Axis: Bold as Love, the second album from The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell), originally released in December 1967, is the middle child of the trilogy of albums that introduced guitarist Jimi Hendrix to the world and often receives much less attention than the other two albums.
As detailed in an overview of the Bold As Love box set from 2025, the album was recorded quickly at Olympic Studios in London, following the startling group debut of Are You Experienced?, and was released just seven months after that album in the UK. Hendrix often lamented that the album was rushed, but a listen to it reveals a musician burning with inspiration as a songwriter, guitarist, and studio innovator. The album features some of Hendrix’s most beloved songs, including “Little Wing” and “Spanish Castles.”
Hendrix grew to love working in the studio, and this album takes some of the raw fury and guitar dazzle of Are You Experienced? and adds songs of great depth, often with more emphasis on mood and spirit than sheer guitar prowess. Hendrix was becoming more involved in shaping the sound of his music in the studio and did so on the album’s mix, alongside engineer Eddie Kramer and manager Chas Chandler. Unfortunately, side one of the album had to be remixed in one night at the last moment by Hendrix, Kramer, and Chandler, as Hendrix lost the master tape in a taxi. Over the years, those involved in the making of the album have said this added to the rushed nature of the album.
This new UHQR release of the album from Acoustic Sounds marks a slight departure in design for the UHQR package. The new outer box is a flip-open, clam-shell package with gold foil lettering, with the change being a flip-open design replacing the rounded dowel spine, slip-case box. Released previously in a UHQR package as a single-33 1/3 vinyl album, this set is a double 45- RPM Clarity vinyl set, with the two vinyl records in audiophile archival sleeves in a plastic sleeve.
Also included in the box is a certificate of authenticity on the patented and trademarked UHQR and Clarity Vinyl technology. There are also a four-page technical specifications manual, a six-page April, 2025 Acoustic Sounds catalog and, a real bonus in this set, a 24-page booklet that is totally different from the one in the 2025 Bold As Love box. There is also an exact replica of the original gatefold album jacket.
This was the last Hendrix album mixed for both mono and stereo. We will be reviewing the stereo edition, which is available in a run of 4,500 albums. The new UHQR reissue also comes in mono.
So the big question is, how does this UHQR release sound? While there have been some excellent reissues of this album on vinyl, CD, DVD, Blu-ray audio, and various audiophile formats over the years, the sound on these vinyl 45-RPM albums is a revelation.
Overall, the music has a plush smoothness, with no harshness, yet the dissonant guitar effects and grit have never sounded better. While both the mono and stereo mixes of this album have their pluses, this album is a treat in stereo. This release has a spatial dimension that is enveloping, which fortunately has virtually none of the harsh, forced separation and hard panning of instruments and vocals that could sometimes mar music from this period mixed in stereo, as true natural stereo mixing was still being perfected.
All of the instruments, vocals, and effects seem to be perfectly and seamlessly balanced. There are nuances here that were never so clear on previous releases. The way that Noel Redding plays with a pick comes out in many ways, particularly the seemingly contradictory visceral plucking effect on “Wait Until Tomorrow.” Also worth checking out is the purity of the chiming bells on “Little Wing.” Those are just a couple of examples of moments that can be heard like never before that make this such a thrilling listen. There is a grace to the music that has always been a hallmark of this album that has been both overlooked and grossly underrated.
The UHQR flat vinyl makes for a listening experience that brings out shades and tones of the music and how it was originally recorded. The pressing process guarantees no surface noise, and with a recording like this, where the music is a living, breathing soundscape, common vinyl distracts from the listening experience. Add to this the elimination of carbon black tinting with the Clarity Vinyl off-white pressing, and no other vinyl record is this quiet.
Listening to this extraordinary, technologically superior reissue, one can almost imagine that Hendrix might have envisioned a future in which this kind of high-quality reissue sound could replicate his studio vision. There is something so natural about the sound here, even given how experimental, innovative, and otherworldly some of the electronic studio ideas inherent in this album were at the time. Studio technology can sometimes just be gimmicky, or it can mask or overwhelm the music. The same could be said for some audio formats. This is a case where the height of ’60s studio innovation meets the best modern sound replication.
Axis: Bold As Love on UHQR; what an experience!
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
