Zebra Music

A new Jimi Henrix album of previously unreleased material is now available. The  new album is called Valleys of Neptune. It gathers studio tracks laid down at the Record Plant and Olympic Studios over four turbulent months in 1969, and captures the stone-free guitarist in a period of transition.

After the release of 1968’s Ladyland, Hendrix was looking for fresh ground. Eddie Kramer, the studio engineer who stood next to the man’s fire, claims “he was looking to do something new that was equally good, better or different.”

Here is a track-by-track  journey into Valleys of Neptune, with help from the Hendrix friend and producer Eddie Kramer.

Stone Free

The hustling, bold declaration of independence – “I got to, got to, got to get away” – was a 1966 b-side, but had taken on new meaning by the spring of 1969. Hendrix was frustrated by management he found restrictive, and had recruited Billy Cox, a trusted old army buddy to replace Noel Redding on bass. The updated Stone Free is lean and excited. “It was not only hard to play, because of its dynamic range,” explains Kramer, “but it presented all kinds of difficulties in the studio. But when it comes off, and it’s strong like this one, it takes your head off.”

Valleys of Neptune

Mercury-liquid R&B rock, about the healing powers of a rising new continent – 1969, remember? What’s unique is that Kramer married a demo Hendrix recorded in a hotel room with a band version from almost a year later. “That’s the sort of thing Jimi would have done,” Kramer says, referring to the cutting-and-pasting, “which is one of the reasons I had no qualms about doing it.”

Bleeding Heart

A blistering, up-tempo jam of the Elmore James blues, My Bleeding Heart. “It’s certainly a nice little jaunt for Jimi,” says Kramer. “Any time he felt he could take off in wild direction, within reason, he would do it – not so much to prove a point, but to stretch the boundaries.

Hear My Train a Comin’

A sorrowful, sprawling, thudding original blues number (not dissimilar to Voodoo Child) that’s available in different versions elsewhere, notably the impromptu 12-string acoustic rendition on the Blues album. As this was recorded with no overdubs, the multi-tasking musician doubles the vocal refrain with lead guitar licks. Says Kramer: “It shows a complete at-oneness with his instrument. Jimi had a thought in his mind, and in a nanosecond it gets through his body, through his heart, through his arms, through the fingers, onto the guitar.”

Mr. Bad Luck

More lightning-licked electric blues, from 1967’s Axis: Bold as Love sessions. The song, a staple of Hendrix’s pre-fame sets with the Blue Flame at Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village, was re-recorded in 1968 and released as Look Over Yonder.

Sunshine of Your Love

An animated take on the Cream classic, one of five Valley of Neptune selections laid down in advance of a pair of concerts at Royal Albert Hall. Percussionist Rocki Dzidzornu and bassist Redding slow things down, while Jimi takes a break in the song’s middle. “Jimi loved Cream, he loved Eric Clapton,” says Kramer. “It was a fabulous song, he loved to play it, and he would just rip into it whenever the mood hit him.”

Lover Man

Modeled after blues standard Rock Me Baby, this showoff-y Hendrix original (about fleeing a lady’s bedroom upon her lover’s return) is available elsewhere under slightly varied titles.

Ships Passing Through the Night

Missing for more than three decades, this lonesome bit of R&B rock is an early version of Night Bird Flying. The rhythm has a uniquely juicy tone, achieved by putting the guitar feed through a Leslie keyboard speaker. “It’s a trick I used to do with Traffic and a bunch of other bands,” explains Kramer. “Jimi was never afraid of experimenting.”

Fire

Another rehearsal number for the Royal Albert Hall shows, the track (about Jimi’s “burning desire”) is a showcase for drummer Mitch Mitchell, who died in 2008. “God bless him,” comments Kramer, “we miss his little cotton socks. He was a lovely bloke, and a brilliant drummer.”

Red House

An original slow-blues (about a key which no longer unlocks his lover’s door) exists, but this studio cut is notable for its fiery elegance and the B.B. King-mimicking falsetto vocal flares. “I’ve heard umpteen-gazillion versions of Red House, but this is gorgeous,” remarks Kramer. “Just incredibly liquid and beautiful.”

Lullaby for the Summer

By no means a traditional lullaby, this driving, funky riff-rocker eventually evolved into Ezy Ryder, a standout on Cry of Love.

Crying Blue Rain

Easily the weakest “song” here. A moody, unresolved blues jam.