The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?

Rare mono audiophile LP edition of Are You Experienced! Mind-blowing Hendrix debut!

Mastered and cut to lacquer by Bernie Grundman

Reissue plated by Gary Salstrom and pressed on 200-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings!

Regarded as the greatest, most influential debut release from any artist!

Quality Record Pressings is proud and excited to be part of a rare reissue of the mono audiophile LP of Jimi Hendrix's classic Are You Experienced. Brought to you by Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, the reissue and its companion mono reissue of Axis: Bold As Love are part of the celebration honoring what would have been Hendrix's 70th birthday.

Both mono albums are to be released March 5, simultaneous with the release of People, Hell and Angels, also pressed at QRP — an album of 12 previously unreleased studio-recorded Hendrix tunes.

When it was first released in 1967, Are You Experienced turned the music world upside down, as Hendrix showed everyone exactly what it meant to be "experienced." Hendrix synthesized various elements of the cutting edge of 1967 rock into music that sounded both futuristic and rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul. It was his mind-boggling guitar work, of course, that got most of the ink, charting new sonic territories in feedback, distortion, and sheer volume. It wouldn't have meant much, however, without his excellent material, whether psychedelic frenzy ("Foxey Lady," "Manic Depression"), instrumental freak-out jams ("Third Stone from the Sun"), blues ("Red House"), or tender, poetic compositions ("The Wind Cries Mary" on the U.S. version) that demonstrated the breadth of his songwriting talents. Not to be underestimated were the contributions of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, who gave the music a rhythmic pulse that fused parts of rock and improvised jazz.

Remastered and cut to lacquer by Bernie Grundman from the original two-track mix down master tapes, this rare mono version of the LP returns to the original 11-song sequencing by Jimi and producer Chas Chandler that was issued throughout Europe in May 1967. In keeping with the custom of the day, recent single releases such as "Purple Haze" — no matter how commercially successful they had been — were not tacked on to album releases. Jimi instead presented 11 new songs to serve as his long-playing vinyl debut. In the place of "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe" and "The Wind Cries Mary," are "Red House," "Can You See Me" and "Remember."

For this reissue, Grundman's Los Angeles mastering facility was specially equipped with a Studer tape machine outfitted with a full-track mono head block. In addition, instead of utilizing the tape machine's more contemporary Studer electronics, Grundman refitted the machine with vintage Ampex 350 tube electronics. These technical alterations provided the closest possible approximation of the original 1967 Track Records mono mastering process. Grundman's all-analog mono mastering process helps to present the vitality of the original recordings as accurately as possible. Remarked engineer Eddie Kramer, who with Hendrix and producer Chas Chandler, created the original mono mixes more than 30 years ago:

"The entire cutting amplifier chain is tube and boy, does it sound good," he said. "There is tremendous punch to the sound."

The plating at Quality Record Pressings was done by Gary Salstrom, master plating technician and general manager for QRP. Each of the reissued monos is individually numbered and features original artwork and sequencing.