South Saturn Delta is a posthumous compilation album by American rock musician Jimi Hendrix . Released in 1997 by Experience Hendrix (operated by his estate), it consists of material such as demo tapes, unfinished takes and alternate mixes, and previously released material, most of which Hendrix had been working on prior to his death in 1970.
16-651: Released prior to South Saturn Delta , First Rays of the New Rising Sun was Experience Hendrix's attempt at presenting Hendrix's planned fourth studio album. The album consists of songs previously released on his first posthumous albums The Cry of Love (1971), Rainbow Bridge (1971), and War Heroes (1972). South Saturn Delta collects five songs from the latter two then out-of-print albums that were not selected for First Rays . Other tracks include " The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice ", an early Jimi Hendrix Experience B-side single that saw release on
32-480: A studio album, consisting as it does solely of studio recordings, most of them cut and/or polished shortly before his death in September 1970 ... Yet when all is said and done, [it] is not what Hendrix would have issued as his fourth album. No such record could be posthumously compiled, as nobody knows with absolute certainty what songs he would have included, and what additional production work he might have done on
48-497: A transitional phase for Hendrix". Details are taken from the liner notes to the original MCA CD and may differ from other sources. All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix From the original MCA Records First Rays of the New Rising Sun CD booklet: Band members Additional musicians Additional personnel War Heroes War Heroes is a compilation album by American guitarist Jimi Hendrix . Released in
64-540: Is "less of a mess" than the albums that preceded it but does not explore deep enough into Hendrix's recordings. Robert Christgau wrote in Blender , "it establishes the listenability of Hendrix's dribs and drabs", despite being "discographically presumptuous". AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the album serves as an attempt to "capture the full range of Hendrix's music through an alternate history ... an intelligently sequenced, listenable collection of some of
80-406: The 1970s through the 1990s, the songs also appeared on other posthumous compilations supervised by producer Alan Douglas , who wiped bass and drums performances by Mitchell, Cox and Miles and overdubbed them with parts newly recorded by session musicians. He also added female backing singers to one track, and claimed co-composer credit on several tracks. For the 1997 compilation, Kramer instead used
96-442: The New Rising Sun was Kramer's reimagination of Hendrix's projected double LP, which was not as remarkable musically as his last studio album Electric Ladyland (1968) and "not too profound lyrically". Nonetheless, Christgau deemed it a suitable successor to The Cry of Love , as well as "a powerful collection by a genius whose songwriting kept growing and whose solos rarely disappoint." Sean Murphy from PopMatters believed it
112-618: The New Rising Sun was released in 1997, it charted at number 49 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and at number 37 on the UK Albums Charts in Britain. In 2010, the album was remastered and re-released by Sony Legacy and included a DVD with a mini-documentary titled An Inside Look: First Rays of the New Rising Sun . According to Robert Christgau in Blender , First Rays of
128-495: The UK compilations Smash Hits (1968) and Loose Ends (1974), but never officially released in the US on a Jimi Hendrix album. Alternate takes and mixes of previously released songs and demos for new songs that Hendrix may or may not have completed for release flesh out the album. In a review for Rolling Stone , David Fricke viewed South Saturn Delta as an inconsistent compilation that
144-620: The UK in October 1972, and in December 1972 in the US, it was the third album of mostly unreleased studio recordings to be issued after Hendrix's death. The album was engineered, mixed and compiled by Eddie Kramer and John Jansen , although biographer and later Hendrix producer John McDermott also identifies Hendrix as a producer. War Heroes contains three songs that Hendrix proposed for his fourth studio album: " Stepping Stone ", "Izabella", and "Beginnings" (listed as "Beginning"). These and songs from
160-424: The final six months. All of the songs had been released previously on Hendrix's first posthumous albums The Cry of Love , Rainbow Bridge , and War Heroes ; Cry of Love appears here in its entirety but within a different running order. First Rays of the New Rising Sun superseded Voodoo Soup , the 1995 attempt by controversial interim Hendrix producer Alan Douglas , to realize Hendrix's fourth album. At
176-619: The ones he had laid down in the studio, no matter how complete they might have seemed to others." Several additional songs that appeared on Hendrix's proposed track listings for his fourth studio album were later released by Experience Hendrix: " Valleys of Neptune ", "Cherokee Mist", " Bleeding Heart ", " Hear My Train A Comin' " (also known as "Getting My Heart Back Together Again"), "Lover Man", "Midnight Lightning" (demo), and "Send My Love to Linda". Another three, "Come Down Hard on Me Baby", "The Drifter's Escape ", and "Burning Desire", were issued on Loose Ends (1974). When First Rays of
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#1733144113891192-415: The original master recordings and sequenced the songs to realize Hendrix's plans to the best of his abilities. He selected tracks based on their original level of completion and Hendrix's personal notes. According to Richie Unterberger in his Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix (2009), "Some Hendrix fans might take issue with First Rays of the New Rising Sun being classified as a compilation, rather than as
208-470: The time of his death in 1970, Hendrix was working on enough songs for a double album, with one proposed title First Rays of the New Rising Sun . The tracks were in varying stages of development, with only about six believed to be near completion. Long-time Hendrix recording engineer Eddie Kramer and drummer Mitchell selected 17 of what they felt were the best tracks, which were first released on The Cry of Love , Rainbow Bridge , and War Heroes . From
224-695: The very best outtakes and rarities from Hendrix". James P. Wisdom from Pitchfork found the songs full of Hendrix's growing embrace of fusing rock , blues , and jazz sounds "in ways that had never been considered". All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix, except as noted Additional Personnel First Rays of the New Rising Sun First Rays of the New Rising Sun is a compilation album credited to American rock musician Jimi Hendrix , issued in April 1997 on MCA Records . Featuring songs mostly intended for his planned fourth studio album , it
240-436: Was more successful than The Cry of Love in realizing Hendrix's vision. He highlighted the "liberating presence" of bassist Billy Cox , deeming him an improvement over Noel Redding . According to Murphy, Cox allowed the band to "spread out and chase the guitarist as he soars above, around and beneath them". Rolling Stone magazine called the album "a cohesive cosmic missive", writing that it "illuminates what would have been
256-497: Was one of the first releases overseen by Experience Hendrix, the family company that took over management of his recording legacy. It reached the album charts in the United States, United Kingdom, and four other countries. Hendrix recorded most of the songs at his new Electric Lady Studios in New York City with former Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell and Band of Gypsys bassist Billy Cox , his regular backing for
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