay from Guitar World editor Brad Tolinski.
As suggested by the description of Clarity Vinyl, these records come in a translucent off-white color described as “the color of raw vinyl in its purest form (un-tinted vinyl)”. Industry standard black vinyl uses a colorant named “carbon black” that Clarity Vinyl removes from the process to enhance the sound. The black pigment that’s been part of vinyl’s original compound formulation is said to allow carbon black particles to reach the grooves’ surface, which could introduce surface noise. Clarity Vinyl is thereby described as a product that eliminates potential sonic contamination from the carbon black particles.
“The Axis UHQR cut is amazing — full-bodied, detailed, powerful and engaging. Very impressive. The best pressing of the record I have ever heard,” Grammy Award-winning reissue producer Bill Levenson says in the press release.
The Clarity Vinyl looks futuristic and does indeed sound fantastic. Drummer Mitch Mitchell’s uniquely stylish percussion stands out in the mix, thanks to the crisp hi-fi production, as Kramer helped Hendrix realize the heady sounds he heard in his mind. The influential psychedelia that Jimi Hendrix and Kramer schemed up on many of the tracks really resonates in the UHQR format. Hendrix’s visionary playing and spiritual philosophy also continue to sparkle nearly 60 years later.
Opening tracks “EXP” and “Up From the Skies” find him touching on the ever zeitgeisty topic of “Are there or are there not flying saucers, or UFOs?” visiting Earth. With Congress breaking through decades of inaction to hold hearings on UFOs (or UAP as they are now termed in political circles) in recent years, it’s interesting to revisit Jimi’s viewpoints from the 1960s. In “Up From the Skies”, Hendrix takes the perspective of an extraterrestrial visitor who lived on Earth before in the “days of ice” and is concerned to come back “to find the stars misplaced and the smell of a world that has burned”. He even foreshadows the climate crisis by wondering, “Well, maybe it’s just a change of climate…”
“Spanish Castle Magic” and “Wait Until Tomorrow” round out Side One with classics that feature the Experience in fully electrified rock power mode, then with Jimi Hendrix using cleaner tones on the latter song that blend so well with the pulsing bass and tight drum patterns.
“Ain’t No Telling” kicks off Side Two with a galloping romp again boosted by Mitchell’s electrifying percussion work as Jimi sings of how there ain’t no telling when you’ll see him again, but he hopes it will be tomorrow. “Little Wing” presents a masterclass in songwriting and production, with Hendrix writing the book on crafting a bluesy psychedelic ballad. Tolinski writes that the track featured Hendrix’s guitar running through a rotating speaker effect to capture the song’s metaphysical vibe.
Side Two wraps with one of the album’s hardest-hitting songs in the anthemic “If 6 Was 9”. Hendrix speaks out against a “white collar conservative… pointing their plastic finger at me”, declaring that he’s going to wave his “freak flag” high before the trio slays a wild and surreal jam as a statement of such intent.
“That was a complete jam session, then we put the words on afterwards. ‘If 6 Was 9’ is what you call a great feeling of blues,” Hendrix related, as seen in the notes from Tolinski. It’s interesting to see him describe the song as “a great feeling of the blues”, since it’s not a traditional blues style like say “Red House” or “Hear My Train a Coming”.
However, the sentiment of peace-loving hippies feeling the blues due to derision from superficial conservatives is a bluesy feeling that has continued to inform the next generation in this war-torn world gone mad. Phish even played “If 6 Was 9” during their most recent Halloween run in 2021, rocking a crowd-pleasing 15-minute version at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas that had to make Hendrix proud.
Side Three opens with the Experience dialed in for a syncopated power trio groove on “You Got Me Floatin'”. The band members all seem to solo at once on the bridge/outro section, and it sounds glorious here on Clarity Vinyl. “Castles Made of Sand” is another ingeniously crafted psychedelic ballad featuring trippy guitar effects that also benefit from the UHQR format. “She’s So Fine” wraps the side with bassist Noel Redding’s playful tune that feels like it foreshadowed the Austin Powers film that arrived 30 years later. The first session recorded for the album features more incredible drumming and vibrant harmonies from Mitchell and Hendrix.
“One Rainy Wish” launches Side Four with a gorgeous mid-tempo R&B tune that finds Jimi employing watery effects to mirror the rainy vibe being conjured. The trio rock out on a powerful chorus section, then conclude back in the watery section with Hendrix’s guitar lines coming down like waterfalls. “Little Miss Lover” is a straightforward tune that flat-out rocks with a groovy syncopation, as the Experience pays homage to a lovely lady.
The album concludes with the brilliant title song, an enduring classic that conjures a dazzling rainbow of emotions. The track featured the first use of stereo phasing in the ending coda section, a sound that Jimi Hendrix claimed to have “heard in his dreams”.
With a retail price of $150, the UHQR Clarity Vinyl version of Axis: Bold As Love isn’t for everyone. However, for serious Hendrix aficionados and audiophiles, it’s hard to imagine this classic psychedelic rock album sounding any better.