The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them. There will be a new album and review each Thursday (or there about).

Are You Experienced is another album in this series of reviews that I’ve heard so much that it’s become second nature to me. Without blinking, I can tell you where the guitar solos start, sing along to the lyrics, and play air drums like a pro. I guess I should thank my family for having such great music around as I grew up.

Still, there are some songs on Jimi Hendrix’s album that aren’t as memorable to me as such classics as “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” or “Foxy Lady.” It’s not that these songs aren’t any good. I just haven’t given them the proper respect as others. I like the way “Love or Confusion” is balanced in its chaos by the mellow and soulful “May This be Love.” “Third Stone From the Sun” is the seductive lead-up to the carnality of “Foxy Lady.” Finally, “Red House” is the perfect closer to an album that makes you sweat and see visions over and over again. It holds you and says you’re back home, that all these songs come from the same root.

It’s a grod (halfway between great and good) album for me. I don’t normally reach for it to listen to for pleasure, but I don’t turn off the songs when they come on the radio, either. And most of the time, I’d rather hear The Cure’s cover of “Foxy Lady” if given the chance.

Please visit these other blogs participating in The Rewind Button project: