This is the gold mine of RARE ENGLISH IMPORT S. There is not many albums I own that are this hard to find in NEAR MINT condition 55 years after it s debut release in the UK. I play guitar and can appreciate the fine talent Jimi shows on Voodoo Chile and Voodoo Chile Slight Return. The whole 2 album set is Jimi at his most inventive and every song is original and shows his greatness as a song writer. Here is some background on the controversial album cover. A handful of British record stores took the Jimi Hendrix Experience s new album from their shelves, just weeks after it s release in 1968. The unusual thing is, Hendrix probably hated the racy Electric Ladyland cover art more than those retailers did.
Ladyland was a breakthrough album for Hendrix, as it was the first opportunity he got to produce an album to his liking, as opposed to relying on Chas Chandler and/or Eddie Kramer as before. As such, many experimental studio effects were employed, as well as a mass of guest musicians, including Traffic members Steve Winwood, Chris Wood and Dave Mason, as well as drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Jack Cassady.
He said the image of 19 naked women, which you can see here in all its NSFW glory, had nothing to do with him. Instead, Hendrix made it clear that his U.K. label, Track Records, was behind the artwork.
The album is seen as the strongest proof of Hendrix s mastery of the electric guitar, and is often cited as one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time.
Folks in Britain are kicking against the cover. Man, I don t blame them, Hendrix added. I wouldn t have put this picture on the sleeve myself, but it wasn t my decision. It s mostly all bullshit. Hendrix s late label boss Chris Stamp sent a photographer to a local speakeasy and offered the girls 5 to appear topless or 10 to go fully nude for the photo shoot, according to John Perry s Electric Ladyland book. Otherwise occupied overseas, Hendrix was completely unaware of the image.
Nobody involved seemed particularly impressed with the final results. It makes us look like a load of old tarts. It s rotten, Reine Sutcliffe, one of the models, later told Melody Maker. Everyone looked great, but the picture makes us look old and tired. We were trying to look too sexy, but it didn t work out.
Jimi Hendrix s Letter Over Electric Ladyland Controversy
The idea, of course, was to generate publicity. Perry points out, however, the ban was limited to a few provincial record ships in York, Hull and Bristol, and their decision sparked only minor coverage in the country s tabloid papers.
Besides, Electric Ladyland was one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of the year, and needed no help selling in large numbers.
The incident prompted Hendrix to write a detailed, quite passionate letter complete with sketches to his American record label, explaining exactly how he wanted the Electric Ladyland art to look when they released it. Reprise rejected his request, instead choosing the now famous red and yellow close-up of the guitarist s face for the cover.
Most of the photographs he sent were initially relegated to the inside panels. A 50th-anniversary box set of Electric Ladyland released in 2018 belatedly featured Hendrix s intended cover.
This is undoubtedly one of the most collectable albums in my huge selection of music from the Haight Ashbury hippie years and was only handled by me personally and only played long enough to record for posterity. Check out my photos of the records, all 4 sides look like they were bought yesterday. The album jacket got a few creases in it because the material was not as thick as most albums I have and the creases probably occurred when the albums in the stack were sorted thru. The jacket wear should be expected after owning it for almost 55 years. You will be buying an almost new classic album from undoubtedly one of the best guitar players to have ever lived. Thanks for your support.
Read More: 55 Years Ago: Jimi Hendrix s Nude Electric Ladyland Art Banned utmmediumreferral
