Hendrix records set for reissue

By Stef Lach
published

First two albums released after Jimi's death will be relaunched in September

Jimi Hendrix's first two posthumous albums are set for reissue next month.

The Cry Of Love and Rainbow Bridge will be released on CD, vinyl and digital formats on September 16. Both have been remastered by Bernie Grundman and are available now for pre-order.

Originally released in 1971, The Cry Of Love was compiled and mixed by Hendrix’s long-time engineer Eddie Kramer and Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. The bulk of the tracks were recorded between December 1969 and the summer of 1970 at Electric Lady Studios in New York, and were intended to be part of a double LP tentatively titled First Rays of the New Rising Sun.

Rainbow Bridge was also compiled and mixed by Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell in 1971, with the help of Electric Lady Studios engineer John Jansen. Most of the tracks were recorded in 1969 and 1970, during the same sessions that spawned The Cry Of Love.

After Hendrix’s death in September 1970, First Rays Of The New Rising Sun was scrapped and instead two posthumous albums were created from the sessions, including one that would serve as a soundtrack for the Rainbow Bridge film.

Earlier this year it was confirmed that 88 rare Hendrix recordings will be remastered and released following the resolution of a long-running legal dispute.

The Cry Of Love tracklist

  1. Freedom 2. Drifting 3. Ezy Ryder 4. Night Bird Flying 5. My Friend 6. Straight Ahead 7. Astro Man 8. Angel 9. In From the Storm 10. Belly Button Window

Rainbow Bridge tracklist

  1. Dolly Dagger 2. Earth Blues 3. Pali Gap 4. Room Full of Mirrors 5. Star Spangled Banner (studio version) 6. Look Over Yonder 7. Hear My Train A Comin’ (live) 8. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)
Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.