The American musician Jimi Hendrix intended to release his fourth studio album as a double or triple LP before Christmas 1970. From June to August 1970, he made good progress on the realization of the planned album in his new Electric Lady Studios. Many songs were mixed on August 20, 22 and 24. Four of these mixes were regarded as definitive versions and were presented at the opening party of Electric Lady on August 26. Hendrix died on September 18 that year, leaving behind an enormous number of unreleased recordings in various stages of completion. It is impossible to know what Hendrix would have changed and what he actually would have released, but there is some documentation of the album configurations he had in mind. While a good amount of the designated tracks only needed some finishing touches, others only existed as rough recordings, and for some titles no recordings are known to exist. The Cry of Love (1971), Voodoo Soup (1995) and First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) are officially released attempts to reconstruct the planned album. First Rays of the New Rising Sun is usually regarded as closest to Hendrix's vision, but features a track that was probably never part of Hendrix's plans and omits some tracks that were definitely considered. The 2024 box set Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision contains 38 previously unreleased tracks from the album sessions and a 5.1 surround mix of First Rays of the New Rising Sun with 3 bonus tracks. Most tracks that are known to have been considered for the album have eventually been released in some form or other, except for a few unfinished and unidentified titles.
Background After finishing the double album Electric Ladyland in 1968, Hendrix recorded quite obsessively in several studios. The extensive sessions for Electric Ladyland had been a reason for Chas Chandler to quit his role of producer, and also soured Hendrix's relation with bass player Noel Redding. When Redding eventually quit The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the end of June 1969, Hendrix had already started recording with old-time friend and bass player Billy Cox. For much of 1969 and 1970, Hendrix was troubled by the constant touring, disappointments with new band line-ups (first the Gypsy Sun and Rainbows—despite a successful performance at the Woodstock festival—and then the Band of Gypsys), demands of manager Michael Jeffrey, girlfriend troubles, the pressure of fame, heavy drug use, and personal as well as professional insecurities. Hendrix's extensive use of hired studio time became very expensive and was not always fruitful.
In 1969, plans for Hendrix's own nightclub in New York City were converted into a plan for his own recording studio. Electric Lady's Studio A was designed to serve as Hendrix's personal creative space; an inspiring environment where he could develop his music from demos to final mixes, with a supportive team and the best equipment available. After being under construction for 13 months, the first session at Electric Lady's Studio A took place on June 15, 1970, while Studio B was still unfinished. The studio finally provided creative continuity in a safe haven, but also a place where he could find some rest. There was 24-hour security and engineer Eddie Kramer set strict rules to stop having hordes of guests in the studio. Despite the lack of pay for the sessions, Hendrix was mostly joined by the current Experience band members Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell even had to battle Jeffrey for back royalties and tour receipts and it may initially have been unpleasant for him that many tracks that were worked on had Buddy Miles's drum parts, but eventually Mitchell got into the creative spirit of working on the album as much as Cox. Hendrix and his team soon showed much progress in the creation of a new album, so the studio time of August 1970 was almost exclusively used for mixing and overdubbing sessions to finish the recorded songs. On August 26, 1970, four complete songs with final mixes were presented at the Electric Lady opening party. The next morning, Hendrix left for Europe to perform at a couple of festivals and would never see his studio again: he died in London on September 18, 1970.
Tracks considered for inclusion On June 14, 1970, a memo by Hendrix listed 11 songs "having backing tracks completed", with the last entries "Drifter's Escape" and "Burning Desire" receiving question marks. This memo also noted to get the tape of "Highway Chile".
An expanded list of 25 titles was handwritten by Hendrix (reportedly on August 14, 1970) under the heading "Songs for L.P. Strate Ahead". The running order is the same for the 11 tracks of the previous list, but many tracks are added in between. The songs with complete backing tracks were marked with crosses. The list also had songs marked with ticks and dashes, but the meaning of those marks is unknown.
"Message to Love", "Power of Soul", and "Machine Gun" had been recorded in the studio before live versions were released on the Band of Gypsys (1970). Hendrix seemed to think that releasing studio versions of these songs would be regressive and not in tune with his ideas for the new album. Nonetheless, mixes of "Power of Soul" (with a new delay effect in the intro) and "Message to Love" were created on August 22, 1970.
Another list on a tape box detailed the configuration for three sides of a double album with the title First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Side D was left blank and two tracks appeared twice, on different sides of the LP.
Although work in August 1970 was reserved for finalizing tracks for the album with overdubs and mixes, several tracks that were not on the lists received attention during these sessions (possibly because new recordings were made after the lists were compiled).
+Possible tracks recorded for Jimi Hendrix's unfinished fourth studio album Title Status Last studio work Tape box note placement Strate Ahead placement June 24 memo placement Live performances Availability Notes"Ezy Ryder" Final mix 1970-08-22 (mix) B1 01 01 23x First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 7 Presented at Electric Lady opening party (1970-08-26).
