Showing posts with label Purple Haze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purple Haze. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Jimi Hendrix: Top 50 Songs

Jimi Hendrix

Top 50 Songs

Legendary psychedelic-blues/rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on 11/27/1942 in Seattle, Washington. He was only 27 when he died of a drug overdose in London on 9/18/1970 but his is one of rock music’s greatest legacies.

He first worked as a sideman with Rosa Lee Brooks (1964), Isley Brothers (1964), Buddy & Stacey and the Upsetters (1965); Little Richard, Curtis Knight, and Ronnie Youngblood. He formed Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in 1965. The next year he was discovered by the Animals’ Chas Chandler at New York City’s Café Wha? He went to London and formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966-1969) with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. He also helmed the Band of Gypsys with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Buddy Cox from 1969 to 1970.

His albums Are You Experienced (1967) and Electric Ladyland (1968) are featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. His cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” (1968) is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era 1954-1999.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

1. All Along the Watchtower (1968)
2. Purple Haze (1967)
3. Hey Joe (1966)
4. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) (1968)
5. The Star Spanged Banner (live, 1969)

6. Foxey Lady (1967)
7. Little Wing (1967)
8. Over the Rainbow (1968)
9. The Wind Cries Mary (1967)
10. Crosstown Traffic (1968)

11. Fire (1967)
12. Are You Experienced? (1967)
13. Red House (1967)
14. Dolly Dagger (1970)
15. Stone Free (1966)

16. Manic Depression (1967)
17. If 6 Was 9 (1967)
18. Freedom (1970)
19. Angel (1970)
20. Third Stone from the Sun (1967)

21. Burning of the Midnight Lamp (1967)
22. Up from the Skies (1967)
23. Izabella (1970)
24. Castles Made of Sand (1967)
25. Stepping Stone (1970)

26. Like a Rolling Stone (live, 1967)
27. Gloria (live, 1968)
28. Wild Thing (live, 1967)
29. I Don’t Live Today (1967)
30. Spanish Castle Magic (1967)

31. Gypsy Eyes (1968)
32. Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland? (1968)
33. Johnny B. Goode (live, 1970)
34. Drifting (1970)
35. Love or Confusion (1967)

36. Bold As Love (1967)
37. May This Be Love (1967)
38. Earth Blues (1969)
39. Sunshine of Your Love (1968)
40. Here He Comes (Lover Man) (1968)

41. Hear My Train A-Comin’ (1967)
42. Power of Soul (1969)
43. Ezy Ryder (1969)
44. Hound Dog (live, 1967)
45. Night Bird Flying (1970)

46. Blue Suede Shoes (1970)
47. Day Tripper (live, 1967)
48. Message to Love (1969)
49. The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice (1967)
50. Machine Gun (1970)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 5/21/2019; last updated 7/30/2026.

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Friday, September 29, 2023

Psychedelic Rock: Top 100 Songs

Psychedelic Rock:

Top 100 Songs

Psychedelic rock emerged in the mid-‘60s as music inspired, influenced, or representative of the experience of taking hallucinogenic drugs, most notably LSD. The Summer of Love in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969 were major cultural events which have been tied to the psychedelic rock movement. This list was created by aggregating 24 lists focused on psychedelic rock songs.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit” (1967)
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967)
3. The Beatles “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (1967)
4. The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967)
5. Strawberry Alarm Clock “Incense and Peppermints” (1967)
6. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
7. The Byrds “Eight Miles High” (1966)
8. The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966)
9. Pink Floyd “Interstellar Overdrive” (1967)
10. Procol Harum “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)

11. Jefferson Airplane “Somebody to Love” (1967)
12. Iron Butterfly “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida” (1968)
13. Grateful Dead “Dark Star” (1968)
14. The Amboy Dukes “Journey to the Center of the Mind” (1968)
15. The Electric Prunes “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night” (1966)
16. The Beatles “I Am the Walrus” (1967)
17. Cream “Sunshine of Your Love” (1967)
18. Scott McKenzie “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)” (1967)
19. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Are You Experienced?” (1967)
20. Steppenwolf “Magic Carpet Ride” (1968)

21. The Small Faces “Itchycoo Park” (1967)
22. The Chambers Brothers “Time Has Come Today” (1967)
23. The Doors “The End” (1967)
24. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967)
25. Status Quo “Pictures of Matchstick Men” (1967)
26. The Animals “Sky Pilot” (1968)
27. Pink Floyd “Astronomy Domine” (1967)
28. Cream “White Room” (1968)
29. The Beatles “All You Need Is Love” (1967)
30. The Velvet Underground & Nico “Venus in Furs” (1967)

31. The United States of America “The American Metaphysical Circus” (1968)
32. Pink Floyd “See Emily Play” (1967)
33. The Rolling Stones “2000 Light Years from Home” (1967)
34. Tommy James & the Shondells “Crimson and Clover” (1968)
35. The Who “I Can See for Miles” (1967)
36. The Count Five “Psychotic Reaction” (1966)
37. The Doors “Strange Days” (1967)
38. Tomorrow “My White Bicycle” (1967)
39. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
40. The Turtles “Happy Together” (1967)

41. Kenny Rogers & the First Edition “Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In” (1967)
42. Big Brother & the Holding Company “Piece of My Heart” (1968)
43. Pink Floyd “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” (1968)
44. Donovan “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (1968)
45. The Rolling Stones “She’s a Rainbow” (1967)
46. The Balloon Farm “A Question of Temperature” (1968)
47. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)
48. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
49. The Yardbirds “The Shapes of Things” (1966)
50. The Animals “San Franciscan Nights” (1967)

51. Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth” (1966)
52. The Grass Roots “Let’s Live for Today” (1967)
53. The Bubble Puppy “Hot Smoke & Sassafras” (1969)
54. The Young Rascals “Groovin’” (1967)
55. The Beatles “Within You Without You” (1967)
56. Pink Floyd “Echoes” (1971)
57. The Box Tops “The Letter” (1967)
58. Vanilla Fudge “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (1967)
59. Donovan “Sunshine Superman” (1966)
60. Country Joe & the Fish “Grace” (1967)

61. Traffic “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (1967)
62. The Doors “People Are Strange” (1967)
63. Love “The Red Telephone” (1967)
64. Kaleidoscope “Beacon from Mars” (1968)
65. The 13th Floor Elevators “You’re Gonna Miss Me” (1966)
66. The Lemon Pipers “Green Tambourine” (1967)
67. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Third Stone from the Sun” (1967)
68. Traffic “Paper Sun” (1967)
69. Bobbie Gentry “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967)
70. The Rolling Stones “Ruby Tuesday” (1967)

71. The Monkees “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (1967)
72. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (1979)
73. The Moody Blues “Nights in White Satin” (1967)
74. Pink Floyd “Arnold Layne” (1967)
75. H.P. Lovecraft “At the Mountains of Madness” (1968)
76. The Blues Magoos “We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet” (1966)
77. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown “Fire” (1968)
78. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
79. Donovan “Mellow Yellow” (1966)
80. The Yardbirds “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” (1966)

81. Blue Cheer “Summertime Blues” (1968)
82. Cream “Strange Brew” (1967)
83. The Youngbloods “Get Together” (1967)
84. The 13th Floor Elevators “Roller Coaster” (1966)
85. Country Joe & the Fish “Bass Strings” (1967)
86. The United States of America “Cloud Song” (1968)
87. Donovan “Season of the Witch” (1966)
88. The Beatles “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” (1965)
89. Black Sabbath “Planet Caravan” (1970)
90. Country Joe & the Fish “Section 43” (1967)

91. West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band “Shifting Sands” (1967)
92. The Byrds “Mind Gardens” (1967)
93. The Rolling Stones “We Love You” (1967)
94. Steve Miller Band “In My First Mind” (1968)
95. Tim Buckley “Hallucinations” (1967)
96. The Doors “Break on Through” (1967)
97. Funkadelic “Maggot Brain” (1971)
98. It’s a Beautiful Day “White Bird” (1969)
99. The Doors “When the Music’s Over” (1967)
100. Cream “I Feel Free” (1966)

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 4/17/2020; last updated 9/29/2023.

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Thursday, October 22, 2020

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Song Inductees (October 2020)

Originally posted 10/22/2020.

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the DMDB blog on January 22, 2019, Dave’s Music Database launched its own Hall of Fame. This is the eighth set of song inductees. They come from the DMDB list of the top 100 classic rock songs of all time. The top 30 songs on that list were ranked based on overall DMDB points and the resulting top ten from that sort are being inducted. Excluded are previous inductees: The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968), Eagles “Hotel California” (1976), John Lennon “Imagine” (1971), Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975), and The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965).

Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1970)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

One of the great classic rock songs was inspired by Nizami, a twelfth-century Persian poet, who told the story of a love affair gone wrong in The Story of Layla and Majnun. HL In Eric Clapton’s version of the tale, the source of unrequited love was Patti Boyd, the wife of his best friend, George Harrison. Clapton never again sounded as tortured as he does here. Oh, and Nizami’s version missed a key ingredient of its musical counterpart — “the most recognizable guitar riff in history.” BBC Read more.

The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

The song that “positively dripped with sexual desire” CR was a fitting launch for the Doors and helped establish their frontman, Jim Morrison, as one of rock’s most legendary sex symbols. The song had more than just sex. Its blatant reference to drug use with the line “We couldn’t get much higher” got the band in trouble with the Ed Sullivan Show. The band had promised to replace the word “higher” when performing the song on a live television broadcast, but sang it anyway, getting them permanently banned from the show. AMG Read more.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

Rolling Stone credited “Purple Haze” with launching two musical revolutions – “late-Sixties psychedelia and the unprecedented genius of Jimi Hendrix.” RS500 It is “a three-minute blaze of overdubbed guitar sorcery” RS500 which sports “one of the unforgettable opening riffs in rock.” RS500 Q magazine rated it the top guitar song of all time. WK Read more.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

Jimi Hendrix is largely credited with reinventing the electric guitar and his prowess is never more apparent than on his take on Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” “Raging and climactic where Dylan’s had been soft-paced and relaxed,” AMG Hendrix’s version pulls off the rare feat of giving the world a cover that outdoes its original source. After hearing Hendrix tackle it, “you can’t imagine it...any other way.” BBC Dylan admitted that in his subsequent performances of the song, he strove to emulate Hendrix’s version. RS500 Read more.

Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” (1969)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

“Whole Lotta Love” can be traced back to Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love,” a song he wrote in 1962 for Muddy Waters. British rock band The Small Faces covered the song on their debut album. Future Led Zep members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant saw them perform it WK and eventually added it their own repertoire. In 2014, a BBC radio listeners’ poll rated “Whole Lotta Love” as having the greatest guitar riff of all time. WK The song was also rated in the top 5 on similar lists from Q magazine and VH1. WK Read more.

Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

“Dazed and Confused” was the centerpiece of Led Zeppelin’s early live performances SJ but when they tired of it, the group set about creating another anthem. Little did they know that they would birth the song against which “all epic anthems must measure themselves.” RS500 The song consistently tops classic rock radio best-of lists, has received more airplay than any other song in the history of FM radio, KN and sold over a million copies of sheet music. WK For all its accomplishments, “Heaven” was never released as a single. Atlantic Records pushed for one, but the band refused to edit the song down from its eight-minute running time. WK Read more.

Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

This ode to the state of Alabama was written by three non-natives. Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington both hailed from Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was born in Glendale, California. According to Rossington, they came up with the tune while waiting for the rest of the band to get to rehearsal. WK It was written as an ode to Southern pride in response to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” and “Alabama,” songs implying that American Southerners were “racist and stuck in the past.” SF Read more.

Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” (1979)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

In Pink Floyd’s early years, they released some successful singles in the UK, but gradually became much better known as an album act. With their 1979 album, The Wall, Pink Floyd undertook their most ambitious endeavor yet, crafting a double album built around the concept of alienation. To everyone’s surprise, the band opted to promote the album with their first single in eleven years. TB Singer/songwriter and bassist Roger Waters’ “vicious attack on teachers…inspired by the cruelty of his own schoolmasters” RS500 went on to shock everyone even more by going all the way to #1. Read more.

Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

Springsteen took six months to write TB and 3 ½ to record RS500 his bonafide classic. The song underwent fifty pages of fine-tuning in his notebook TB as he crafted his tale of the ficticious Wendy KN and the “young lovers on the highways of New Jersey.” RS500 It became The Boss’ signature song – an anthem to rebellion and an ode to the musical giants who shaped him. Read more.

Steppenwolf “Born to Be Wild” (1968)

Inducted October 2020 as “Top Classic Rock Song.”

Dennis Edmonton, who was a former member of Sparrow and the brother of Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton wrote the song under the pseudonym Mars Bonfire. AMG Inspired by a motorcycle poster with the slogan “Born to Ride,” he crafted this classic with the phrase “heavy metal” describing the roar of a motorcycle. TB The song achieved iconic status when Dennis Hopper used it for the film Easy Rider. RS500 It perfectly captured the movie’s “spirit of rebelliousness and freedom.” CR Read more.
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Friday, March 9, 2018

Jimi Hendrix: An Artist Profile (1942-1970)

Jimi Hendrix

An Artist Profile: 1942-1970

Born: Johnny Allen Hendrix (aka James Marshall Hendrix)
When: November 27, 1942
Where: Seattle, Washington
Died: September 18, 1970
Where: London, England

The Players

  • Jimi Hendrix (vocals/guitar – The Experience: 66-69; Band of Gypsys: 69-70; The Cry of Love Band: 70)
  • Noel Redding (bass – The Experience: 66-69)
  • Mitch Mitchell (drums – The Experience: 66-69; The Cry of Love Band: 70)
  • Billy Cox (bass – Band of Gypsys: 69-70; The Cry of Love Band: 70)
  • Buddy Miles (drums – Band of Gypsys: 69-70)

Links

Quotable:

He “expanded the vocabulary of the electric rock guitar more than anyone before or since.” – Richie Unterberger & Sean Westergaard, AllMusic.com

Overview:

“In his brief four-year reign as a superstar, Jimi Hendrix expanded the vocabulary of the electric rock guitar more than anyone before or since.” AMG His “guitar was almost an extension of his nervous system but was also the one constant love of his life.” ES-30

“Hendrix was a master at coaxing all manner of unforeseen sonics from his instrument, often with innovative amplification experiments that produced astral-quality feedback and roaring distortion. His frequent hurricane blasts of noise and dazzling showmanship — he could and would play behind his back and with his teeth and set his guitar on fire — has sometimes obscured his considerable gifts as a songwriter, singer, and master of a gamut of blues, R&B, and rock styles.” AMG

“When Hendrix became an international superstar in 1967, it seemed as if he’d dropped out of a Martian spaceship, but in fact he’d served his apprenticeship the long, mundane way in numerous R&B acts on the chitlin circuit. During the early and mid-‘60s, he worked with such R&B/soul greats as Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, and King Curtis as a backup guitarist. Occasionally he recorded as a session man (the Isley Brothers’ 1964 single Testify is the only one of these early tracks that offers even a glimpse of his future genius). But the stars didn’t appreciate his show-stealing showmanship, and Hendrix was straight-jacketed by sideman roles that didn’t allow him to develop as a soloist. The logical step was for Hendrix to go out on his own, which he did in New York in the mid-‘60s, playing with various musicians in local clubs, and joining white blues-rock singer John Hammond, Jr.’s band for a while.” AMG

1966-67:

“It was in a New York club that Hendrix was spotted by Animals bassist Chas Chandler. The first lineup of the Animals was about to split, and Chandler, looking to move into management, convinced Hendrix to move to London and record as a solo act in England. There a group was built around Jimi, also featuring Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass, that was dubbed the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The trio became stars with astonishing speed in the U.K., where Hey Joe, Purple Haze, and The Wind Cries Mary all made the Top Ten in the first half of 1967. These tracks were also featured on their debut album, Are You Experienced?, a psychedelic meisterwerk that became a huge hit in the U.S. after Hendrix created a sensation at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967.” AMG

“Are You Experienced? was an astonishing debut, particularly from a young R&B veteran who had rarely sung, and apparently never written his own material, before the Experience formed. What caught most people’s attention at first was his virtuosic guitar playing, which employed an arsenal of devices, including wah-wah pedals, buzzing feedback solos, crunching distorted riffs, and lightning, liquid runs up and down the scales. But Hendrix was also a first-rate songwriter, melding cosmic imagery with some surprisingly pop-savvy hooks and tender sentiments. He was also an excellent blues interpreter and passionate, engaging singer (although his gruff, throaty vocal pipes were not nearly as great assets as his instrumental skills). Are You Experienced? was psychedelia at its most eclectic, synthesizing mod pop, soul, R&B, Dylan, and the electric guitar innovations of British pioneers like Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, and Eric Clapton.” AMG

1967-69:

“Amazingly, Hendrix would only record three fully conceived studio albums in his lifetime. Axis: Bold as Love and the double-LP Electric Ladyland were more diffuse and experimental than Are You Experienced? On Electric Ladyland in particular, Hendrix pioneered the use of the studio itself as a recording instrument, manipulating electronics and devising overdub techniques (with the help of engineer Eddie Kramer in particular) to plot uncharted sonic territory. Not that these albums were perfect, as impressive as they were; the instrumental breaks could meander, and Hendrix’s songwriting was occasionally half-baked, never matching the consistency of Are You Experienced? (although he exercised greater creative control over the later albums).” AMG

“The final two years of Hendrix’s life were turbulent ones musically, financially, and personally. He was embroiled in enough complicated management and record company disputes (some dating from ill-advised contracts he’d signed before the Experience formed) to keep the lawyers busy for years.” AMG

Awards

Studio Albums

Posthumous Albums

You tread dangerous ground with most of this material (if you can even find it). Your best bet is to avoid anything that hasn’t been put out by Experience Hendrix and stick to First Rays of the New Rising Sun and South Saturn Delta. Hover over an album for the name and year of release. Click to go to its snapshot on this page.

