Jimi Hendrix fans are in for a treat on 13 September with the launch of a deluxe Blu-ray and CD/vinyl box set that features 38 unreleased tracks and a film documenting the creation of Electric Lady Studios.
Released by Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings, Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision takes us back to the summer of 1970, when Hendrix was ensconced in the New York studio with his new backing band of Billy Cox on bass guitar and the returning Mitch Mitchell on drums (after a brief interregnum when Buddy Miles sat in for Band Of Gypsys).
It collects all the tracks intended for Hendrix’s fourth studio album, posthumously released in 1997 as First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, plus bonus tracks Valleys Of Neptune, Pali Gap, and Lover Man. All have been given a new 5.1 surround sound mix.
Inside the box, the give LPs or three CDs are accompanied by extensive liner notes and Hendrix’s own handwritten song drafts. The tracks features here were all recorded in the last four months before Hendrix’s death, on 18 September 1970. These tracks capture Hendrix’s work-in-progress, such as “Take 7” of Angel, which was captured on 23 July 23 1970, and has been shared to promote the box set.
Take 7 of Angel is more spare, more room for Hendrix's electric guitar to occupy. It was some time after Hendrix’s death that Mitchell added extra percussion to finish the song. Some of these tracks were completed in the company of Hendrix’s go-to producer and engineer.
Others are a little more rudimentary, such as the demo versions of Valleys Of Neptune and Heaven Has No Sorrow, which were captured on a four-track. You will also find alternate arrangements of Come Down Hard On Me and Belly Button Window that show which direction Hendrix’s musical curiosity was taking him.
The centrepiece of the box set, however, is the film itself. It will premiere on 9 August at the Quad, NYC, before receiving a limited release theatrically (see Electric Lady Studios for showtimes). It traces Electric Lady Studios back to the beginning, when it was just a derelict nightclub in Greenwich, NYC. Under the auspices of Kramer and architect/acoustician John Storyk.
The goal was to have a resident studio that Hendrix could use any time. Steve Winwood, who was interviewed in the film, was there the first night it was open.
My brother had a musical vision. With this project, it felt appropriate to shed light not only on his own music, but also on his lasting contribution of Electric Lady Studios
Janie Hendrix
Sadly, after leaving to play the Isle Of Wight Festival, Hendrix would never return. But many others did. As Janie Hendrix notes, the studio and those who tracked in it is part of her brother’s musical legacy, too.
“My brother had a musical vision,” Janie Hendrix reflects. “With this project, it felt appropriate to shed light not only on his own music, but also on his lasting contribution of Electric Lady Studios. He was driven internally to build a home base where he could record everything he felt. While his life was cut short, so many other talented artists continue to express themselves within those magical walls on 52 West 8th Street.”
John Lennon, the Clash, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and U2 are just some of the artists who have checked in there over the years. In the picture above, Stevie Wonder is tracking Talking Book.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision was directed and produced by John McDermott, with Janie Hendrix and George Scott both sharing production credits.
The city of New York is getting in on the celebrations, too. On 8 August, they’ll be renaming West 8th Street between 6th Street and MacDougal Street, where Electric Lady Studios stands to this day, as “Jimi Hendrix Way”. Maybe it should be permanent.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision is available to preorder now via Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings.
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