Jimi Hendrix’s Psychedelic Album Covers
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Jimi Hendrix’s psychedelic album covers are some of the most iconic and memorable in all of rock history. In this post, we take a look at some of the best examples and explore what made them so special.
Electric Ladyland
On October 16, 1968, Hendrix’s third and final album with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland, was released. The double album was the most expensive rock album ever made at the time of its release and Hendrix’s first and only album to reach number one in the United States. Electric Ladyland is Hendrix’s experimental masterpiece, a psychedelic tour de force that features some of his most iconic songs.
The album’s original cover
Electric Ladyland is the third and final album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in October 1968 on Track Records. The double album was Hendrix’s only studio release to be produced under his supervision. “All Along the Watchtower”, “Crosstown Traffic”, and “Voodoo Chile” were released as singles.
The original album cover was photographed by Karl Ferris and depicts nude women posing in a city landscape with Hendrix’s face superimposed over it. The photo shoot took place in New York City’s Central Park. The album was originally going to be titled First rays of the New Rising Sun, but after Hendrix’s death on September 18, 1970, it was renamed and re-released as Electric Ladyland in 1971.
The album cover caused controversy and was banned by some retailers. Columbia Records issued a revised cover that featured a picture of Hendrix with bandmates Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding.
The alternate covers
The album Electric Ladyland was originally released in October 1968, with a cover featuring a group of nude women. This caused controversy, and subsequent re-releases of the album featured alternative covers. The first re-release, in November 1968, used a close-up photo of Hendrix’s face as the cover. The second re-release, in March 1969, featured a photo of Hendrix surrounded by children.
Axis: Bold as Love
The album’s original cover
The original cover for Hendrix’s second album, ‘Axis: Bold as Love,’ was much more subdued than the colorful and psychedelic artwork that would come to be associated with the musician. The cover features a black-and-white photo of Hendrix with his then-girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, with the album’s title in simple white lettering.
The alternate covers
Most people are familiar with the album cover of Axis: Bold as Love, which features a close-up of Jimi Hendrix’s face surrounded by different-colored hearts. However, there were actually two alternate covers created for the album.
The first alternate cover was designed by Roger Law, who would later go on to create the political satire puppets Spitting Image. Law’s design featured a caricature of Hendrix surrounded by stars and planets. Hendrix was reportedly not a fan of the design, feeling that it made him look like a clown.
The second alternate cover was designed by David Rand, who had also created the artwork for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Rand’s design featured a photo of Hendrix superimposed over a background of overlapped outlines of himself in different colors. This design was also ultimately rejected by Hendrix.
Are You Experienced
Psychedelic art is art, music, or literature inspired by or depicting the effects of psychedelic drugs, particularly LSD. Psychedelic art is often bright and colorful, with swirling patterns and trippy imagery. The album covers of Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced” are some of the most iconic and recognizable examples of psychedelic art.
The album’s original cover
The album’s original cover was designed by Karl Ferris and featured a close-up photo of Jimi Hendrix’s face surrounded by images inspired by a dream Hendrix had, in which he walked under the sea. The lettering on the cover was done in brown against a black background.
Some copies of the album were shipped with an alternate version of the cover, which featured photographs of Hendrix’s bandmates Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. This version of the cover is much rarer than the original.
The alternate covers
Most people are familiar with the iconic album covers for Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced” and “Electric Ladyland”, but what they may not know is that there were alternate versions of both covers that were never released. The original cover for “Are You Experienced” featured Hendrix standing in front of a blue background with the album title in yellow letters. However, Hendrix was not happy with the cover and asked for it to be changed. The result was the now-famous image of Hendrix looking over his shoulder with the album title in red letters. The alternate cover for “Electric Ladyland” featured a photograph of Hendrix with his then-girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, surrounded by a collage of images related to the album’s themes of sex and drugs. The cover was deemed too provocative and was never released, but it can be seen in the documentary film, “Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child”.