Compilations

Songs highlighted on this page are followed by the following codes to indicate appearances on any of the above compilations.

Spotify Playlist

Here’s my The Ultimate Experience (1966-1970) playlist at Spotify that combines all songs from the above compilations.

Live Albums

Songs highlighted on this page are followed by the following codes to indicate appearances on any of the above live releases.

Are You Experienced?

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Released in Europe: May 12, 1967

Released in U.S.: August 23, 1967

Peak: 5 US, 10 RB, 2 UK, 15 CN Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 0.1 UK, 6.13 world (includes US + UK), 39.69 EAS

Genre: classic guitar rock

Rating:

4.766 out of 5.00 (average of 31 ratings)

Tracks (UK version):

  1. Foxey Lady * SH-UK, SH-US, BG, UE, EH
  2. Manic Depression * SH-UK, SM-US, UE, EH
  3. Red House SH-US, UE, BL, EH, VN
  4. Can You See Me SH-UK, SH-US
  5. Love or Confusion *
  6. I Don’t Live Today *
  7. May This Be Love *
  8. Fire * SH-UK, SH-US, UE, EH, VN
  9. Third Stone from the Sun *
  10. Remember SH-US
  11. Are You Experienced? *

Other Songs from This Era:

* tracks on U.S. version of Are You Experienced?

About the Album:

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic.com called this “One of the most stunning debuts in rock history, and one of the definitive albums of the psychedelic era.” Go to the DMDB page for more about this album, including awards and deep dives into individual songs.

Axis: Bold As Love

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Released: December 1, 1967

Peak: 3 US, 5 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK, 1.10 world (includes US and UK), 10.54 EAS

Genre: classic guitar rock

Rating:

4.495 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. EXP
  2. Up from the Skies
  3. Spanish Castle Magic
  4. Wait Until Tomorrow UE
  5. Ain’t No Telling
  6. Little Wing UE, EH, SS
  7. If 6 Was 9 EH
  8. You Got Me Floatin’
  9. Castles Made of Sand UE, EH
  10. She’s So Fine
  11. One Rainy Wish
  12. Little Miss Lover
  13. Bold As Love EH

About the Album:

VH1 called this “a giant step forward for the band who were perfecting the concept of the ‘power trio.’” Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

Electric Ladyland

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Released: September 16, 1968

Peak: 12 US, 6 UK, 13 CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.1 UK, 27.37 EAS

Genre: classic guitar rock

Rating:

4.635 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. …And the Gods Made Love
  2. Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland LE
  3. Crosstown Traffic SH-US, UE, EH
  4. Voodoo Chile
  5. Little Miss Strange
  6. Long Hot Summer Night UE
  7. Come On, Pt. 1
  8. Gypsy Eyes UE
  9. Burning of the Midnight Lamp SH-UK, UE
  10. Rainy Day, Dream Away
  11. 1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
  12. Moon, Turn the Tides…Gently, Gently Away
  13. Still Raining, Still Dreaming
  14. House Burning Down
  15. All Along the Watchtower SH-US, UE, EH, SS
  16. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) UE, EH

About the Album:

In 25 Albums That Rocked the World!, Chris Charlesworth said, “For pure experimental genius, melodic flair, conceptual vision, and instrumental brilliance, The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Electric Ladyland is a prime contender for the status of rock’s greatest album.” Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

Smash Hits

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Recorded: 1966-1968

Released: 4/12/68 (UK), 7/30/69 (US)

Peak: 6 US, 4 UK, -- CN, 11 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.1 UK, 2.1 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: classic guitar rock

Rating:

4.175 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks (UK Edition):

(1) Purple Haze (2) Fire (3) The Wind Cries Mary (4) Can You See Me (5) 51st Anniversary (6) Hey Joe (7) Stone Free (8) The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam’s Dice (8) Manic Depression (9) Highway Chile (10) Burning of the Midnight Lamp (11) Foxey Lady

Tracks (US Edition):

(1) Purple Haze (2) Fire (3) The Wind Cries Mary (4) Can You See Me (5) Hey Joe (6) All Along the Watchtower (7) Stone Free (8) Crosstown Traffic (9) Manic Depression (10) Remember (11) Red House (12) Foxey Lady

About the Album:

The 1968 UK version of Smash Hits was mostly an excuse to gather Hendrix’s first three singles and B-sides in one place, as they had not been featured on a UK album before. The collection was rounded out with four cuts from Are You Experienced? as well as the single “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” and its B-side, “The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam’s Dice.”

The U.S. version of the album included seven songs from the UK version but replaced the B-sides on that collection with the three songs from Are You Experienced? that were featured on the UK version of that album but left off the U.S. version. The U.S. version of Smash Hits also included two songs from Electric Ladyland. Axis: Bold As Love is not represented on either collection.

