FIRST RAYS OF THE NEW RISING SUN – Looking Back At The Making Of This Legendary Album

Apr 27 2022

By John McDermott.

Originally released in April 1997, First Rays Of The New Rising Sun was the first album prepared under the direct supervision of the Hendrix family. Drawing together seventeen songs whose creation spans from March 1968 through to Jimi’s final sessions at Electric Lady Studios in August 1970, the album marked the last graceful gesture by the innovative artist Jimi Hendrix.

In May 1970, after more than a year of cost overruns, maddening delays and arduous construction, Jimi Hendrix sat in the unfinished shell of Electric Lady Studios, his own state-of-the-art recording facility.  Piled around him were stacks of unfinished multi-track tapes made at a variety of studios throughout the previous year.  Reunited with bandmates Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell, and long-time engineer Eddie Kramer, Jimi was eager to record his impressive backlog of new material as soon as the studio could accommodate him.

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, the very neighborhood where Jimi had languished as Jimmy James & The Blues Flames just four years before, Electric Lady Studios stood as a crowning achievement for an artist who meteoric ascension from obscurity had been fueled by five consecutive top ten albums and scores of electrifying, sold out performances throughout the world.

Compounding Jimi’s renewed enthusiasm were the many creative possibilities which Electric Lady offered him.  Within the facility’s secure, subterranean environment, Jimi Hendrix reckoned with his past and set a course for the future.  After months of distractions and creative stagnation, the process of assembling his long awaited sequal to 1968’s ground-breaking epic Electric Ladyland now began in earnest.  Like that adventurous collection, Hendrix’s new double album would not only continue his redefinition of rock ‘n’ roll’s boundaries, but also reveal his new mature sound, style, and direction.

As early as January 1969, just three months after the successful launch of Electric Ladyland, Jimi communicated his desire to express a new vision.  First Rays Of The New Rising Sun would not only detail the myriad of experiences he had endured on his remarkable journey, but Jimi hoped its music would have a lasting and more profound impact.  First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, the title he chose to mark this creative evolution, seemed the choice which best embodied his broad concept.  Uninterested in the trappings of pop stardom, Hendrix hoped his music and message would reach the widest audience possible.

Because Jimi’s death in September 1970 came before his work at Electric Lady had been completed, history can only guess at just how he would have placed his indelible stamp upon this music.  His grand visions for First Rays Of The New Rising Sun were never fulfilled.  Not even Mitch Mitchell or Billy Cox—Jimi’s closest music associates—could accurately predict what material Hendrix might have ultimately selected for the proposed double disc.  Marbled throughout the tapes he left behind are treasures and tantalizing sketches of exciting new songs in various stages of development.  Efforts such as “Heaven Has No Sorrow,” “Valleys Of Neptune,” and a remake of Bob Dylan’s “Drifter’s Escape” all stem from that fertile summer. 

Writings he left behind provided further fascinating morsels about embryonic ideas like “This Little Boy” or “Locomotion” of which there are no known studio recordings.  Absent final instructions from Jimi, First Rays Of The New Rising Sun compiles songs such as “Dolly Dagger,” “Night Bird Flying,” and “Ezy Ryder” which Jimi had perfected and set aside for the album alongside those others which lacked only his final touches before they were to be included.

What the seventeen songs of First Rays Of The New Rising Sun makes clear, however, is that Jimi Hendrix was in the process of a remarkable creative rejuvenation.  With full faith in his music, Hendrix was primed to introduce his audience to a new frontier, where the triumphs of his past would merge freely with his unique blending of rock with rhythm and blues.  The sly wit of “Foxey Lady” and “Wait Until Tomorrow” was now incorporated within the sophisticated funk of “Dolly Dagger.”  The subtle by sincere personal messages of “House Burning Down” now took form in the strident “Straight Ahead” and “Freedom.” Moreover, the primary energy of “Ezy Ryder” and “Room Full Of Mirrors” presaged the funk explosion of the 1970s and ‘80s which followed in his footsteps.

Save for “My Friend,” a holdover from a March 1968 session, the remaining sixteen songs were either rebuilt or constructed from scratch during Jimi’s four furious months at Electric Lady Studios.  Each of the seventeen songs on this new compilation were originally featured on three of the first four albums issued after Jimi’s death.  Purely as a result of contractual obligations pending at that time, Jimi’s double album concert was scrapped and the material was split upon among 1971’s The Cry Of Love and Rainbow Bridge, and 1972’s War Heroes.  Inexplicably, the vast majority of this music has been unavailable in its original form for some time.  

In preparation of the album’s release, this stunning collection was digitally remastered from the original Electric Lady Studios master tapes for the very first time; no remixing or other unwarranted technical interference has been attempted.