An early demo that ran for 20 minutes under the title, Ezy Ryder/MLK Mix (Captain Coconut) appeared on Burning Desire in 2006."Room Full of Mirrors" Almost finished mix 1970-08-20 (mix) A3 02 02 19x First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 5 A live recording was first released on Experience in 1971 before the unaltered rough mix of 1970-08-20 was released two months later on Rainbow Bridge."Earth Blues" Complete 1970-06-26 - 03 03 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000) - disc 4, track 2 First mixed in April 1970, with further overdubs in June. A new mix by Kramer and John Jansen incorporating those was released on Rainbow Bridge in 1971.
The original recording by Band of Gypsys from 12-19-1969 was released on People, Hell and Angels in 2013."Valleys of Neptune" Unfinished 1970-06-26 - 04 - - Valleys of Neptune (2010) - track 2 Electric Lady Studios - disc 1, track 2 Electric Lady Studios - disc 2, track 9Many versions were recorded between 1969 and 1970 but none were marked as complete. "Straight Ahead (Have You Heard)" Final mix 1970-08-22 (mix) B4 05 04 4x First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 12 Presented at Electric Lady opening party (1970-08-26), possibly in Kramer's 1970-08-20 mix. The mix attempt by Hendrix and Kramer from 1970-08-22 was discarded."Cherokee Mist" (instrumental) Rough mix 1970-08-22 (mix) C5 06 - - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000) - disc 4, track 9 The available version is a 1999 mix by Kramer of a 1970-06-24 jam session which featured a version of "Straight Ahead" and "Valleys of Neptune". Proper studio takes, under the title "Cherokee Mist (Valleys of Neptune)" were attempted. Many overdubs and a rough mix were created on 08-22-1970 but are all, as of yet, unreleased."Freedom" Almost finished mix 1970-08-24 (mix) A5/B5 07 05 23x First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 1 Hendrix wanted to replace eight seconds of rhythm guitar. "Stepping Stone" Almost finished 1970-06-26 - 08 06 - First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 10 While a single version had been released, Hendrix had Miles's drumming replaced by Mitchell, overdubbed a vocal and kept overdubbing guitar parts. "Izabella" Complete 1970-06-26 - 09 07 - First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 2 Released as a single, but quickly withdrawn (see below). Hendrix wanted a new mix that would incorporate the replaced drums and guitar overdubs recorded in June.
A live recording was first released on Woodstock Two (1971)."Astro Man" Almost finished mix 1970-08-22 (mix) B2 10 08 - First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 15 A few finishing touches were planned."Drifter's Escape" Almost finished mix 1970-08-22 (mix) C2 11 10 - South Saturn Delta (1997) - track 14 Hendrix intended to perfect some guitar overdubs, bootlegs show many alternate overdubs as well."Angel" Rough mix 1970-08-20 (mix) C6 12 - - First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 4 Hendrix wanted to further refine the song. His last rough mix of it was released on Electric Lady Studios. In November 1970, Kramer made a new mix with posthumous drum overdubs by Mitchell.
An early demo from 1967 under the title, Sweet Angel was released on South Saturn Delta in 1997."Bleeding Heart" Rough mix 1970-08-22 (mix) - 13 - - Electric Lady Studios - disc 3, track 10 Hendrix recorded three different studio arrangements at the Record Plant which were released on Blues, Valleys of Neptune and People, Hell and Angels.
A new studio version was recorded and remixed at Electric Lady Studios and was released on War Heroes and South Saturn Delta, before coming out in its original Hendrix mix on the Electric Lady Studios box set."Burning Desire" Unfinished 1970-01-23 - 14 11 - West Coast Seattle Boy (2010) - disc 4, track 2 Hendrix was uncertain whether the backing track was complete on 1970-06-24. An instrumental take from 1970-01-16 is available on West Coast Seattle Boy and a December 1969 rehearsal with vocals on The Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions (2002)."Night Bird Flying" Final mix 1970-08-24 (mix) A2/C1 15 09 - First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) - track 3 Presented at Electric Lady opening party (1970-08-26), mastered for a planned single release.
An early demo from 1968 under the title, "Ships Passing Through the Night" appeared on Valleys of Neptune in 2010."Electric Lady" Unidentified - 16 - - Hendrix marked it as "slow". Rumored to be "Pali Gap", due to it being recorded under the working title "Slow Part" and at Electric Lady Studios."Getting My Heart Back Together Again (Hear My Train A Comin')" Unfinished 1969-05-21 - 17 - 50x People, Hell and Angels (2013) - track 3 Recorded several times without achieving a definitive master, Kramer tagged the end of take 2 onto take 3 (both from 1969-05-21) in a mix for the 2013 release.