Jimi Hendrix Experience — Smash Hits

Author: tracysigler | Posted: January 28th, 2008 | | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Jimi Hendrix Experience -- Smash Hits

  • Artist: Jimi Hendrix
  • Title: Smash Hits
  • Year: 1979
  • Format: Vinyl 12 in.
  • Rating (1-10): 10
  • Owner: Tracy
  • Acquired: 1979
  • Keeper: Yes

That’s one cool dude on the cover. And speaking of cool dudes, this album was a birthday present from my Dad, a/k/a “Mr. Cool.” Just ask my Mom. I had some singles, you know, vinyl seven inches, that I had accumulated, but this was my very first full length album. That’s right, the first of thousands of records. And I can’t think of a better album or artist to start a record collection. I’m eternally grateful for my father pointing me in the right music direction. I liked Hendrix from what I heard on the radio, but this record was not something I asked for. It was his idea.

For me, Hendrix brings together everything I love most about music. Art, innovation, guitar mastery, blues, funk, acid rock, and the moments of cathartic heaviness that I just need to survive. Smash Hits by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is one of the most played records I own, and the vinyl shows the wear and tear. But it still sounds great. I did a decent job maintaining it for a 13 year old.

My favorite from this collection is a song I think was less of a hit than the others, “Stone Free.”

A little something different from Jimi.