AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE

It is the 42nd aniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s American release of ‘Axis: Bold as Love’ recording.  This often overlooked powerful contemporary groundbreaking artistry is unique and shows Hendrix at his best with both the poetry of his lyrics and powerful and emoting guitar antics that made him the innovator that to this day, no one has come close to copying, even with all of the advancement in electronics. He among others such as Jeff Beck, used the natural feedback of overdriven amplifiers to produce harmonic overtones and controlled them to produce sounds unheard of for that time. not to mention playing with his teeth, behind his back and setting his guitar on fire..but when Eric Clapton came to see him in England – (as he wasn’t accepted here in the States in the beginning of his career). Their chance came when Paul McCartney recommended the group to John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas, one of the principal organizers of the Monterey International Pop Festival) – Hendrix asked Clapton to tune his guitar for him, because he always had a hard time doing it himself. Bending those strings so violently would always cause them to go out of tune. Note: In an interview Clapton recalled this incident and was ’embarrassed’ to do so in front of the audience.

 The lyrics reflect emotional ideas in terms of color- Hendrix stated, in explanation of his color-emotion interpretations, “Jealousy is purple; I’m purple with rage…”, paralleling the lyrical reference to the “purple armor” of a personified anger. ‘Little Wing’ is the Indian name of Hendrix’s guardian angel. Jimi himself said that it was his impression of the Monterey Pop Festival put into the form of a girl. It was also one of Hendrix’s most covered songs by other artists such as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Phish, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Skid Row, Sting and the Irish band The Corrs.

Here in full from 1967 are the lyrics to the title song ‘Bold as Love.’

Bold As Love

Anger he smiles, towering in shiny metallic purple armor

Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him

Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

Blue are the life giving waters taking for granted

They quietly understand.

Once happy Turquoise armies lay opposite ready

But wonder why the fight is on

But they’re all bold as love they’re all bold as love

they’re all bold as love

 Just ask the Axis

My Red is so confident

He flashes trophies of war and ribbons of euphoria

Orange is young, full of daring But very unsteady for the first go round

My Yellow in this case is not so mellow

In fact I’m trying to say that it’s frightened like me

 And all this emotions of mine keep holding me from giving my life to a rainbow like you

 But I’m, yeah, I’m bold as love

Well, I’m bold, bold as love I’m bold as love

Just ask the Axis, he knows everything, yeah, yeah, yeah……….

 and just for the fun of it from the same album ‘If a 6 Was a 9’

If 6 Was 9 If the sun refuse to shine I don’t mind I don’t mind

If the mountains fell in the sea, Let it be It ain’t me

Got my own world to look thru, And I ain’t gonna copy you

Now if 6 turned out to be 9, I don’t mind I don’t mind

If all the hippies cut off all their hair, I don’t care I don’t care

Dig it Got my own world to look thru, And I ain’t gonna copy you

White collared conservative flashing down the street

Pointing their plastic fingers at me

They’re hoping soon my kind will drop and die

But I’m gonna wave my freak flag high, high

Fall mountain, just don’t fall on me Hello, Mr. Businessman, why you ain’t dressed like me?

I’m the one who has to die when it’s time for me to die

So let me live my life the way I want to

Sing on, brother,

Play on, drummer

UC AT SANTA CRUZ IS VERY GRATEFUL (DEAD) UPDATE

The surviving members of the sixties Bay area band, The Grateful Dead, are now in partnership with the University of Santa Cruz and will be giving them a warehouse full of memorabilia collected over 40 years for a permanent collection of what the university calls music and “social justice and tolerance and community spirit.”  Their music will not be part of the donation but will include backdrops from concerts, photos, and many other items that the university is calling “Dead Central.”  Considering that Santa Cruz has alway maintained a gestalt of the “the land that time forgot” throughout the 80’s and to present day, it is fitting to have this pop culture memorabilia on display there. 

For more go to: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9036864 AND http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9050818