I have the American version of the Jimi Hendrix Experience debut album, Are You Experienced, on vinyl, but it’s difficult to get to in the house. So I went to the public library and borrowed the CD, which has 17 songs, rather than the 11 on my LP. Not that all the other songs were unfamiliar.
What I’ve long known about the Beatles and Rolling Stones and Donovan and many other artists was also true of Hendrix. The US and UK versions were very different, even when the titles were the same. The picture at the top of the page was only vaguely familiar, but it is the original UK cover, which Hendrix didn’t particularly like. Note that the band’s name does not even appear.
Links are to music, but not every song is represented.
The UK/international version, released May 12, 1967, included:
Side one
1. “Foxy Lady” 3:22
2. “Manic Depression” 3:46
3. “Red House” 3:44
4. “Can You See Me” 2:35
5. “Love or Confusion” 3:17
6. “I Don’t Live Today” 3:58
Side two
7. “May This Be Love” 3:14
8. “Fire” 2:47
9. “Third Stone from the Sun” 6:50
10. “Remember” 2:53
11. “Are You Experienced?” 4:17
The original North American edition, released August 23, 1967, dumped Red House, Can You See Me, and Remember in favor of the singles Hey Joe, Purple Haze, and The Wind Cries Mary, even though they weren’t hits in the US, initially. American compilers often choose the singles to be included on the album, whereas the British saw the single and the album as separate entities.
Notice that even the same songs are slightly shorter on the American iteration. Hendrix liked this psychedelic cover far more.
Side one
1. “Purple Haze” 2:46
2. “Manic Depression” 3:46
3. “Hey Joe” (Billy Roberts) 3:23
4. “Love or Confusion” 3:15
5. “May This Be Love” 3:14
6. “I Don’t Live Today” 3:55
Side two
7. “The Wind Cries Mary” 3:21
8. “Fire” 2:34
9. “Third Stone from the Sun” 6:40
10. “Foxy Lady” 3:15
11. “Are You Experienced?” 3:55
Also on the CD are the B-sides of the UK singles Stone Free (Hey Joe), 51st Anniversary (Purple Haze), and Highway Chile (The Wind Cries Mary).
In any configuration, Are You Experienced is considered one of the best debut albums of all time.