Customer Reviews

Are You Experienced?: The Inside Story Of The Jimi Hendrix Experience

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I picked this up as soon as it was released in the US (which I thought was '92 but Amazon lists as '96). The lasting impression from the first read was all about the bitterness and misfortune Noel Redding had endured during and after his tenure with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Since that first read, I've occasionally used it as a reference, but only for the occasional spot-check.

After reading the new and exceptional Jimi Hendrix: Musician by Keith Shadwick, I knew it was time to give this and other core Hendrix books a fresh look. I'm glad I did. The nearly continuous bitterness, which I found stifling on the first go round did not irritate as much during this re-read. Thus I managed to get past that aspect and see more of the less obvious side of the book. This really is essential reading for those wanting to know more about Jimi and his music.

Noel was a dependable diary-keeper during his Experience days and thus has helped immensely to solidify the fact base for the groups lifetime. One one hand, you could argue that given the impressive record of substance abuse, how reliable are diary notes of the perpetually wasted and hung over but the answer is: more than historical comments made by those that weren't there. And therein lies the true value of this book: Noel was there. Although he may have had concerns about his treatment that added to the already mountainous stress endured by an overworked band, his perspectives, like those of Mitch and Jimi, have helped to frame the picture - to put the dirt on the soles of the work shoes as it were.

So the bottom line is that I encourage anyone interested in the real Jimi Hendrix story to read this book (and others as well). Sure, there is bias, but so what? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, especially the people that were THERE.

Rest in peace, Noel.

Although this is indeed not a particularly well written book, (and I thought Jessica's review was hilarious), you have to bear in mind that Noel was a bass player, not a writer. This is Noel's story and pretty essential reading for any Hendrix fan. Noel clearly, dearly loved Jimi and understood him well and had a good perspective and balance on his character, and events that happened. But obviously he had his opinon.

What struck me most is that it's a real eye opener as to what being a successful musician is like. I also think any budding musician should read this-so they can find out exactly what they're letting themselves in for. It is so easy to imagine the life of a successful musician as glamourous when it's far from it. Even after The Experience were famous they were still going to gigs sitting in the back of a van on the top of the equipment, with their heads banging on the ceiling. Not the fur coat and limo people would perhaps envisage. Although it goes to show that despite no sleep, no time off, no money, and barely the chance of a decent meal, at least a man that looked like "Bob Dylan's grandmother" as Jimi called him, could get more action than Frank Sinatra probably ever did.

Yes, it's full of these boring detailed lists that Redding liked to make of various expenses, but despite this it's still a very entertaining book and the man has a great sense of humour. It's very unfair that Noel never got his money, but if you read this you can see in the end he had what money could never buy-real friends away from the sharks of the music industry, and the love and support of his family. I personaly wouldn't begrudge him a single penny he made from this book. I was very saddened when I heard he died a while back. RIP Noel.

I put off reading this for years due to hearing from friends who were turned off by the problems the late Noel Redding had getting paid for his contributions to the music of the Experience band. It was worth the read and is a good companion piece to Mitch Mitchell's book about his Experience years. As mentioned in other reviews the writing isn't the best and the last third of the book does go into mind numbing detail of how he was denied royalties on music he helped create that appeared on the 3 albums of JHE.
Noel is pretty honest about his over the top self medicating abuse but there is also there is some humor here in the life of a musican starting out. Some fascinating observations from someone who was there, such as his opinion that as much as everyone loved Jimi Hendrixes guitar playing; it was his intimate talk/singing vocal work that created an atmosphere that really drew people in. Noel probably weighed not a whole lot over 125 pounds and had a somewhat quiet and nasal singing and talking style, but here's a guy that took a bus to an audition as a very young man and was soon touring the world with 2 of the top musicians of the era and holding his own on bass with a dirty driving tone and plenty of inventive ideas of his own . If you like the intro to the song The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, the title of the song Midnight Lightning or the guitar introduction to the song Freedom , they are just a few of the examples of the many things Noel brought to the party and did not receive credit for.
Noels comments that it was the 3rd tour that finished the JHE group off explain why the 2 shows I saw them do in 1968 were unfortunately just not that memorable musically although the first one was exciting. Plus it was way better than going to the high school homecoming dance the same night

This book focuses on what happened inside the Experience, musically and financially in a way that a non-member of the group could not know. Noel is at times obsessed with past injustices, but to not present it all in this manner would make it seem like "whining". There is good advice to musicians, even today, of things to be careful of: drugs, contracts, agents, etc. I bought this at the same time as Mitch Mitchell's book. Mitch's book had better pictures, and certainly gave a glimpse of the time with Jimi after Noel left, but I liked this one just as well. I wish Noel the best, and now I'm going to order a CD or two, and hope he sees some royalty from that!!!

This is a book written with a unique insiders perspective on a subject near and dear to many of us; the amazing and brief run of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. There are several chapters that go into detail about that aspect. The touring, recording and publicity (including drunken escapades) of the band from it's formation in '66 to it's demise (Redding's departure) in '69. The rest is an endless list of litigation as Noel and Mitch (seperatley)try to get an accounting of the proceeds due them from thier efforts. It IS a sad story and there is little doubt that they were all abused by management on several levels. Not to mention ripped off on a colossal scale. But it winds on and on, parallel in course to Reddings physical and mental decline as his resentment and bitterness over the sad state of his affairs joined forces with his evident and admitted alcoholic life style. It's hard not to feel for him but it goes on & on until I was just counting pages to the end. As a true believer, I found parts of the book entrertaining & informative but most of it bleak & depressing. If you're in the bizz, the message is clear, don't sign anything you do not understand!

