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Among his final and most enduring acts as a musician, Jimi Hendrix purchased a Greenwich Village nightclub with the intention of transforming it into a recording studio. A new documentary will tell that story of its creation, and an accompanying box set will highlight an unreleased trove of recordings from his few but pivotal sessions there.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision, available September 13 as a 3CD or 5LP set, offers 39 demos and early takes from Hendrix's summer 1970 sessions at the studio of the same name, recorded with a reconstructed version of The Jimi Hendrix Experience that included original drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox, part of the guitarist's short-lived Band of Gypsys project. (All but one of the tracks are previously unreleased.) A Blu-ray available with either version of the box will offer the feature-length documentary of the same name, directed by Hendrix archivist John McDermott and featuring new interviews with Cox, Steve Winwood (who was present at Hendrix's first session in the studio), Hendrix's engineer Eddie Kramer, and original studio staff members. As a further bonus, the Blu-ray will feature a new 5.1 surround mix of First Rays of the New Rising Sun, the 1997 reimagining of Hendrix's planned fourth studio album, along with three remixed bonus tracks from Electric Lady sessions. The box will feature new liner notes alongside unpublished photos and copies of Hendrix's handwritten song drafts. One of the tracks debuting from the box, a new mix of the track "Angel," is streaming below.
In 1968, Hendrix bought the site of The Village Barn, located at 52 West Eighth Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Initially planning to simply open a new club, having organized several live jam sessions there, he was convinced to consider a studio space of his own after the budget on third album Electric Ladyland ballooned due to Hendrix's restlessness in determining where to record. Featuring a unique design aesthetic by architect John Storyk that included ambient lighting and precise acoustics, the lengthy process to construct Electric Lady Studios faced many delays, including multiple construction site floods. (In fact, when Hendrix, Cox and Mitchell decided to test the space in the sessions heard here, it was still being finalized.) The guitarist made the most of the time, however, recording bold new originals like "Earth Blues," "Dolly Dagger," "Ezy Ryder," "Freedom," "Lover Man" and others over a period of about 10 weeks.
Following a party to commemorate the studio's opening on August 26, 1970 - four days after his most recent recording session there and two days after a mixing session with Kramer - Hendrix would travel to the Isle of Wight Festival for a pivotal live set. Less than a month later, Hendrix died in London at only 27 years old. A host of others kept the spirit of the studio alive with their recordings, from Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, David Bowie, KISS, CHIC and Patti Smith in the '70s to latter-day favorites by D'Angelo, The Roots, Daft Punk, U2, Adele and Taylor Swift. Extensively renovated in 2010, Electric Lady Studios remains one of New York's enduring rock and roll landmarks - and this new box set will tell its story from the point of view of the visionary who established it.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision will be available September 13. (West Eighth Street will also be temporarily renamed "Jimi Hendrix Way" by the city on August 8, preceding a screening at the studio; a limited theatrical run will start the following day at Manhattan's Quad Cinema, with additional locations to follow.)
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (Experience Hendrix/Legacy, 2024)
3CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
5LP/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1
- Ezy Ryder (Alternate Mix - 6/18/1970)
- Valleys of Neptune (Alternate Version - 6/15/1970)
- Straight Ahead (Takes 1 & 2 - 6/17/1970)
- Drifter's Escape (Takes 1 & 2 - 6/17/1970)
- Astro Man (Takes 9 & 10 - 6/24/1970)
- Astro Man (Take 14 - 6/24/1970)
- Drifting (Takes 1 & 2 - 6/25/1970)
- Night Bird Flying (Take 25 - 6/16/1970)
- Farther Up the Road (6/24/1970)
- The Long Medley: Astro Man/Beginnings/Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)/Midnight Lightning (Keep On Groovin')/Freedom (6/24/1970)
Disc 2
- Earth Blues (Alternate Mix - 6/26/1970)
- Dolly Dagger (Takes 17 & 18 - 7/1/1970)
- Angel (Take 7 - 7/23/1970)
- Beginnings (Take 5 - 7/1/1970)
- Lover Man (7/20/1970)
- Tune X/Just Came In (Take 6 - 7/22/1970)
- Heaven Has No Sorry (Demo - 6/26/1970)
- Freedom (Take 4 - 6/25/1970)
- Valleys of Neptune (Demo - 6/26/1970)
- Come Down Hard on Me (Take 15 - 7/15/1970)
- Dolly Dagger (Alternate Version - 7/19/1970)
- Messing Around (Take 17 - 6/16/1970)
- Tune X/Just Came In (Take 8 - 7/22/1970)
- Drifting (Alternate Version - 8/20/1970)
- Freedom (Alternate Version - 7/19/1970)
- Belly Button Window (Take 1 - 7/23/1970)
Disc 3
- Dolly Dagger (Mix 2 - 8/20/1970)
- Night Bird Flying (Alternate Version - 8/20/1970)
- Freedom (Alternate Version - 8/20/1970)
- Midnight Lightning/Beginnings (7/1/1970)
- Straight Ahead (Alternate Mix - 8/20/1970)
- In from the Storm (Alternate Mix - 8/24/1970)
- Bolero/Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) (Alternate Mix - 8/22/1970)
- Drifter's Escape (Alternate Mix - 8/22/1970)
- Astro Man (Alternate Version - 8/22/1970)
- Bleeding Heart (Alternate Mix - 8/22/1970)
- Drifting (Alternate Version - 11/20/1970)
- Room Full of Mirrors (Alternate Version - 10/19/1970)
- Angel (Alternate Version - 10/19/1970)
All tracks previously unreleased except Disc 2, Track 5, from The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Experience Hendrix/MCA Records 088 112 316-2, 2000
Blu-ray
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision documentary
First Rays of the New Rising Sun + bonus tracks (5.1 Surround Mixes)
- Freedom
- Izabella
- Night Bird Flying
- Angel
- Room Full of Mirrors
- Dolly Dagger
- Ezy Ryder
- Drifting
- Beginnings
- Stepping Stone
- My Friend
- Straight Ahead
- Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)
- Earth Blues
- Astro Man
- In from the Storm
- Belly Button Window
- Pali Gap
- Lover Man
- Valleys of Neptune
Tracks 1-17 released as First Rays of the New Rising Sun - Experience Hendrix/MCA Records MCAD-11599, 1997
Track 18 released on Rainbow Bridge (Original Motion Picture Sound Track) - Reprise MS 2040, 1971
Track 19 released on The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Experience Hendrix/MCA Records 088 112 316-2, 2000
Track 20 released on Valleys of Neptune - Experience Hendrix/Legacy 88697 64056-2, 2010
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Release Round-Up: Week of November 10
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I do hope they will release an affordable two disc version.
