Genre Rock Label Track (no. 612 001) | Length 3:10 Writer(s) Jimi Hendrix | |
Released May 12, 1967 (1967-05-12) (UK) Recorded Olympic Studios, London, April 3, 1967 | ||
"May This Be Love" is a song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on May 12, 1967, on the band's debut album Are You Experienced. Recorded on April 3, the track is a soft ballad that demonstrates Hendrix's ability to write thoughtful lyrics and subtle melodies.
Contents
Background
Are You Experienced and its preceding singles were recorded over a five-month period from late October 1966 through early April 1967. The album was completed in sixteen recording sessions at three London locations, including De Lane Lea Studios, CBS, and Olympic. Chas Chandler booked many of the sessions at Olympic because the facility was acoustically superior and equipped with most of the latest technology, though it was still using four-track recorders, whereas American studios were using eight-track.
Recording
On April 3, the Experience returned to Olympic, adding overdubs and completing final mixes on several unfinished masters. During the eight-hour session, the band recorded three new songs, including Highway Chile, "May This Be Love", and "Are You Experienced?".
Music and lyrics
"May This Be Love" is a soft ballad that demonstrates Hendrix's ability to write thoughtful lyrics and subtle melodies. Author and musicologist Keith Shadwick wrote: "This is a melodic, romantic composition that borders on the sentimental". Author David Stubbs described the song as "far and away the prettiest track on" the album, and an example of Hendrix's versatility as a guitarist. According to musicologist Dave Whitehill, the song is characteristic of Hendrix's "gentler side", utilizing the E and A major pentatonic scales to create a "pastorale setting befitting the lyrical content". Whitehill described the guitar solo as "one of Jimi's most lyrical and lovely".
Renditions
"May This Be Love" was covered by the Pretenders on their 1990 album Packed!. The song was covered by American country/folk singer Emmylou Harris on her eighteenth studio album Wrecking Ball, which was released in 1995. It was also covered by American soul musician Meshell Ndegeocello on her third studio album Bitter, which was released in 1999. The song was also covered by British soul singer Michael Kiwanuka in 2012 for an EP titled Spotify Sessions, released on the music streaming service Spotify.