As always, when dealing with books on legendary people like Hendrix, you're better off with something written by someone who was actually *there*. And Noel Redding certainly was there.

Certainly one of the best books I've read on Hendrix.

This book is a must for in-depth Hendrix fans wanting to know everything about the group. One thing it is good for is illustrating a Folkestone-centered section of English rock 'n roll musical history of the late 1950's and early 60's. If you've read Philip Norman's 'John Lennon: The Life' you'll understand how interesting this nascent British rock 'n roll formative era was along with its fresh enthusiasm. Noel exposes an even more esoteric niche of this history in his encounters with the popular rock 'n rollers of the day and what they went through to try to make it. Interesting is the shear randomness of Noel turning-down a position with Manfred Mann shortly before being teamed with Hendrix. If Noel had taken the gig he would have joined those other modest forgotten names in British rock history he lists.

The book suffers from the fact it was translated by Noel to his long-term companion Carol from years-old memories and could have been fleshed-out more with better-written and embellished accounts. Noel was an unassuming guitarist who happened by pure luck to be drafted into the greatest rock band in history. Noel's somewhat nerdy, gloomy, depressed personality actually aided the chemistry of the band by assuring his invisibility compared to the sensational Hendrix. The flip side of this was Noel's subordinate position in the band caused a building resentment that was only made worse by the dishonesty of the management - which, thanks to Noel's personality, was recorded by the diary-keeping bass player. In hindsight, Noel could have helped his situation by understanding what he was a part of and working with it. Redding actually helped aid the band's chemistry by being the unintrusive support behind the wizard guitarist whose style was enhanced by not having any competing bass interfering with the singular Hendrix sound.

In the end Noel was another casualty of Hendrix manager Michael Jeffery's treachery. Despite the personal conflicts caused by the demands of the Experience, the real driving wedge between Noel and the band was Michael Jeffery's mis-management. Noel was asked to leave after he asked what exactly was becoming of the suitcases of cash Jeffery was smuggling to the Bahamas. Jimi didn't defend him because Noel had become a symbol of Michael Jeffery's money-making arrangement. By separating from Noel Jimi was making his first moves to separate from Jeffery. With all this in mind it was hard for already-subjected Noel to also accomodate being royally-screwed by Jeffery. While some see Noel as dwelling on the negative, truth is he experienced something that most people wouldn't bear. The fact he was expected to live up to this sensational Hendrix image as a member only accented the violation. Noel was part of a magic band and held up his end during the band's most creative period, for this he was rewarded by being insulted, ignored, and denied the credit and compensation he deserved. When Hendrix died others needed Noel to become even more invisible. Noel tries to express this in the sagely sarcastic title "Are You Experienced?" - well Noel tells us "Yes, he is!" lol.

The book offers a rather limited and subdued version of the Experience years mostly because of the passage of time before the book's writing, but also because it was translated to Redding's defacto wife who couldn't really be told the worst of the details in the way they were experienced. Gentlemanly Noel, who was no prude and consumed the 60's as much as anyone, probably couldn't offer them too forthrightly as they happened, but also the memories were filtered by Noel's overall experience which wasn't a pleasant one. Never the less the insider memories of being in the Experience are there and worth hearing. After the book was published and shortly before his death Noel Redding was suing the Hendrix Company for 5 million dollars. If you read the book you'll realize he had a just claim and deserved every penny after being duped into settling for only $100,000 in 1974.

While some criticize Noel for taking notes and emphasizing the business end, truth is if it wasn't for Noel and his pursuit of his rights, and thanks to his resentful grudging personality, we would never have the detailed accounts of Jeffery's trickery shown in this book. This book will appeal to a small group of dedicated Hendrix fans and researchers because it is one of the few sources for records of Jeffery's bastardly doings. In the end it is a rare source for a much-needed account of the unseen side of the Experience as experienced by one of its most inside sources. Too bad Noel succumbed to one of the downsides incurred by this 'experience' in 2003. Since then a lot has happened as far as Jeffery and how what Noel experienced led to Jimi's death.

An interesting book for those who want to know more about the Rock 'n Roll lifestyle of the 1960's. Or for those who remember Jimi Hendrix and his experience. However, Noel did get into way too much detail (which was hard to follow) on the legal & financial details - yes I know he was bitter about the lack of money getting to him & Mitch Mitchell but it makes about 25% of the book turgid and boring. Still worth reading though.

I had high hopes for this book. For the first 150 or so pages it met my expectations and occasionally exceeded them. It was pretty much downhill from there as Noel recedes into an extended explanation of the multitude of ways pretty much everyone in the world including management (which clearly they did but only because he let them), all of the lawyers including his own, Jimmy and then the Hendrix estate ripped him off. I'm sorry but I have little sympathy for Noel.

An interesting book in the litany of Hendrix books but certainly not a primary read.

The following pages are blank:

91-92 106-107 98-99 94-95

lots of picture pages are blank also.

I had to return the book for this reason. Otherwise this book was a good inside view of the music business and the experience.