Customer Reviews

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love (Guitar Tabulature)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At the time I write this, two other customer reviews exist. One laments the book is full of mistakes and inaccurate transcriptions. The other insists it is note-for-note perfect and an invaluable resource for learning to play these songs. In an article written by Joe Gore for Guitar Player magazine shortly after the first edition of this TAB book was released (around 1989, I believe), he called the Hal Leonard Hendrix series "the finest Hendrix transcriptions available, despite a shocking number of music typos." I think Mr. Gore's statement comes closest to hitting the mark.

Yes, there are mistakes in the book, here and there. But, I think most people can sort them out easy enough. There are some passages (usually those a bit hard to hear on the recording) that I question if they accurately reflect exactly what Hendrix played. But, the majority of the transcriptions are unquestionably correct, and the passages in this TAB book which I think might vary a bit definitely sound good and are "Hendrixesque." Hendrix himself never played the same thing twice, and it's unlikely that anybody is going to be able to play EXACTLY like Hendrix, no matter how perfect the transcription.

So, my take on the situation is that the true usefulness of any transcription book is to serve as a departure point which offers insight into a particular player's style and which provides practice material which allows a player to internalize aspects of that style into their own playing. Therefore, I can live with a book that has mostly accurate transcriptions, in spite of a lot of typos. If you feel the same, you might find this book valuable. If not, I guess you'll need to sit down with a recording and try to figure it out for yourself. Actually, that's probably the best way. But, doing so will require having more skill and patience than I do :-)

This guitar tab book is by far the best one out there! Jimi Hendrix is the best guitarist of all time and this book proves it.There are really great Hendrix classics in here too. Some like "Spanish Castle Magic","Little Wing","Castles Made of Sand",and "Bold As Love". These tabs are all on the money and are great to play and further your skills as a guitar player. If you are a good bassist you can figure out the bass lines from these tabs too. So go out and buy this book..........You Won't be disappointed!

This is actually the third time I've bought this book. About a decade or so ago I had a copy of this and it got lost or stolen or something. I remembered it because I was actually impressed that the songs herein cold actually be transcribed especially this accureately. I got a second copy after my sight reading skills had improved somewhat and used it often enough for the pages to start to come loose. So, I bought a 3rd copy of it. The transcriptions are challenging to anyone's sightreading abilities, but the rewards of a little bit of effort are very satifying. The book is accurate giving great insight into Hendrix solos and choice of(often apparently jazz influenced)chord voicings. A must for any guitarist who wants to learn these songs.

There are so many mistakes in this book with both the notation & tab (too many beats in a bar, mistakes in fingering, etc.)that it's almost funny. In addition to this, some of the transcriptions are ridiculously incorrect with regards to what is actually being played as well. It's really a shame, because it could have been a great book.