The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)

“Analogue Productions and a few other vinyl-oriented labels are indeed pursuing sonic excellence with their reissues. Done right, this requires attention to every facet of the audio and physical-media production chain. (This) new copy of Are You Experienced is immaculately flat — a fully flat profile is one of the virtues of the Clarity Vinyl process — and visually transparent, with a well-centered spindle hole. Surface noise is almost nonexistent, contributing to outstanding detail and texture. Those black backgrounds viscerally enhance the huge dynamic range of this recording and the resulting impact. … I did a three-way vinyl comparison: my original Reprise stereo copy from 1967, the 2010 stereo version remastered by Eddie Kramer, and this new UHQR issue. The tracks on Are You Experienced vary in the amount and depth of bass due to choices made during the recording and mixing. On this new UHQR LP, when the low end is there, it’s just beautiful — as at the beginning of ‘The Wind Cries Mary.’ Another big winner is the sound and definition of Mitch Mitchell’s drums; his jazzy attack on ‘Third Stone from the Sun’ is a shining example. When Jimi leans in, as he does on ‘Foxy Lady,’ it doesn’t sound like he’s bending a string; it sounds like he’s tying his guitar into knots. … On the system I have now, with this pressing, I can experience at least a heavy echo of the energy I felt when I first encountered the album all those years ago.” — Revinylization by Sasha Matson, Stereophile, August 2022

“… the copies that arrived with me were as perfect vinyl pressings as possible. … The booklet is now expanded to 20 pages. … (It) now includes a number of extra photographs along with additional essays from Brad Tolinski and John McDermott to sit with the original Dave Marsh essay. … What was apparent from the off, once the needle hit the clarity vinyl, this vinyl pressing was dead silent. Over all, unquestionably a pressing to the highest standard; as quiet as a physical pressing you could wish for which in turn allowed the vinyl formula’s black background to deliver on its part, flat and centered. These points allowed the record to shine in its own right. The flat profile was noticeable once again with no deviation from delivery from start to end of each side. … Grundman’s part in bringing this to us as is — well, it’s been a long time coming, but worth the wait — 20,000 copies is not many, really. This is unlikely to be presented any better any time soon if ever.” — Gordon Johnson, jmhvinyl.co.uk, April 9, 2022. Read the entire review here.

“…sonically (prior editions) can’t touch this new Bernie Grundman mastering using the original tapes and pressed UHQR flat profile on 200g Clarity vinyl at QRP. I compared this new version to the original and to all of the other Experience Hendrix reissues and Bernie’s got them all beat in terms of dynamics, three-dimensionality and especially transparency — a quality I never thought to assign this recording but one listen will convince you that it’s there. I’ve been playing this record in one version or another since August of 1967 and I knew there was a ‘mouth pop’ on ‘Purple Haze’ but nonetheless when it came I jumped and adrenaline flowed so present and 3 dimensional was the ‘pop.’ This is one of the classic albums from the rock era and it’s never sounded this good. This version will most likely never be bettered” —  Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 – Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read Fremer’s full review here.

Analogue Productions presents another UHQR classic title — Jimi Hendrix’s classic Are You Experienced. And working together with Quality Record Pressings, this reissue is a true collector’s gem — an Ultra High Quality Record (UHQR) release!

This stereo UHQR reissue will be limited to 20,000 copies, with gold foil individually numbered jackets.

When it was first released in 1967, Are You Experienced turned the music world upside down, as Hendrix showed everyone exactly what it meant to be “experienced.” Hendrix synthesized various elements of the cutting edge of 1967 rock into music that sounded both futuristic and rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul. It was his mind-boggling guitar work, of course, that got most of the ink, charting new sonic territories in feedback, distortion, and sheer volume. It wouldn’t have meant much, however, without his excellent material, whether psychedelic frenzy (“Foxey Lady,” “Manic Depression,” “Purple Haze”), instrumental freak-out jams (“Third Stone from the Sun”), blues (“Hey Joe”), or tender, poetic compositions (“The Wind Cries Mary”) that demonstrated the breadth of his songwriting talents. Not to be underestimated were the contributions of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, who gave the music a rhythmic pulse that fused parts of rock and improvised jazz.

Jimi’s thoughts on the recasting of his debut album in the U.S. by Reprise Records, who added “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Purple Haze” and “Hey Joe” to the original 11-track list, aren’t entirely known. But Jimi did vocalize his frustration during later stage performances that “Red House,” his superb original blues composition, had been pulled from the U.S. album.

The U.S. track version released in August 1967. Included are the group’s first three U.K. singles “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe” and “The Wind Cries Mary.”

This UHQR is remastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman from the original analog master tapes. Each UHQR will be pressed at Acoustic Sounds’ industry-leading pressing plant Quality Record Pressings (QRP) using hand-selected Clarity Vinyl® with attention paid to every single detail. These records will feature the same flat profile that helped to make the original UHQR so desirable. From the lead-in groove to the run-out groove, there is no pitch to the profile, allowing the customer’s stylus to play truly perpendicular to the grooves from edge to center. Clarity Vinyl allows for the purest possible pressing and the most visually stunning presentation. Every UHQR will be hand inspected upon pressing completion, and only the truly flawless will be allowed to go to market. Each UHQR will be packaged in a deluxe box and will include a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a hand-signed certificate of inspection. This will be a truly deluxe, collectible product.

More About Clarity Vinyl

As we set out to make the world’s best vinyl record, we began by establishing a set of exacting standards to address all of the components that comprise an LP. We call our records made under these strict standards Ultra High Quality Records (UHQR). Most audiophiles would understand that the list of critical components in UHQR includes recording, mastering, plating, pressing and quality control. But some may stop short of considering the raw material used to make the record: the vinyl itself.

We did some research and learned some interesting things about the history of the iconic black vinyl record. The most compelling revelation to us was the fact that LP vinyl is not black in its pure state. The off-white color of the record you are about to listen to is the color of raw vinyl in its purest form (un-tinted vinyl). The black color you’re used to seeing is a colorant called “carbon black” that was part of the original compound formulation used in old shellac records. As vinyl compound replaced shellac-based compound, carbon black continued to be used as a colorant. We’ve expected our records to be black ever since.

To make the ultimate record, we decided to enhance sound quality by removing anything we believed could detract from it. Record styli vibrate (or jitter) on a microscopic level, and any particles of carbon black pigment that happen to be on the surface of the groove could introduce surface noise. By not adding carbon black to our Clarity Vinyl, we eliminate the possibility of noise contamination due to carbon black particles. Instead, your stylus is allowed to effortlessly slide down a glossy and silky smooth groove wall.

When we purchased Classic Records, the brand name Clarity Vinyl® came with it. We’re proud to have resurrected, refined and trademarked Clarity Vinyl, the perfect canvas for our masterpiece: vinyl in its purest form.