Looking at this track list, I think a 1-disc version would probably be sufficient. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these are just different mixes of the versions already on discs 4 of the JHE and WCSB boxes. I dearly hope there are some real variations from the abundant and already familiar takes from prior releases.
I agree!
It will be interesting to see what the recording quality will be like, i am lost for words, since his passing there have been a total of 95 live albums!
And every single set list is drawn from the same two dozen songs with maybe another ten occasional recurrences. I'm a sucker for them all, though, if there's decent sound.
Every time when they release "new" Hendrix recordings, Jimi's stepsister Janie Hendrix and producer Eddie Kramer say there's not anymore material, that is good enough for the release. And suddenly there's a "new" release again! It seems that Eddie Kramer make "new" tracks from the different takes, that he has compiled together.
Sony music manufactured these sets 3 years ago, but Janie Hendrix ordered Sony Music to warehouse them. 3 copies of the 5-L.P. + Blu-Ray and one copy of the 3-CD + Blu-Ray "Escaped" and were auctioned at outrageous prices. After Sony manufactured the sets, Janie decided that she wanted to license the documentary video to streaming companies, and that Sony's release of the boxed set might detrimentally affect the price that Janie could command for a streaming license. But the time to think about licensing the program to streaming companies was BEFORE (not after) Sony had pressed the program onto Blu-Ray. Janie Hendrix's greed backfired on her. While she was able to ink a deal with a company that will place the documentary with streaming outlets in the Uk & Europe, there were no takers for the U.S.A. streaming rights. But now Janie Hendrix has saved face and reassured herself and her shareholders that all marketing opportunities for the documentary have been explored and exploited: The film will have a brief run in movie theaters in the U.S.A.
Recently, a quantity of promotional copies of the Blu-Ray disc were sold on the internet, and I was able to buy one at $23 + tax and shipping. The 90 minute documentary is more about the construction and early days of Electric Lady Studios than about Jimi Hendrix. It is informative, but you'll watch it only once. As for the 20 songs in 5.1 surround sound((96Khz/24-Bit), the mixes(by an uncredited engineer) are O.K., but a few of them make very limited use of the rear channels, which caused several people on the internet to speculate that they may be upmixes. They aren't. They're genuine remixes. Also, when "Room Full of Mirrors" appeared on the 1971 album "Rainbow Bridge", it was a rough mix, because it was the only source for the original recording. Subsequently, Mitch Mitchell re-recorded the drumming, wiping Buddy Miles' original drumming from the multitrack tape. Therefore, the new surround remix of "Room Full of Mirrors" must feature Mitch Mitchell's mediocre attempt.
Janie Hendrix was looking at Imminent Japanese bootleg CD's (dubbed from vinyl) of the audio material from the boxed set, so she waved the white flag of surrender. She owes Hendrix fans an apology for the 3 year ordeal that she put the fans through. Janie, don't put the fans through something like this EVER AGAIN.
Remarkable analysis !
great post phil. i head bout a 3cd set bout 3 years ago right after eddie kramer said there will no more studio material. its all bout $$$$$$$$$$. alsothere are no new jimi fans so why price it at $60 thats $ 20 a disc
to clear up a comment by phil, buddys drums are on room full of it the tracks stepping stone and izzabella that have jimi approved mixes with mitch on drums. he was never happy with his own work.
I have the Blu-Ray disc, and I am 100% certain that the surround sound mix of "Room Full of Mirrors" has the Mitch Mitchell drumming, which has, to ny knowledge, never been released before. "Rainbow Bridge" album had the original Buddy Miles drumming on "Room full of Mirrors".
People who bought the Blu-ray disc that was being sold on the internet a few months ago have got themselves a collectable. That early version of the Blu-Ray disc have a surround mix of "Room full of Mirrors" with the re-recorded drumming by Mitch Mitchell. The final released version of the Blu-Ray disc get a surround mix with the original drumming by Buddy Miles, though thiis sirreound mix may have been produced by upmixing from the stereo mix heard on the albuim "Rainbow Bridhe"?