Have you ever wished that your favorite band, or artist, had left behind an album of material recorded in their prime?  Forget bootlegs and live recordings - I am talking about a fully realized album of studio recordings.  A dream, you say?  Well, what if we told you that a certain left handed genius, the man Rolling Stone called the greatest guitar player of all time, had done just that?

On March 9, the world will be given a great musical gift as Valleys of Neptune is released.  The artist:  JIMI HENDRIX~!  This is no shabby compilation.  This is a full album of material that features the original Jimi Hendrix Experience's final studio recordings. Here the group lays down the foundation for its follow-up to Electric Ladyland, alongside the guitar superhero's first sessions with bassist Billy Cox, an old army buddy he'd recruited into his new ensemble.

These studio recordings were made in 1969, the year Jimi closed out the Woodstock Festival with one of the most legendary performances in rock history.  Highlights on Valleys of Neptune include blazing studio covers of Elmore James' classic "Bleeding Heart" and Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," as well as premier performances of original Hendrix compositions like "Ships Passing Through The Night," "Lullaby For The Summer," and the original recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience rendition of "Hear My Train A Comin'." Also included in Valleys Of Neptune is "Mr. Bad Luck," a Jimi Hendrix Experience track, produced by former Animal bassist Chas Chandler during the 1967 Axis: Bold as Love sessions.  The song Valleys of Neptune will be released globally on February 2, 2010, nearly forty years after Jimi finished recording the track at New York's Record Plant in May of 1970.

This is just the beginning of a wave of releases for the Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project.  Also to be released on March 9 are new deluxe CD/DVD editions of Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love, Electric Ladyland, and First Rays of the New Rising Sun, also available on vinyl.   The critically acclaimed Live At Woodstock will be available as a standard DVD, as well as a Blu-ray Disc.  It may be a good idea to start clearing some shelf space in your living room.

Keep checking back with your friends here at Woodstock.com for all Jimi Hendrix news.  We are on top of it!

Here is the album info:

 

Valleys of Neptune

Stone Free

Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 7, 9, 14, May 17,1969

Producer: Jimi Hendrix

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Billy Cox

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Backing Vocals: Roger Chapman, Andy Fairweather Low

 

Valleys Of Neptune

Recorded: Record Plant, New York, September 23, 1969, May 15, 1970

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell 

Bass: Billy Cox 

Percussion: Juma Sultan

 

Bleeding Heart

Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 24, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Billy Cox 

Drums: Rocky Isaac 

Tambourine: Chris Grimes 

Maracas: Al Marks

 

Hear My Train A Comin'

Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 7, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Mr. Bad Luck

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, May 5, 1967 

Producer: Chas Chandler 

Additional bass and drum recording, Air Studios, London, June 5, 1987 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Sunshine Of Your Love

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 16, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell 

Percussion: Rocki Dzidzornu

 

Lover Man

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 16, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Ships Passing Through The Night

Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 14, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Fire

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 17, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass, Backing Vocal: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Red House

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 17, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Lullaby For The Summer

Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 7, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Mixed By Eddie Kramer 

Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell

 

Crying Blue Rain

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 16, 1969 

Producer: Jimi Hendrix 

Additional bass and drum recording, Air Studios, London, June 5, 1987 

Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix 

Percussion: Rocki Dzidzornu 

Bass: Noel Redding 

Drums: Mitch Mitchell