War Heroes is a compilation album by American guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Released in the UK in October 1972, and in December 1972 in the US, it was the third album of mostly unreleased studio recordings to be issued after Hendrix's death. The album was engineered, mixed and compiled by Eddie Kramer and John Jansen, although biographer and later Hendrix producer John McDermott also identifies Hendrix as a producer.
War Heroes contains three songs that Hendrix proposed for his fourth studio album: "Stepping Stone", "Izabella", and "Beginnings" (listed as "Beginning"). Some vinyl versions contain the song "Catastrophe" between "Peter Gunn" and Stepping Stone". These and songs from the two 1971 albums, The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge, were included on First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997). War Heroes reached number 23 in the UK Albums Chart, number 48 on the US Billboard 200, and number 51 in Canada.
Reception Robert Christgau felt that the material was "toward the bottom of the barrel", with tracks like "Peter Gunn" and "3 Little Bears," sounding like "filler", though on the whole "still strong stuff", particularly "the "Highway Chile" riff and the sheer speed of "Steppin' Stone"". He rated the album a B in his scoring system.
Track listing All tracks written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted.
Personnel Jimi Hendrixguitars, vocals Mitch Mitchelldrums Billy Coxbass guitar on "Bleeding Heart", "Peter Gunn Catastrophe", "Stepping Stone", "Beginning", and "Izabella" Noel Reddingbass guitar on "Highway Chile", "Tax Free", "Midnight", and "3 Little Bears"
Recording details TrackLocation(s)Recording date(s)Track 1Record Plant in New York CityMarch 24, 1970Track 2Olympic Studios in LondonApril 3, 1967Track 3Record PlantMay 1, 1968Track 4Record PlantMay 14, 1970Track 5Record PlantNovember 14, 1969 and on June 26, 1970 (overdubs)Track 6Olmstead StudiosApril 3, 1969Track 7Record PlantMay 2, 1968 Track 8Electric Lady Studios in New York CityJune 16 and/or July 1, 1970Track 9The Hit Factory in New York CityAugust 28 and 29, 1969
References