The US version contained some of Hendrix's best known songs, including the Experience's first three singles, which, though omitted from the British edition of the LP, were top ten hits in the UK: "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe", and "The Wind Cries Mary".

[35][nb 3] Although Chandler enjoyed working at CBS and he appreciated the high quality of the recordings they made there, he ended his professional connection with the studio after a disagreement between him and owner Jake Levy over his failure to make payment.

[43] After a three-week break from recording while they played gigs in England, including a December 29 appearance on Top of the Pops, the Experience reconvened at De Lane Lea on January 11, 1967.

"[47] At the same January 11 session the Experience worked on the single's B-side, "51st Anniversary", a song that marked their first use of overdubbing in lieu of retakes as a method of achieving a satisfactory track.

[48] Chandler had decided that they should discard the rough version of "Third Stone from the Sun" from December 13 and re-record the song; they completed a basic track for the piece, but were unable to achieve a finished master.

[50] Without the benefit of rehearsals, the band recorded the song in one take, to which Hendrix added several guitar overdubs; Chandler estimated that they spent approximately 20 minutes on the completed rhythm track.

[51] Chandler was dissatisfied with the sound quality of the January 11 recordings and frustrated by the large number of noise complaints that they had received from people living and working near De Lane Lea.

[58] During the session, they worked on the De Lane Lea master tape of "Fire", replacing everything except Redding's bass line, which he double-tracked in an effort to accentuate the recording's lower frequencies.

[59] Hendrix was not as confident a singer as he was a guitarist, and because he strongly disliked anyone watching him sing he asked the engineers at Olympic to construct a privacy barrier between him and the control room.

[60] As was the case at De Lane Lea, Hendrix's penchant for using multiple amplifiers at extreme volume drew criticism and complaints from the people living and working near to the studio.

[67] Although the song had long been a staple of the group's live show, they failed to achieve an acceptable basic track, owing mostly to Mitchell's inability to keep consistent time during the session.

[72] On this date the band worked on another newly written Hendrix composition, "Manic Depression"; they finished a rough mix by the end of the session that was later rejected in favor of a re-mix completed at Olympic.

[74] As the album's title track featured backwards rhythm guitar, bass, and drums, replication of the beat caused Mitchell some consternation when attempting the song live.

On April 5, Chandler participated in a mastering session at Rye Muse Studios for "Highway Chile" and "The Wind Cries Mary", during which preparations were made so that Track could begin manufacturing records.

[87] The album's psychedelic title track, which author Sean Egan described as impressionistic, featured the post-modern soundscapes of backwards guitar and drums that pre-date scratching by 10 years.

[90][nb 8] Whereas "Fire" is a funk and soul hybrid driven by Mitchell's drumming, "May This Be Love" and "The Wind Cries Mary" are soft ballads that demonstrate Hendrix's ability to write thoughtful lyrics and subtle melodies.

[97] Using his guitar's control knob, he slowly increases volume until an audio feedback loop develops and he slides into the song's implied dominant seventh sharp ninth chord.

[100] Its blues–inspired solo—his fourth since arriving in England—used pentatonic scales while showcasing his innovative approach to melody; by exploiting the increased sustain created by overdriving his amplifiers, he moved seamlessly between the middle and high registers with a fluid, singing tone.

[100] Author Peter Doggett compared its slow beat to Memphis soul; David Stubbs described the track as a prototype for heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath.

[107] The Catholic Church prohibited medieval composers of religious music from using the tritone, or flattened fifth, because as musicologist Dave Whitehill wrote: "to play it was like ringing Satan's doorbell.

"[108] Whereas Rolling Stone described the song as the beginning of late-1960s psychedelia, the authors Harry Shapiro and Caesar Glebbeek identified Hendrix's use of R&B, funk, and soul elements in the track.

[109] In 1967, Hendrix told the journalist Keith Altham that "Third Stone from the Sun" is about a visiting space alien who, upon evaluation of the human species, decides that people are not fit to rule Earth, destroys their civilization, and places the planet in the care of chickens.

[133][nb 12] The third Experience single, "The Wind Cries Mary" backed by "Highway Chile", was released in the UK on May 5, 1967, while "Purple Haze" occupied the number three spot in the charts.

[134] The management's decision to release the single while the previous one was still present in the UK charts was unorthodox, as was the choice of "The Wind Cries Mary", which differed greatly from "Purple Haze".

He insisted that the event would be incomplete without Hendrix, whom he called "an absolute ace on the guitar", and he agreed to join the board of organizers on the condition that the Experience perform at the festival in mid-June.

[143] Although the single performed poorly in the US charts, its presence on underground FM radio stations, which were transitioning from easy listening and classical music formats to album cuts, significantly aided sales of the LP.

[160] However, not all contemporary writers gave the LP a favorable review; in November 1967, Rolling Stone's Jon Landau wrote that although he considered Hendrix a "great guitarist and a brilliant arranger", he disapproved of his singing and songwriting.

[163] Noe Goldwasser, the founding editor of Guitar World magazine, called it "a veritable textbook of what a musician can do with his instrument" and "the measure by which everything ... in rock and roll has been compared since.

[166] Critic Robert Christgau called it a "bombshell debut" in his review for Blender and said its songs were innovative for how they utilized three-minute pop structures as a medium for Hendrix's unprecedentedly heavy and turbulent guitar and loud, powerful hooks, which greatly appealed to young listeners.

[180] Both were reissued with minor changes in 1989–1991 and the Reprise release CD sleeve included "Digital re-mastering by Joe Gastwirt, assisted by Dave Mitson using the Sonic Solutions NoNoise System, under the supervision of Are You Experienced?