"Are You Experienced" was an immediate commercial success, selling more than one million copies within seven months of its release. Reviewing the album in 1967, "Melody Maker" praised its artistic integrity and the Experience's varied use of tempo. "NME" Keith Altham said it is "a brave effort by Hendrix to produce a musical form which is original and exciting". However, not all contemporary writers gave the LP a favorable review; in November 1967, "Rolling Stone" Jon Landau wrote that although he considered Hendrix a "great guitarist and a brilliant arranger", he disapproved of his singing and songwriting. He criticized the quality of the material and described the lyrics as inane: "Above all this record is unrelentingly violent, and lyrically, inartistically violent at that."