Jimi Hendrix's first two posthumous studio albums, The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge – which both originally came out in 1971 – will be available as newly remastered CD, LP and digital reissues next month. Audio engineer Bernie Grundman, whose mastering credits include Prince's Purple Rain and Michael Jackson's Thriller, went back to the original analog masters for each album to get the best sound possible, and each reissue will feature the original album art and track orders.
It will also be the first time that Rainbow Bridge has been available as an official CD.The Cry of Love originally came out less than six months after Hendrix's death in September 1970 and was compiled by engineer Eddie Kramer and Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. The guitar icon recorded the majority of the songs on the album between December 1969 and the summer of the following year at his New York studio Electric Lady, with the intention of releasing it as a double album titled First Rays of the New Rising Sun. That album was later pieced together for a 1997 release featuring recordings with Mitchell, bassist Billy Cox, drummer Buddy Miles (on "Ezy Rider") and Experience bassist Noel Redding, as well as a guest appearance by Steve Winwood.
Rainbow Bridge, which Kramer and Mitchell also compiled, originally came out in October 1971 and contained more music from the sessions that made up The Cry of Love. The record contains a studio version of Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner," as well as a single live recording of "Hear My Train a Comin'," which he recorded in 1970. The album also features appearances by Miles and Redding, as well as a guest shot by the Ronettes, who provided backing vocals for "Earth Blues."
Both reissues will be available on September 16th.