Coupled with Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love, Electric Ladyland, and Band Of Gypsys—the unrivaled cornerstones of Hendrix’s remarkable legacy—First Rays Of The New Rising Sun illustrates the final graceful gesture by an innovative artists whose many achievement will likely never be matched.

First Rays Of The New Rising Sun Track Listing:

1. Freedom (3:26)
Guitar, Piano, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Backing Vocals: Arthur & Albert Allen (The Ghetto Fighters)
Percussion: Juma Sultan

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, June 25, 1970; July 14, 19; and August 14, 20, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 24, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

2. Izabella (2:50)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Backing Vocals: Arthur & Albert Allen (The Ghetto Fighters)

Basic Track: Record Plant, January 17, 1970
Overdubs: Electric Lady Studios, June 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, January 31, 1971

Originally issued as part of War Heroes

3. Night Bird Flying (3:50)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, June 16, 1970; July 19, 1970 and August 22, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 24, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

4. Angel (4:21)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Basic Track: Electric Lady Studios, July 23, 1970 and August 20, 1970
Drum Overdubs: Electric Lady Studios, October 19, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, November 12, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

5. Room Full Of Mirrors (3:21)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Basic Track: Record Plant, November 17, 1969
Overdubs: Electric Lady Studios, June 1970; July 1970 and August 20, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 20, 1970

Originally issued as part of Rainbow Bridge

6. Dolly Dagger (4:45)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Percussion: Juma Sultan

Backing Vocals: Arthur & Albert Allen (The Ghetto Fighters)
Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, July 1, 15, 19, 20, 1970; August 14, 18, 20, 24, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 24, 1970

Originally issued as part of Rainbow Bridge

7. Ezy Ryder (4:07)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Percussion: Billy Armstrong
Backing Vocals: Steve Winwood, Chris Wood

Basic Track: Record Plant, December 18, 1969; January 20, 1970
Overdubs: Electric Lady Studios, June 15, 18, 1970; July 2, 1970; and August 22, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 22, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

8. Drifting (3:48)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Vibes: Buzzy Linhart

Basic Track: Electric Lady Studios, June 25, 29, 1970
Vibes Overdub: Electric Lady Studios, November 20, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, December 2, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

9. Beginnings (4:12)
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Percussion: Juma Sultan

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, July 1, 1970 and August 22, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, January 24, 1972

Originally issued as part of War Heroes

10. Stepping Stone (4:12)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Backing Vocals: Arthur & Albert Allen (The Ghetto Fighters)

Recorded: Record Plant, January 7, 17, 20, 1970
Overdubs: Electric Lady Studios, June 26, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, December 3, 1970

Originally issued as part of War Heroes

11. My Friend (4:36)
Guitar, Bass, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Twelve String Guitar: Ken Pine
Harmonica: Paul Caruso
Drums: Jimmy Mayes
Piano: Stephen Stills

Recorded: Sound Center, March 13, 1968
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, December 2, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

12. Straight Ahead (4:42)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, June 17, 1970; July 19, 1970; and August 20, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 20, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

13. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) (6:04)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Percussion: Juma Sultan 

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, July 1, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, May 12, 1971

Originally issued as part of Rainbow Bridge

14. Earth Blues (4:21)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Backing Vocals: Jimi Hendrix; Buddy Miles; Billy Cox; and The Ronettes
Percussion: Juma Sultan 

Basic Trac: Record Plant, December 19, 1969
Overdubs: Record Plant, January 20, 1970; Electric Lady Studios, June 26, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, May 12, 1971

Originally issued as part of Rainbow Bridge

15. Astro Man (3:34)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Percussion: Juma Sultan 

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, June 25, 1970; July 19, 1970; and August 22, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 22, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

16. In From The Storm (3:41)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Backing Vocals: Jimi Hendrix; Billy Cox; Emmeretta Marks

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, July 22, 1970; and August 20, 24, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, November 29, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

17. Belly Button Window (3:36)
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Recorded: Electric Lady Studios, August 22, 1970
Mixed: Electric Lady Studios, August 24, 1970

Originally issued as part of The Cry Of Love

FIRST RAYS OF THE NEW RISING SUN

First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, the last graceful gesture by the innovative artist Jimi Hendrix, is the first album prepared under the supervision of his family. It draws together 17 songs whose creation span from March 1968 to the last sessions at Electric Lady Studios in August 1970. Produced from the original master recordings, First Rays Of The New Rising Sun has many of Hendrix’s most creative musical achievements, including “Night Bird Flying,” “Angel,” “Dolly Dagger,” “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun),” and “In From The Storm.”

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