The 50th anniversary of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1968 double album, “Electric Ladyland”, will be celebrated this fall with the November 9 release of a Deluxe Box Set featuring demos, outtakes, live recordings and a documentary.
The third and final studio record by the power trio was the band’s only set to top the US charts while delivering their only US Top 20 hit with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.”
The expanded 50th anniversary packages - available as either a 3CD/1 Blu-ray set or a 6LP/1 Blu-ray set – include the double album newly remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes.
A second disc presents early takes of tunes from the project, including demos for song ideas Hendrix recorded himself on a Teac reel-to-reel tape machine in early 1968, as well as early sessions at Sound Center and the Record Plant in New York.
Among the tracks are previously unreleased versions of “Angel Caterina” and “Little Miss Strange” with guest appearances from Buddy Miles and Stephen Stills; “Long Hot Summer” features Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell with Al Kooper on piano; and, “At Last . . . the Beginning” is an early version of what would become “…And the Gods Made Love.”
A third disc features the previously-unreleased live album, “Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At the Hollywood Bowl 9/14/68”, part of Experience Hendrix’s official ‘bootleg’ series; the set captures the trio in concert just a few weeks before “Electric Ladyland” was released.
The 50th anniversary reissue is rounded out with the documentary “At Last… The Beginning: The Making Of Electric Ladyland”, which explores the creation of the double album and includes first-hand recollections of Hendrix and the project by bassist Noel Redding, drummer Mitch Mitchell, manager Chas Chandler, Buddy Miles, Jack Casady, Steve Winwood, Dave Mason and others who participated in the sessions.
Of note for fans and audiophiles is that the Blu-ray and LP packages include a new 5.1 surround sound mix of the entire original album by the guitarist’s original engineer Eddie Kramer, marking the first and only time this has been done with a Hendrix studio album.
“I had always dreamed of mixing Electric Ladyland in 5.1 surround sound,” says Kramer. “It always felt to me as the perfect vehicle for the kind of adventuresome stuff that Jimi and I were trying to do in 1968. The visceral thrill when we completed the first surround mix of ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ was palpable. It was an overwhelming experience—pun intended. We viewed this song as the surround test and the moment I heard it I flashed back on those moments when Jimi and I were mixing the stereo album, laughing at our attempts to find that ‘elusive’ sound.”
Jimi Hendrix
“Electric Ladyland” 50th anniversary Deluxe Edition
Release date: November 9
Disc One: The original album
Disc Two: Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes
01. “1983 … (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)”
02. “Voodoo Chile”
03. “Cherokee Mist”
04. “Hear My Train a Comin'”
05. “Angel”
06. “Gypsy Eyes”
07. “Somewhere”
08. “Long Hot Summer Night” (Demo 1)
09. “Long Hot Summer Night” (Demo 3)
10. “Long Hot Summer Night” (Demo 4)
11. “Snowballs at My Window”
12. “My Friend”
13. “At Last … the Beginning”
13. “Angel Caterina (1983)”
15. “Little Miss Strange”
16. “Long Hot Summer Night” (Take 1)
17. “Long Hot Summer Night” (Take 14)
18. “Rainy Day, Dream Away”
19. “Rainy Day Shuffle”
20. “1983 … (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)”
Disc Three: Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The Hollywood Bowl 9/14/68
01. Introduction
02. “Are You Experienced”
03. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”
04. “Red House”
05. “Foxy Lady”
06. “Fire”
07. “Hey Joe”
08. “Sunshine of Your Love”
09. “I Won’t Live Today”
10. “Little Wing”
11. “Star Spangled Banner”
12. “Purple Haze”
Blu-ray
“At Last… The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland” documentary
“Electric Ladyland”
• Uncompressed LPCM Stereo mix 24b/96k
• Uncompressed LPCM 5.1 Surround mix 24b/96k
• DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround mix 24b/96k
See also:
Jimi Hendrix releases Lover Man video
AUDIO: Jimi Hendrix streams Lover Man from Both Sides Of The Sky
AUDIO: Jimi Hendrix streams Hear My Train A Comin’ from Both Sides Of The Sky
VIDEO: Jimi Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer previews Both Sides Of The Sky
Search Jimi Hendrix at hennemusic