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

Band of Gypsys/The Cry of Love Band


1969:
“He disbanded the Experience in 1969, forming the Band of Gypsys with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox to pursue funkier directions. He closed Woodstock with a sprawling, shaky set, redeemed by his famous machine-gun interpretation of The Star Spangled Banner. The rhythm section of Mitchell and Redding were underrated keys to Jimi’s best work, and the Band of Gypsys ultimately couldn’t measure up to the same standard, although Hendrix did record an erratic live album with them.” AMG

1970:
“Hendrix felt torn in many directions by various fellow musicians, record-company expectations, and management pressures, all of whom had their own ideas of what Hendrix should be doing. Coming up on two years after Electric Ladyland, a new studio album had yet to appear, although Hendrix was recording constantly during the period.” AMG

“While outside parties did contribute to bogging down Hendrix’s studio work, it also seems likely that Jimi himself was partly responsible for the stalemate, unable to form a permanent lineup of musicians, unable to decide what musical direction to pursue, unable to bring himself to complete another album despite jamming endlessly. A few months into 1970, Mitchell — Hendrix’s most valuable musical collaborator — came back into the fold, replacing Miles in the drum chair, although Cox stayed in place. It was this trio [often referred to as ‘The Cry of Love Band’] that toured the world during Hendrix’s final months.” AMG

“Everyone who…claimed to know [Hendrix] well has different versions of his state of mind in 1970. Critics have variously mused that he was going to go into jazz, that he was going to get deeper into the blues, that he was going to continue doing what he was doing, or that he was too confused to know what he was doing at all. The same confusion holds true for his death: contradictory versions of his final days have been given by his closest acquaintances of the time. He’d been working intermittently on a new album, tentatively titled First Ray of the New Rising Sun, when he died in London on September 18, 1970, from drug-related complications.” AMG

The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: December 18-19, 1969

Released: June 25, 2002

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.163 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Burning Desire BR, LE
  2. Hoochie Coochie Man BR, LE
  3. Message to Love (aka “Message of Love” and “Message to the Universe”) BR, BG, SS
  4. Ezy Ryder COL, BR, FR
  5. Power of Soul (aka “Power to Love” and “With the Power”) BR, BG, CRL, SS, BS
  6. Earth Blues BR, RB, FR, PH
  7. Changes BH, BG
  8. Here He Comes (Lover Man) BR, SS, VN, BS
  9. We Gotta Live Together BR, BG
  10. Baggy’s Jam BR
  11. Earth Blues BR, RB, FR, PH
  12. Burning Desire BR, LE

Total Running Time: 67:39

About the Album:

This collection is from Dagger Records, who releases official Jimi Hendrix bootlegs in conjunction with Experience Hendrix. The album covers rehearsal sessions from December 18 and 19, 1969, at Baggy’s in New York City in preparation for performances at the Fillmore East on December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970. The live recordings were released as Band of Gypsys. Go to the DMDB page for Band of Gypsys for more about this album.

Band of Gypsys

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: January 1, 1970 – live at Fillmore East in New York City

Released: March 25, 1970

Peak: 5 US, 6 UK, 5 CN, 4 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 7.81 EAS

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.854 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Who Knows BG
  2. Machine Gun ML, BG
  3. Changes BR, BG
  4. Power of Soul (aka “Power to Love” and “With the Power”) BR, BG, CRL, SS, BS
  5. Message to Love (aka “Message of Love” and “Message to the Universe”) BR, BG, SS
  6. We Gotta Live Together BR, BG
  7. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) * BG, RB, ML, BL, VN, PH, BS
  8. Foxey Lady * BG
  9. Stop * BG

* bonus tracks on 1991 Polydor Europe and Japan CD rerelease

Total Running Time: 45:16

About the Album:

After three albums with the Experience, he disbanded the three-piece and assembled a new trio with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. They did a handful of shows and captured their performances on this album. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

Posthumous Work (1970-74):

Hendrix produced a massive amount of studio material during his lifetime. Hence there were many posthumous releases after his untimely death that were sanctioned by Jimi’s father, Al Hendrix, as the heir to his son’s estate. The first releases were created with the same personnel that Hendrix was working with at the time of his death: drummer Mitch Mitchell, engineer Eddie Kramer, and manager Michael Jeffery.” WK

The first of these releases, 1971’s The Cry of Love, consisted of material he had been working on for an album before he died. After that, however, most of his posthumous studio releases were cobbled together collections. These were also controversial because Alan Douglas, the producer who oversaw Hendrix releases in the mid-‘70s, overdubbed Jimi’s original recordings with additional parts by studio musicians. Many fans saw this as “sacrilege, destroying the integrity of the work of a musician known to exercise meticulous care over the final production of his studio recordings. Even as late as 1995, Douglas was having ex-Knack drummer Bruce Gary record new parts for the typically misbegotten compilation Voodoo Soup. After a lengthy legal dispute, the rights to Hendrix’s estate, including all of his recordings, returned to Al Hendrix, the guitarist’s father, in July of 1995.” AMG

The Cry of Love

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 3/13/68 to 8/24/70

Released: March 5, 1971

Peak: 8 US, 2 UK, 3 CN, -- AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.830 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Freedom COL, FR, EH
  2. Drifting COL, FR
  3. Ezy Ryder BR, COL, FR
  4. Night Bird Flying COL, FR, EH
  5. My Friend COL, FR
  6. Straight Ahead COL, FR
  7. Astro Man COL, FR
  8. Angel COL, UE, FR, EH, SS
  9. In from the Storm COL, FR
  10. Belly Button Window COL, FR

About the Album:

The first posthumous Jimi Hendrix album was a shaved down version of an intended double album tentatively titled First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

Rainbow Bridge

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 3/18/69 to 8/24/70

Released: October 1971

Peak: 15 US, 16 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.700 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Dolly Dagger RB, EH, FR
  2. Earth Blues BR, RB, FR, PH
  3. Pali Gap RB, SS
  4. Room Full of Mirrors RB, FR
  5. Star Spangled Banner (studio) RB, UE, EH
  6. Look Over Yonder RB, SS
  7. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) (live at Berkeley) BG, RB, ML, BL, VN, PH, BS
  8. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) RB, ML, FR

