"[11] Redding, who had formed his own band in mid-1968, Fat Mattress, found it increasingly difficult to fulfill his commitments with the Experience, so Hendrix played many of the bass parts.

[13] Hendrix experimented with other combinations of musicians, including Jefferson Airplane's Jack Casady and Traffic's Steve Winwood, who played bass and organ, respectively, on the 15-minute slow-blues jam "Voodoo Chile".

[10] In March 1968, he was joined onstage at the Scene Club in New York by Jim Morrison of the Doors[14] and in early April, Hendrix appeared at an impromptu jam with B.B.

[15] According to music critic Jim DeRogatis, Electric Ladyland is "a sprawling exploration of the studio as a place to create what [Hendrix] called 'sound paintings.

"[17] Uncut magazine's John Robinson said that its music reconciles the psychedelic pop of Hendrix's earlier recordings with the aggressive funk he would explore on his 1970 album Band of Gypsys.

[18] During its recording, Kramer experimented with innovative studio techniques such as backmasking, chorus effect, echo, and flanging, which AllMusic's Cub Koda said recontextualized Hendrix's psychedelic and funk sounds on the album.

It includes examples of several genres and styles of music: the psychedelic "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", a UK single the previous summer (1967), the extended blues jam "Voodoo Chile", the New Orleans-style R&B of Earl King's "Come On", the epic studio production of "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)", the social commentary of "House Burning Down", and the sixties-era British pop of Noel Redding's "Little Miss Strange".

[37] Electric Ladyland confounded contemporary critics; reviewers praised some of its songs but felt the album lacked structure and sounded too dense.

[38] Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1968, Tony Glover said Hendrix's original songs sometimes sound unstructured and was somewhat disappointed by the "heavy handed guitar" on "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" and the science-fiction conclusion to "House Burning Down".

[39] Robert Christgau was more enthusiastic in Stereo Review, regarding it as an explosive showcase of rock's "most important recent innovation"—the "heavy" guitar aesthetic—and "an integrated work-in-itself in more ways than one".

[41] Over time, Electric Ladyland's critical standing improved significantly, with author and musicologist John Perry describing it as "one of the greatest double-albums in Rock.

"[51] According to author Michael Heatley, "most critics agree" that the album was "the fullest realization of Jimi's far-reaching ambitions"; Guitar World editor Noe Goldwasser called it his greatest work.

[54] In a retrospective review for Blender, Christgau wrote that it was the definitive work of psychedelic music,[43] describing the record as "an aural utopia that accommodates both ingrained conflict and sweet, vague spiritual yearnings, held together by a master musician".

[55] In Charlotte Greig's opinion, much like Are You Experienced, Electric Ladyland was "groundbreaking, introducing audiences to a style of psychedelic rock rooted in the blues".