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''Axis: Bold as Love'' is the second studio album by English-American rock band the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded to fulfill the Experience's contract, which stated that they must produce two records in 1967. ''Axis: Bold as Love'' was first released in the United Kingdom by Track Records in December 1967, as the follow-up to the band's successful debut ''Are You Experienced'', which had been released months earlier in May. It was not sold in the United States until 1968 because of the record company's fears that it might disturb the sales of the first album. ''Axis: Bold as Love'' charted at number five in the UK and number three in the US. Just before the album's completion, Hendrix left the master tapes of side one in a taxi. They were never found again, and thus the A-side had to be mixed again quickly. ==Recording== Following the completion of ''Are You Experienced'' at the end of April, 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience continued their schedule of regular recording sessions, returning to Olympic Studios in London on May 4, to begin composing material for a follow-up LP. With Chas Chandler as producer, Eddie Kramer as engineer, and George Chkiantz as second engineer, the band started the session by working on a Noel Redding original that he had written about hippies titled, "She's So Fine". It featured back-ground vocals that were performed by Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell; Redding later recalled that Hendrix was enthusiastic to record the song because it was written in A with an open G chord that he enjoyed playing. They achieved a working master on the 23rd take, over which Redding overdubbed his lead vocal. The band also made initial recordings of what would become "If Six was Nine", using the working titles of "Section A" and "Section B" to identify its two distinct segments. During a session that took place the following day, Hendrix and Mitchell improved "Section B", now titled "Symphony of Experience", by re-recording most of their guitar and drum parts. A reduction mix prepared by Kramer made room for additional overdubs, including Hendrix's lead vocal, backing vocals, and a percussion effect created by Chandler, Hendrix, and guests Graham Nash and Gary Leeds stomping their feet on a drum platform. As an additional oddity, Hendrix played a recorder on the track, achieving what they considered a satisfactory sound despite his complete lack of formal training with the instrument. Also recorded during these sessions was the experimental track "EXP". In the span of two days, the group recorded basic tracks for seven compositions, though only three of them were included on the album. On May 9, the Experience reconvened at Olympic with Chandler, Kramer, and Chkiantz. Hendrix had been curious about a harpsichord that was stored in the facility's Studio A, so on this day he sat at the instrument and began writing "The Burning of the Midnight Lamp", a song that became the fourth UK single for the Experience. Hendrix attempted four takes before stopping for the day, producing a rough demo that was approximately a minute and a half in length. On May 10, the band performed their latest single, "The Wind Cries Mary", on the BBC television program ''Top of the Pops''. After a month-long break from the studio while they played gigs in Europe, the Experience returned to Olympic on Jun 5. They devoted the session to a new Hendrix song titled "Cat Talking to Me", recording 17 takes before deciding that the second was the superior version, to which they added guitar and percussion overdubs after Kramer prepared a reduction mix. Although the song showed promise, no further work was completed on the track, which remains unreleased. On June 18, 1967, the Experience made their US debut at the Monterey Pop Festival. Immediately after the festival, Bill Graham's booked them for a series of five concerts at the Fillmore. While they were in California, Chandler booked session time for June 28, 29, and 30th at Houston Studios in Los Angeles. Although they worked on "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" and a new Hendrix composition, "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice", they abandoned the inferior recordings. Chandler commented: "I booked three days there because I was told it was a state-of-the-art studio, but it was dire. The place was like a rehearsal studio compared to Olympic. Los Angeles was so far behind at that time." After a week of performances in Los Angeles and New York, time was booked at Mayfair Studios for July 6 and 7. ''Axis: Bold As Love'' scheduled release date was almost delayed when Hendrix lost the master tape of side one of the LP, leaving it in the back seat of a London taxi. With the deadline looming, Hendrix, Chas Chandler, and engineer Eddie Kramer remixed most of side one in a single overnight session, but they could not match the quality of the lost mix of "If 6 Was 9". Bassist Noel Redding had a tape recording of this mix, which had to be smoothed out with an iron as it had gotten wrinkled.〔; .〕 During the verses, Hendrix doubled his singing with a guitar line which he played one octave lower than his vocals. Hendrix voiced his disappointment about having re-mixed the album so quickly, and he felt that it could have been better had they been given more time. Although Kramer was always patient with Hendrix, who often demanded numerous re-takes, by October 1967, Chandler had grown weary of the guitarist's perfectionism. Noel Redding was also frustrated by Hendrix's repeated demands for re-takes, and he began to resent Hendrix's explicit instructions regarding what he played in the studio. Hendrix and Mitchell had begun to express their opinions regarding creative choices that had been left up to Chandler during the recording of ''Are You Experienced''. Mitchell commented: "''Axis'' was the first time that it became apparent that Jimi was pretty good working behind the mixing board, as well as playing, and had some positive ideas of how he wanted things recorded. It could have been the start of any potential conflict between him and Chas in the studio."〔: (primary source); : (secondary source).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Axis: Bold as Love」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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