A truly stunning album, easily one of the best first efforts by any group, any time.
There's not much to be said apart from that, but the musicianship and songs are marvellous. Mitch's drumming is superb throughout and Noel's under-rated bass playing is solid but inventive.
Hendrix never really surpassed this in terms of its freshness and general impact, although he steadily grew as a musician after its release. The variety on the album is unsurpassed, except by The Beatles: jazz (Third Stone from the Sun); blues (Red House); R&B soul (Fire, Remember), even a hard rock waltz (Manic Depression) and a surf song (May This Be Love).
There are two re-issues of this album around. The best has the original UK running order, starting with Foxy Lady, and the six bonus tracks (Hey Joe, Purple Haze, etc) at the end of the CD. It also has the original UK cover, which is a bit daggy.
The other issue has the US running order, which has Purple Haze as its first track, and then the six bonus tracks (Red House, Can You See Me, etc) at the end. This has the 'fish eye' cover, which is more suited to the music.
You get the same songs, but the UK issue has the running order as Hendrix intended. Both versions have the same sound, remastered by Eddie Kramer, Jimi's original engineer.