Total Running Time: 42:22

About the Album:

“Slapped together to fulfill a Mike Jeffreys contract after the tapes to the real Rainbow Bridge concert were stolen, this collects a few excellent tracks (Dolly Dagger, Hey Baby) with trivial outtakes (a curiously tame Star Spangled Banner)” WA and the live “10-minute electric version of Hear My Train A-Comin’, which saw the song transformed almost beyond recognition; like ‘Machine Gun,’ it showcased the classic elements of the Hendrix electric sound and featured some of his most inspired improvisation.” WK Overall, though, the “strong material is on New Rising Sun and [South Saturn Delta].” WA

War Heroes

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 4/3/67 to June 1970

Released: October 1972

Peak: 48 US, 23 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: --

Rating:

3.363 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Bleeding Heart WH, BL, SS, VN, PH
  2. Highway Chile SH-UK, WH, UE
  3. Tax Free WH, SS
  4. Peter Gunn/Catastrophe WH
  5. Stepping Stone WH, FR, BS
  6. Midnight WH, SS
  7. Three Little Bears WH
  8. Cherokee Mist BS
  9. Beginning WH, ML
  10. Izabella WH, FR, PH

Total Running Time: 30:44

About the Album:

“Just a couple of new release-quality tracks (Izabella) plus B-sides (Highway Chile) and throwaways (Three Little Bears).” WA “This one would be worth owning if the two new Hendrix estate releases hadn't made it irrelevant.” WA

Loose Ends

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 7/19/67 to 6/17/70

Released: February 1974

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

2.777 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Come Down Hard on Me LE, CRL
  2. Blue Suede Shoes LE, ML
  3. Jam 292 (aka “Jelly 292”) LE, BL
  4. The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam’s Dice SH-UK, LE, SS
  5. Drifter’s Escape LE, SS
  6. Burning Desire BR, LE
  7. Hoochie Coochie Man BR, LE
  8. Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland? (alternate recording) LE

Total Running Time: 41:24

About the Album:

“Scraping the bottom of the barrel, with trivial jams (Jam 292)…and an endless live-in-the-studio take on Burning Desire.” WA

Alan Douglas Era (1975-1996):

This “era is defined by the period of control held by producer Alan Douglas…Douglas reconstructed selections of studio material by hiring session players to overdub portions that were incomplete. The resulting LPs, Crash Landing and Midnight Lightning, contain several important tracks but are generally considered to be of substandard quality. Intending to ‘refresh’ Hendrix's sound with the funk driven grooves of the era, they achieved only marginally successful sales, and the use of replacement musicians (including lead guitar work) was viewed by fans as sacrilege.” WK

Crash Landing

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 3/13/68 to 11/12/69

Charted: March 22, 1975

Peak: 5 US, 35 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.389 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Message to Love (aka “Message of Love” and “Message to the Universe”) BG CRL,, SS
  2. Somewhere Over the Rainbow CRL, PH
  3. Crash Landing CRL, PH
  4. Come Down Hard on Me LE, CRL
  5. Peace in Mississippi CRL
  6. Power of Soul (aka “Power to Love” and “With the Power”) BR, BG, CRL, SS, BS
  7. Stone Free Again SH-UK, SH-US, CRL, VN
  8. Captain Coconut CRL

Total Running Time: 29:34

About the Album:

“The first really vile plundering of the vaults, with guitar and sideman tracks scrubbed to make room for session musicians (principally Jeff Mironov, guitar; Alan Schwartzberg, drums; and Bob Babbitt, bass). There was such a preponderance of clueless white people involved with the project that no one could figure what a track labeled ‘MLK’ stood for, so they retitled it Captain Coconut.” WA

Midnight Lightning

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 3/18/69 to 3/23/70

Charted: November 29, 1975

Peak: 43 US, 46 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

2.838 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Trash Man ML
  2. Midnight Lightning ML, SS
  3. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) * BG, RB, ML, BL, VN, PH, BS
  4. Gypsy Boy (New Rising Sun) RB, ML, FR, PH
  5. Blue Suede Shoes LE, ML
  6. Machine Gun ML, BG
  7. Once I Had a Woman ML, BL
  8. Beginnings WH, ML, FR

Total Running Time: 35:58

About the Album:

“Worse than Crash Landing, with Hey Baby, Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”), the title track and other unfinished tunes given the Douglas session cat treatment.” WA

The Ultimate Experience

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 1966-1970

Released: November 2, 1992

Peak: 72 US, 25 UK, -- CN, 7 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 3.46 world (includes US + UK)

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

4.553 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks:

(1) All Along the Watchtower (2) Purple Haze (3) Hey Joe (4) The Wind Cries Mary (5) Angel (6) Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (7) Foxey Lady (8) Burning of the Midnight Lamp (9) Highway Chile (10) Crosstown Traffic (11) Castles Made of Sand (12) Long Hot Summer Night (13) Red House (14) Manic Depression (15) Gypsy Eyes (16) Little Wing (17) Fire (18) Wait Until Tomorrow (19) The Star-Spangled Banner (live) (20) Wild Thing (live)

Total Running Time: 71:55

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Wild Thing (live from Monterey Pop Festival, 1970)

Blues

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 1966-1970

Released: April 26, 1994

Peak: 45 US, 10 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US

Genre: classic rock/blues

Rating:

3.864 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) (live solo acoustic) BG, RB, ML, BL, VN, PH, BS
  2. Born Under a Bad Sign BL
  3. Red House SH-US, UE, BL, EH, VN
  4. Catfish Blues (live) BL
  5. Voodoo Chile Blues BL
  6. Mannish Boy BL, BS
  7. Once I Had a Woman ML, BL
  8. Bleeding Heart WH, BL, SS, VN, PH
  9. Jam 292 (aka “Jelly 292”) LE, BL
  10. Electric Church Red House BL, BS
  11. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) (live at Berkeley) BG, RB, ML, BL, VN, PH, BS

