‘Electric Ladyland’ 50 Years Later: A Brief History of Jimi Hendrix’s Most Iconic Album

Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, takes a look back at the album’s impact on music

'Electric Ladyland' Album Cover.

Yesterday, October 16, marked the 50^th anniversary of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s third album, ‘Electric Ladyland.’ The album became the band’s best-selling, putting them on top of the Billboard 200 album chart for the first and only time and producing their only top 40 hit with their cover of “All Along The Watchtower.” It also became their final album as a band.

While many consider ‘Electric Ladyland’ to be one of the best albums of all time, it is interesting to note that this wasn’t always the case. Upon its release in 1968, the album received mixed reviews from critics who felt that although it had its highlights, parts of it were, as Rolling Stone called it at the time, “noisy” and “heavy-handed.” It wasn’t until years later that critics came around, including it on many a list of “top albums of all time.”

Fans, on the other hand, took to the album right away. Steady sales had the album sit atop the Billboard 200 for two weeks within a month of release, as well as certified gold in that same amount of time. As of 1998, the album has gone double platinum.

‘Electric Ladyland’ was, as Ultimate Classic Rock called it, Hendrix’s “most ambitious album ever.” It was the first time he had ever produced an album on his own and he took his time with it. Hendrix was meticulous with it, trying out different effects (including a homemade kazoo, microphone feedback and sound effects) and inviting in a wide swath of guests to collaborate with the band in studio. While some songs only took a few takes, others he played around with for a while to try and get the sound perfect. What resulted was a more than 75-minute, genre-defying (mixing blues, psychedelia and jazz) double LP that was light-years ahead of its time.

The album’s circumstances very much fed into Jimi Hendrix’s solo work. After alienating his bandmates (especially bassist Noel Redding) during the album’s recording, the Experience broke up. Such allowed Hendrix to continue expanding his musical vision. In 1970 he released ‘Band of Gypsys’ with his new band, the Band of Gypsys, which he also produced. The album leaned more towards rock and funk and focused more on guitar work than vocals. This would become Hendrix’s final album, as he passed away only six months after its release.

Not only was ‘Electric Ladyland’ influential to Hendrix’s later work, it was also an influence for other artists. Bob Dylan was notably a big fan of his version of “All Along the Watchtower,” which Dylan has played live many times in his own shows. Artists as varied as Freddie Mercury, Tom Morello, Miles Davis, Paul McCartney, Robert Smith, Joe Satriani and more consider themselves fans.  

‘Electric Ladyland’ had Jimi Hendrix’s light shining brighter than ever before. Not only was it his biggest album with his biggest hit, but he had struck gold on a sound that no one had heard before. Even after 50 years, music fans and artists of all generations are still being inspired by the album to this day.

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