Friday, October 20, 2006

"Electric Ladyland" (1968) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience [update]

Here's the fourth installment of Album Covers Featuring Boobs: "Electric Ladyland" (1968) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Bursting with ideas and energy, Jimi Hendrix's second album release of 1968 was a double-LP set that showcased virtually everything the guitar genius had to offer: blistering blues ("Voodoo Chile"), galaxy-patrolling space jams ("1983... A Merman I Should Turn to Be"), psychedelic soul ("Crosstown Traffic"), and skyscraping rock ("Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"). In the midst of all this was even a hit song--Hendrix's remarkable reading of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," featuring a series of baton-passing guitar solos, all distinct and brilliant. Seemingly diffuse when first released; in hindsight, kaleidoscopically eclectic. --Billy Altman

Warning: judging by the album at Amazon the units of this album no longer shift with the original artwork. Fucking shame. If Hendrix was alive today he would rather piss on Wallmart than having his artwork changed to have it on their shelves.

This cover is from the UK edition. If you buy this album now it comes with a blurry head shot of Hendrix looking like he's about to come (or playing a high note during a solo), which according to the Hendrix estate is what he preferred.

The UK edition [..] came with a different and very controversial cover. With the artwork not reaching the UK in time to press the album, a cover of naked women lounging in front of a black background was issued in its place, causing considerable reaction. The US cover by Karl Ferris, which Hendrix had intended, has since become the official cover of Electric Ladyland internationally. Hendrix's family, who own the rights to the album and most of his catalogue, has stated that the original UK cover will not be used anymore since Hendrix did not himself like it.

Thanks to 'Anonymous' for pointing me here.

4 comments:

rob said...

yes !!! :-)

blogged :
Album Covers Featuring Boobs

Anonymous said...

Hate to break it to ya, but Hendrix didn't like that cover. (I know, hard to believe, right?) Check out the story at Wikipedia. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Ladyland) I love tits as much as the next guy, but there you go.

Anonymous said...

here's a couple of album covers that I spent some time looking at in my youth.

Bow wow wow

and The Plasmatics

Anonymous said...

FYI: The British music magazine Mojo published a tribute to psychedelia a few years back. It puts its table of contents below a two page spread of an alternate take of this version of the cover.