Total Running Time: 72:17

About the Album:

Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Experience Hendrix (1997-present):

In 1995, Jimi’s father Al Hendrix regained the rights to his son’s music. “With the help of Jimi’s step-sister Janie, Al set up Experience Hendrix to begin to get Jimi’s legacy in order. They began by hiring John McDermott and Jimi’s original engineer, Eddie Kramer to oversee the remastering process. They were able to find all the original master tapes, which had never been used for previous CD releases, and in April of 1997, Hendrix’s first three albums were reissued with drastically improved sound.” AMG

That same year a pair of compilations were issued as well. The first was First Rays of the New Rising Sun, which was comprised of tracks first featured on Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge and War Heroes. AMG Next up was South Saturn Delta which collected more tracks from posthumous albums including Crash Landing, War Heroes, and Rainbow Bridge “without the terrible ‘70s overdubs…along with a handful of never-before-heard material that Chas Chandler had withheld from Alan Douglas for all those years.” AMG

“More archival material followed; Radio One was basically expanded to the two-disc BBC Sessions (released in 1998), and 1999 saw the release of the full show from Woodstock as well as additional concert recordings from the Band of Gypsys shows entitled Live at the Fillmore East. 2000 saw the release of the Jimi Hendrix Experience four-disc box set, which compiled remaining tracks from In the West, Crash Landing and Rainbow Bridge along with more rarities and alternates from the Chandler cache.” AMG

“The family also launched Dagger Records, essentially an authorized bootleg label to supply hardcore Hendrix fans with material that would be of limited commercial appeal. Dagger Records has released several live concerts…and a collection of studio jams and demos.” AMG While there were several Dagger releases over the next decade, it wasn’t until 2010, when Experience Hendrix signed a distribution deal with Sony, that the first official “new” Hendrix album was released – Valleys of Neptune, containing primarily recordings from 1969. People, Hell and Angels followed in 2013.

First Rays of the New Rising Sun

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 3/13/68 to 8/24/70

Released: April 22, 1997

Peak: 49 US, 37 UK, -- CN, -- AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK), 6.04 EAS

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

4.156 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Freedom COL, EH, FR
  2. Izabella WH, FR, PH
  3. Night Bird Flying COL, EH, FR
  4. Angel COL, FR, EH, SS
  5. Room Full of Mirrors RB, FR
  6. Dolly Dagger RB, EH, FR
  7. Ezy Ryder COL, BR, FR
  8. Drifting COL, FR
  9. Beginnings WH, ML, FR
  10. Stepping Stone WH, FR, BS
  11. My Friend COL, FR
  12. Straight Ahead COL, FR
  13. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) RB, ML, FR
  14. Earth Blues BR, RB, FR, PH
  15. Astro Man COL, FR
  16. In from the Storm COL, FR
  17. Belly Button Window COL, FR

Total Running Time: 69:27

About the Album:

This is as close as you can get to an essential “fourth” studio album from Hendrix. When Hendrix’s family got control of his estate, they reworked his first posthumous album, The Cry of Love, into First Rays of the New Rising Sun. It was closer to the Hendrix’s vision and stripped away the over-produced elements added by Alan Douglas to the original recordings. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

South Saturn Delta

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: July 1967 to August 1970

Released: October 7, 1997

Peak: 51 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK), 2.13 EAS

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.599 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Look Over Yonder RB, SS
  2. Little Wing (alternate version) SS
  3. Here He Comes (Lover Man) BR, SS, VN, BS
  4. South Saturn Delta SS
  5. Power of Soul (aka “Power to Love” and “With the Power”) BR, BG, CRL, SS, BS
  6. Message to Love (aka “Message of Love” and “Message to the Universe”) BG, SS
  7. Tax Free WH, SS
  8. All Along the Watchtower (alternate version) SH-US, SS
  9. The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam’s Dice SH-UK, LE, SS
  10. Midnight WH, SS
  11. Angel (aka “Sweet Angel”) COL, FR, EH, SS, BS
  12. Bleeding Heart WH, BL, SS, VN, PH
  13. Pali Gap RB, SS
  14. Drifter’s Escape LE, SS
  15. Midnight Lightning ML, SS

Total Running Time: 65:47

About the Album:

“The second Hendrix family release, and again it consists mostly of previously available – though in many cases out of print - material. Generally speaking, this is the best of the material that wasn't seriously considered for release by Hendrix: abandoned tunes (the title track with a jazz horn section, Bleeding Heart); tossoff jams (Midnight, Pali Gap); demos (Sweet Angel, Little Wing). That said, it's very well put together, in several cases restoring material edited out or erased by the Douglas regime (Power of Soul), or returning to mixes Hendrix made before his death rather than posthumous mixes (Drifter's Escape). The biggest surprise on this set is a slow blues, unaccompanied version of Midnight Lightning that blows all the previously released versions away - for devotees, that one track alone makes this a valuable acquisition. Because the cuts featured here don't really reveal any previously unseen facets of Hendrix the composer, performer or producer, it's of interest only to fans, but it's roughly a hundred times better than the previous releases it makes irrelevant (War Heroes, Loose Ends, Crash Landing, Voodoo Slop). Finally somebody's doing the job right.” WA

Experience Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 1966-1970

Released: September 16, 1997

Peak: 133 US, 10 UK, 34 CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.1 UK, 2.1 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

4.415 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

(1) Purple Haze (2) Fire (3) The Wind Cries Mary (4) Hey Joe (5) All Along the Watchtower (6) Stone Free (7) Crosstown Traffic (8) Manic Depression (9) Little Wing (10) If 6 Was 9 (11) Foxey Lady (12) Bold As Love (13) Castles Made of Sand (14) Red House (15) Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (16) Freedom (17) Night Bird Flying (18) Angel (19) Dolly Dagger (20) The Star-Spangled Banner

Total Running Time: 73:32

About the Album:

Of all the Hendrix compilations, this is the best way to go for a single-disc anthology.

