Jimi Hendrix – First rays of the new rising sun

EX Condition

First Rays of the New Rising Sun is a compilation album credited to American rock musician Jimi Hendrix, issued on 1st May 1997 on MCA Records. Featuring songs mostly intended for his planned fourth studio album, it was one of the first releases overseen by Experience Hendrix, the family company that took over management of his recording legacy. It reached the album charts in the United States, United Kingdom, and four other countries.

Hendrix recorded most of the songs at his new Electric Lady Studios in New York City with former Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell and Band of Gypsys bassist Billy Cox, his regular backing for the final six months. All of the songs had been released previously on Hendrix’s first posthumous albums The Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge, and War Heroes; Cry of Love appears here in its entirety but within a different running order. First Rays of the New Rising Sun superseded Voodoo Soup, the 1995 attempt by controversial interim Hendrix producer Alan Douglas, to realize Hendrix’s fourth album.

At the time of his death in 1970, Hendrix was working on enough songs for a double album, with one proposed title First Rays of the New Rising Sun. The tracks were in varying stages of development, with only about six believed to be near completion. Long-time Hendrix recording engineer Eddie Kramer and drummer Mitchell selected 17 of what they felt were the best tracks, which were first released on The Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge, and War Heroes. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the songs also appeared on other posthumous compilations supervised by producer Alan Douglas, who wiped bass and drums performances by Mitchell, Cox and Miles and overdubbed them with parts newly recorded by session musicians. He also added female backing singers to one track, and claimed co-composer credit on several tracks. For the 1997 compilation, Kramer instead used the original master recordings and sequenced the songs to realize Hendrix’s plans to the best of his abilities. He selected tracks based on their original level of completion and Hendrix’s personal notes.