Why Kenny Wayne Shepherd Loves Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Bold as Love’

In the eleventh episode of UCR’s Bold as Love Recalled and Celebrated video series, Kenny Wayne Shepherd remembers hearing Axis: Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix for the first time.

Released barely six months after the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s May 1967 debut Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love showcased more sophisticated songwriting and musical performances on tracks such as “Little Wing” and “Castles Made of Sand.”

“It was a pretty religious experience for me [hearing the album]. Just trying to figure out how he made some of those sounds on that instrument was just absolutely mind-blowing to me,” the guitarist shares in the exclusive video below. “I remember that being profoundly affected by ‘Castles Made of Sand.’ The lyrics, I mean, it was just like you could feel the sadness that he was conveying in the story.”

Watch Kenny Wayne Shepherd Discuss ‘Castles Made of Sand’

“I just can’t say enough beautiful things about Axis: Bold as Love, what a triumph in spirit and creative energy,” Devon Allman says. “Jimi Hendrix is one of a kind. He was from another sphere of the cosmos, and we were so lucky to have him and his recorded music that lasts forever.”

Devon Allman Talks About His Affection for ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

“It was like a orchestra, you know. Everything was stacked and it put you in another world,” Bootsy Collins remembers. “‘If 6 Was 9’ was my favorite song off of that album and I love it to this day. He was definitely my hero [and] was a magical musician.”

Watch Bootsy Collins Discuss Jimi Hendrix

Todd Rundgren grew up listening to the Yardbirds, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and others. They played Gibson guitars and he wanted to follow in their footsteps. “When Jimi Hendrix came out, at first, I didn’t know what to think about it,” he recalls. “He was playing a Fender guitar, and the sound was different. He was changing the sound all the time. That wasn’t that precise sort of thing that everyone else seemed to be going for. It was a little bit wild and noisy and a little sloppy every once in a while.”

Watch Todd Rundgren Discuss Jimi Hendrix

“Axis: Bold as Love changed my destiny as a musician. I was raised to be a jazz musician. It was going great. And then along comes Jimi Hendrix and [drummer] Mitch Mitchell, the two of them, that power struggle, that that free-for-all, that fist fight, and I couldn’t make up my mind whether I wanted to be Jimi or to be Mitch Mitchell,” Police drummer Stewart Copeland reveals. “Somehow, there’s got to be a way to be both. And on this album, I could at least hear them both.”

Watch Stewart Copeland Discuss How Jimi Hendrix Changed His Destiny

“My favorite song on the album is, without a doubt, ‘Little Wing,’ [which is] very [Bob] Dylan-esque in the lyrics,” Paul Rodgers muses. “It’s very soulful, very powerful and very sensitive.”

The Bad Company vocalist goes on to discuss the importance of the band’s chemistry as a whole. He points out that it was bassist Noel Redding who took on a key role within the group, providing a firm foundation that was a crucial backbone. “I do think he kept it solid while the other two guys [Hendrix and Mitchell] were flying off into the ether with their creative genius.”

Watch Paul Rodgers Discuss Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell

Steve Vai notes that Jimi Hendrix and Axis: Bold as Love took him down a crucial path as an artist. The album was a monumental discovery for him personally and made a big impression, “like a monolith appearing.”

“One of the things that was so extraordinary about that record was in the playing,” he explains, praising Jimi’s improvisation and chordal techniques. “That’s how I was inspired to kick off learning how to navigate the neck with chords that sound like music.”

Watch Steve Vai Discuss Jimi Hendrix’s Approach on ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

‘Axis: Bold as Love’ Goes in a Lot of ‘Different Directions’

“If you listen to a song like ‘Spanish Castle Magic,’ it’s got such a heavy riff and cool guitar playing fuzz tone, and then all the other things that are on the record go in all these other different directions,” Dweezil Zappa marvels. “You get to ‘Bold as Love,’ and you hear the backwards things throughout the record, and that’s what came out.”

Watch Dweezil Zappa Talk About ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ and ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

“When Axis: Bold as Love came out and I heard ‘Little Wing,’ you know, Eric Clapton got obsessed with it, and rightfully so,” Dion remembers. “But the beauty of his playing and singing, it’s so complete.”

Watch Dion Discuss Jimi Hendrix’s Playing and Singing on ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

Jimi Hendrix Faced a Tough Task With ‘Axis: Bold as Love’ and Made it Look Easy

“As everybody suspects, following up a great first album, it’s always difficult to make a second one,” ZZ Top legend Billy F. Gibbons adds. “And yet, I got to say, Axis: Bold as Love coming down the line, treated the fans and friends and followers to some of the best stuff that Jimi did throughout [his] career.”

Watch Billy F. Gibbons Discuss Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

Eric Johnson Says Hendrix Displayed a Lot of Growth on His Second Studio Album

Guitar hero Eric Johnson was blown away by how far Jimi had come on his sophomore effort and praises the audible growth Hendrix displayed on Axis: Bold as Love.

“Are You Experienced was a great contribution to just outrageous guitar playing,” Johnson details. “I think Axis came along – which came out really relatively very quickly after Are You Experienced – [and] it immediately had a bit of a departure to it, it was more about songs and lyrics and melodies. In fact, there are certain songs on Axis where there are not even guitar solos. The prominent guitar stuff, a lot of it is just this great rhythm stuff.”

Watch Eric Johnson Talk About Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

Jimi Hendrix Experience’s ‘Bold as Love’ Box Set Arrives Nov. 7

The 5LP / 4CD + Blu-ray Axis: Bold as Love box set arrives in stores on Nov. 7, and includes 40 alternative versions, unreleased studio takes, demos, live tracks and television performances from the era, 28 of which have never been unearthed before.

Pre-Order ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ Now!