It was a chilly October night in 2024 when music lovers around the world received news they never expected. Jimi Hendrix, the legend whose untimely death in 1970 cut short a career of blistering creativity, was back—at least in spirit. A new collection of 38 previously unheard songs recorded at Electric Lady Studios(full tracklist below), his personal creative haven, had surfaced. These tracks, untouched for over half a century, had been locked away in dusty archives, waiting for the right moment to bring the world back to 1970, to the heart of Hendrix’s creative peak.
In the final months of his life, Hendrix lived and breathed music. Electric Lady Studios in New York, which he’d finished building only a few months before his passing, was both his laboratory and his sanctuary. Night after night, he would vanish into the studio, fuelled by a need to explore new soundscapes.
The songs in this release capture that restless energy. Most were recorded in the summer of 1970, during late-night sessions when Jimi and his band—the Band of Gypsys—chased the wildest musical ideas that crossed their minds. Some tracks feature hauntingly raw guitar solos; others are funky, rhythm-heavy jams, pushing rock and funk boundaries.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision – tracklist
Vinyl Disc 1
1) Ezy Ryder [Alternate Mix]* 6/18/70
2) Valleys Of Neptune [Alternate Version]* 6/15/70
3) Straight Ahead [Takes 1 & 2]* 6/17/70
4) Astro Man [Takes 9 & 10]* 6/24/70
5) Drifting [Takes 1 & 2]* 6/25/70
6) Night Bird Flying [Take 25]* 6/16/70
1) Earth Blues [Alternate Mix]* 6/26/70
2) Drifter’s Escape [Takes 1 & 2]* 6/17/70
3) Astro Man [Take 14]* 6/24/70
4) Further Up The Road* 6/24/70
Vinyl Disc 2
1) Dolly Dagger [Takes 17 & 18]* 7/1/70
2) Lover Man 7/20/70
3) Freedom [Take 4]* 6/25/70
4) Angel [Take 7]* 7/23/70
5) Beginnings [Take 5]*
1) The Long Medley [Astro Man / Beginnings / Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) / Midnight Lightning (Keep On Groovin’) / Freedom]* 6/24/70
Vinyl Disc 3
1) Freedom [Alternate Version]* 7/19/70
2) Valleys Of Neptune [Demo]* 6/70
3) Tune X*/Just Came In [Take 6]* 7/22/70
4) Drifting [Alternate Version]* 8/20/70
5) Messing Around [Take 17]* 6/16/70
1) Tune X* / Just Came In (Take 8)* 7/22/70
2) Dolly Dagger [Alternate Version]* 7/19/70
3) Come Down Hard On Me [take 15]* 7/15/70
4) Heaven Has No Sorrow [Demo]* 6/70
Vinyl Disc 4
1) Midnight Lightning* / Beginnings* 7/1/70
2) Dolly Dagger [Mix 2]* 8/20/70
3) Belly Button Window [Take 1]* 7/23/70
1) Night Bird Flying [Alternate Version]* 8/20/70
2) Freedom [Alternate Version]* 8/20/70
3) Straight Ahead [Alternate Mix]* 8/20/70
4) In From The Storm [Alternate Mix]* 8/24/70
Vinyl Disc 5
1) Bolero* / Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) [Alternate Mix]* 8/22/70
2) Drifter’s Escape [Alternate Mix]* 8/22/70
1) Bleeding Heart [Alternate Mix]* 8/22/70
2) Drifting [Alternate Version]* 11/20/70
3) Astro Man [Alternate Version]* 8/22/70
4) Room Full Of Mirrors [Alternate Version]* 10/20/70
5) Angel [Alternate Version]* 10/19/70
*Previously unreleased
CD Disc 1
1) Ezy Ryder [Alternate Mix]* 6/18/70
2) Valleys Of Neptune [Alternate Version]* 6/15/70
3) Straight Ahead [Takes 1 & 2]* 6/17/70
4) Drifter’s Escape [Takes 1 & 2]* 6/17/70
5) Astro Man [Takes 9 & 10]* 6/24/70
6) Astro Man [Take 14]* 6/24/70
7) Drifting [Takes 1 & 2]* 6/25/70
8) Night Bird Flying [Take 25]* 6/16/70
9) Farther Up The Road* 6/24/70
10) The Long Medley [Astro Man / Beginnings / Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) / Midnight Lightning (Keep On Groovin’) / Freedom]* 6/24/70
CD Disc 2
1) Earth Blues [Alternate Mix]* 6/26/70
2) Dolly Dagger [Takes 17 & 18]* 7/1/70
3) Angel [Take 7]* 7/23/70
4) Beginnings [Take 5]* 7/1/70
5) Lover Man 7/20/70
6) Tune X* / Just Came In [Take 6]* 7/22/70
7) Heaven Has No Sorry [Demo]* 6/26/70
8) Freedom [Take 4]* 6/25/70
9) Valleys Of Neptune [Demo]* 6/26/70
10) Come Down Hard On Me [Take 15]* 7/15/70
11) Dolly Dagger [Alternate Version]* 7/19/70
12) Messing Around [Take 17]* 6/16/70
13) Tune X* / Just Came In [Take 8]* 7/22/70
14) Drifting [Alternate Version]* 8/20/70
15) Freedom [Alternate Version]* 7/19/70
16) Belly Button Window [Take 1]* 7/23/70
CD Disc 3
1) Dolly Dagger [Mix 2]* 8/20/70
2) Night Bird Flying [Alternate Version]* 8/20/70
3) Freedom [Alternate Version]* 8/20/70
4) Midnight Lightning* / Beginnings* 7/1/70
5) Straight Ahead [Alternate Mix]* 8/20/70
6) In From The Storm [Alternate Mix]* 8/24/70
7) Bolero* / Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) [Alternate Mix]* 8/22/70
8) Drifter’s Escape [Alternate Mix]* 8/22/70
9) Astro Man [Alternate Version]* 8/22/70
10) Bleeding Heart [Alternate Mix]* 8/22/70
11) Drifting [Alternate Version]* 11/20/70
12) Room Full Of Mirrors [Alternate Version]* 10/19/70
13) Angel [Alternate Version]* 10/19/70
*Previously unreleased
First Rays of the New Rising Sun + Bonus Tracks 5.1 Mixes
(Contained on Blu-ray with both vinyl and CD versions of package)
1) Freedom
2) Izabella
3) Night Bird Flying
4) Angel
5) Room Full of Mirrors
6) Dolly Dagger
7) Ezy Ryder
8) Drifting
9) Beginnings
10) Stepping Stone
11) My Friend
12) Straight Ahead
13) Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)
14) Earth Blues
15) Astro Man
16) In From the Storm
17) Belly Button Window
18) Pali Gap (from Rainbow Bridge album)
19) Lover Man (from Jimi Hendrix Experience box set)
20) Valleys of Neptune (from Valleys of Neptune album0
All 20 tracks are available in 5.1 surround sound audio for first time.
