Jimi Hendrix new album
On March 9, 2017, the new Jimi Hendrix album, "Both Sides of the Sky," was released. It features 13 studio recordings from 1968-1970, including 10 previously unreleased tracks. Both Sides of the Sky is the third and final part in a trilogy containing the best and most important unreleased studio recordings of Hendrix, of which Valleys of Neptune (2010) and People, Hell & Angels (2013) are also part of.
By: Eddie Kramer
Many of the tracks on Both Sides of the Sky were played with the trio that later became known as Band of Gypsys, with Jimi on guitar, Buddy Miles on drum and Billy Cox on bass. On April 22, 1969, in what would become their first session together, the band went back to basics with the Delta blues with a previously unreleased uptempo version of Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy." The second song, "Lover Man," was a favorite original of Hendrix's, and he intended to record a definitive version, something that had never been achieved with The Experience.
On the April 1969 recording of “Hear My Train A Comin” his Experience drummer Mitch Michell and bassist Noel Redding heard, followed by previously unreleased versions of “Stepping Stone,” “Jungle,” “Cherokee Mist” (featuring Hendrix on guitar and sitar), and a January 1968 recording of “Sweet Angel.”
Guest contributions can also be heard from Stephen Stills on the Joni Mitchellsong “Woodstock”, which was recorded months before the release of the well-known version of Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungStills also contributed the song “$20 Fine,” featuring Hendrix on multiple guitars, Mitch Michell on drums, Stills on organ and vocals, and Buddy Miles Express member Duane Hitchings on piano.
For a never before heard full version of Guitar Slim's cover “Things I Used To Do” teams Hendrix with Johnny Winter on guitar, Billy Cox on bass and CSN&Y drummer Dallas TaylorOn “Georgia Blues” is Curtis Knight & The Squires veteran Lonnie Youngblood can be heard on vocals and saxophone.
Jimi Hendrix – Both Sides of the Sky will be released on March 9, 2018 on CD, 2LP 180-gram vinyl, and all digital formats.
“Since Experience Hendrix began its restoration of the Jimi Hendrix music catalog in 1997, our goal has been to present these important recordings to Jimi's fans in the best possible quality. We are excited about achieving that. We've also been intent on generating album releases which present this amazing music in its proper context.” Co-producer John McDermott, 2017
“We have a growing commitment to preserve the legacy of Jimi and also to continue to give the worldwide family of Jimi fans quality releases. That's what “Both Sides of The Sky reflects…our ongoing commitment. In a deeper sense, it's the keeping of a promise. Jimi and I once made a promise to each other. He said he would take care of me and I told him I would take care of him. Through his music and our preservation of his work, my brother and I honor one another. We are now in our third decade of watching over Jimi's creative works and our resolve to maintain the integrity of what he left us has only grown stronger with time.” Janie Hendrix, President & CEO of Experience Hendrix, LLC, 2017
“Jimi's true home was the studio, that's where the music and the magic happened. He loved everything about recording and it's been my distinct pleasure and an honor to play a part in that process both then and now.”