Valleys of Neptune

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 5/5/67 to 5/15/70

Released: March 9, 2010

Peak: 4 US, 21 UK, -- CN, -- AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK), 2.32 EAS

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.450 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Stone Free (alternate recording) SH-UK, SH-US, CRL, EH, VN
  2. Valleys of Neptune VN
  3. Bleeding Heart WH, BL, SS, VN, PH
  4. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) * BG, RB, ML, VN, PH, BS
  5. Mr. Bad Luck VN
  6. Sunshine of Your Love VN
  7. Here He Comes (Lover Man) BR, SS, VN, BS
  8. Ships Passing Through the Night VN
  9. Fire (rehearsal version) SH-UK, SH-US, UE, EH, VN
  10. Red House (rehearsal version) SH-US, UE, EH, VN
  11. Lullaby for the Summer VN
  12. Crying Blue Rain VN

Total Running Time: 62:11

About the Album:

“Valleys of Neptune, the first new Hendrix studio album released in more than a decade,” MM “assembles 12 previously unreleased recordings, which include long-sought-after studio originals, reworked arrangements of Hendrix classics, and studio versions of covers Hendrix often played in concert.” MM “The bulk of these tracks were recorded in early 1969” MM “in London and New York after the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland.” JZ “In the 18 months leading up to his death in September 1970, Hendrix was in the midst of transition borne of confidence and success.” JZ “This record captures the final studio output of the original Experience lineup” MM of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell and three tracks with “Billy Cox, Hendrix’s old army buddy who’d take up bass duties in Band of Gypsys later in the year.” JZ

People, Hell and Angels

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: 3/13/1968 to 12/19/1969

Released: March 5, 2013

Peak: 2 US, 30 UK, -- CN, -- AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.662 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

  1. Earth Blues BR, RB, FR, PH
  2. Somewhere Over the Rainbow (aka “Somewhere”) CRL, PH
  3. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) * BG, RB, ML, VN, PH, BS
  4. Bleeding Heart WH, BL, SS, VN, PH
  5. Let Me Move You PH
  6. Izabella WH, FR, PH
  7. Easy Blues PH
  8. Crash Landing CRL, PH
  9. Inside Out PH
  10. Gypsy Boy (New Rising Sun) (aka “Hey Gypsy Boy”) RB, ML, FR, PH
  11. Mojo Man PH
  12. Villanova Junction Blues PH

Total Running Time: 52:33

About the Album:

This album captures Hendrix as he “was transitioning away from the mega-successful but limiting trio format of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, whose ending was documented on…Valleys of Neptune.” UT and toward “a new, fuller and funkier sound.” UT He tapped “musicians who could supply a broader array of sounds and rhythms, from chitlin' circuit R&B spice to Sly Stone-like psychedelic soul.” UT Among the players are Buddy Miles and Billy Cox (the future Band of Gypsys rhythm section) and “Stephen Stills playing funky bass lines on Somewhere; saxophonist/vocalist Lonnie Youngblood leading a nearly seven-minute wailing R&B workout on Let Me Move You; rhythm guitarist Larry Lee fattening the sound behind Hendrix's killer rock solo on Izabella; pianist James Booker lending a modern R&B spin to Mojo Man.” UT

“Electrified blues-rock is still at the heart of the music, exemplified by thrilling re-interpretations of Hendrix’s own Hear My Train A Comin’’ and Elmore James’ Bleeding Heart.” UT Still, “while the recordings…might very well be unreleased, …the songs themselves are nothing close to that.” AQ “Let Me Move You” seems to be a new cut and “Inside Out” is – sort of. It appears to actually be an early version of “Ezy Ryder.” AQ “An overall look…shows that very little is to actually be unveiled with the record…It feels like the tracklisting was organized as a grab-bag of cuts from the many Hendrix posthumous albums already out there.” AQ

Both Sides of the Sky

Jimi Hendrix

Recorded: January 1968 to February 1970

Released: March 9, 2018

Peak: 8 US, 8 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: classic rock

Rating:

3.641 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Tracks:

  1. Mannish Boy BL, BS
  2. Here He Comes (Lover Man) BR, SS, VN, BS
  3. Hear My Train A Comin’ (aka “Hear My Train”) BG, RB, ML, VN, PH, BS
  4. Stepping Stone WH, FR, BS
  5. $20 Fine BS
  6. Power of Soul (aka “Power to Love” and “With the Power”) BR, BG, CRL, SS, BS
  7. Jungle BS
  8. Things I Used to Do BS
  9. Georgia Blues BS
  10. Angel (aka “Sweet Angel”) COL, FR, EH, SS, BS
  11. Woodstock BS
  12. Send My Love to Linda BS
  13. Cherokee Mist BS

Total Running Time: 65:32

About the Album:

“Both Sides of the Sky presents 13 studio recordings including 10 which have never before been released. All but two of these studio recordings were made during a fertile period between January 1968 and 1970. Jimi's mastery and use of the studio as a proving ground for new songs resulted in a growing collection of extraordinary material. This album completes a trilogy of albums [with Valleys of Neptune and People, Hell & Angels] presenting the best and most significant unissued studio recordings remaining in the Hendrix archive. The songs include fascinating alternate versions of Stepping Stone, Lover Man and Hear My Train A Comin’ as well as recordings where Jimi is joined by special guests Johnny Winter and Stephen Stills. Both Sides of the Sky was mixed by Eddie Kramer, the engineer for all of Hendrix’s albums throughout the guitarist’s lifetime, and produced by Janie Hendrix, Kramer and John McDermott.” AZ

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Links:

First posted 2/20/2013; last updated 8/1/2026.

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