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_Cry Of Love_ was followed by _Rainbow Bridge_ (a soundtrack to a truly awful film) and _War Heroes_. I own all of these on CD along with _Voodoo Soup_, another lousy clip job by the soon-to-depart Hendrix producer, Alan Douglas. So, _First Rays_ was not an essential purchase for me. I had all of the tracks already. albeit not in the cohesive form purported to be offered by the Hendrix family on this disc.

This CD brings together all of the tracks from _Cry Of Love_, most of the tracks from _Rainbow Bridge_ except for "Look Over Yonder (available on _South Saturn Delta_) and the studio version of "Star-Spangled Banner" (available in Sep 2000 in the family-authorized boxed set _The Jimi Hendrix Experience_).

While the songwriting seldom rises to the level of the Holy Tryptych (_Are You Experienced_, _Axis: Bold As Love_ & _Electric Ladyland_), it's important to stress that Jimi undertook a grueling tour schedule in 1969 and in the last year of his life in order to finance his New York studio and to maintain a steady influx of cash to his producers. And while Jimi's playing is somewhat of a departure from the Holy Tryptych, most, if not all, of the songs were unfinished. When Electric Lady (also unfinished) finally opened amid a lavish party in August of 1970, only "Night Bird Flying" was played for the guests. Then Jimi flew off to Europe, never to return.

When I listened to _First Rays_, I heard an artist in transition -- not wanting to alienate his legions of fans, yet anxious to try something new. The songs are unusually reflective for Hendrix, despite the somewhat inconsistent production values that no studio glossing could overcome But having said that, the set listing is purported to be by Hendrix. Certain songs, particularly "Drifting" and "Angel", were massaged after Hendrix' death and enhanced either by the original session musicians or by Buzzy Linhart. The Mitch Mitchell-penned "Beginnings" (aka "Jam Back At The House")is so bare-boned that it's hard to listen to along with some of the more polished presentations. Hell, he's asking for a mic check on "Hey Baby (Land Of The New Rising Sun)". Chas Chandler would never have allowed that!

It's quite clear that prior to Jimi's death, he didn't know what he wamted to do. The album certainly reflects that. What's also clear is that we're none the richer that he didn't live long enough to find out.

Bottom line: if that was Jimi's set list, fine. But I believe that had he returned to New York, this would have been a completely different album.


Poetry in Motion - An Evolving Beauty Frozen in Time   June 7, 2004
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

The 5 stars I've given to this disc must be understood in context. These are not the same kind of 5 stars I gave to Are You Experienced. Then again, Jimi was alive and involved in the mixing and production of AYE and he wasn't for First Rays. As a long time Hendrix devotee, I knew he'd considered naming his next LP with this disc's title. I knew all about what was going on in his life at the time he died and how he wanted his music to evolve. The reason this disc warrants 5 stars is because the people involved in bringing this project to completion did the best they could to make Jimi's vision a reality. This is love, pure and simple.

A stripped-down, analytical view of this disc, song by song may not arrive at the conclusion above. Clearly, the studio work was not finished on many of these songs. The story of the making of these songs is a tragic tale. Jimi's last album of original studio recordings had been released in 1968 on Electric Ladyland. Since that LP, a compilation entitled Smash Hits had been released, as had Band of Gypsys, a live recording of new tunes as part of a legal settlement with one of Jimi's former business partners. Band of Gypsys, although excellent music in my opinion, was not what the majority of the record-buying public wanted to hear from Jimi. They wanted Purple Haze II, or something similarly familiar and comfortably psychedelically rocking. But Jimi had been around that block too many times and was in need of change. First Rays was to be the answer as he saw it.

Now, don't get me wrong here - I love this music. But not all of it was finished to Jimi's normal standard. He certainly planned to get it done and was considering a change of management and producers as solutions to get past the barriers he saw in his way. But lack of completeness can't hide the brilliance of his vision. Just consider two cuts as examples - Hey Baby (effectively the title track) and Ezy Ryder. Hey Baby shows both lyrically and in its arrangement where Jimi was headed. The opening section is one of the most beautiful guitar lines he ever wrote, combining so many of his roots into a statement so uniquely Jimi, it's immediately recognizable. The words tell me just how badly he needed to move beyond the constraints that had imprisoned him for all too long. Ezy Ryder shows that Jimi was still a rocker. But he was changed. Since taking over the production of his music, the orchestration had become more complex and synergistic. The lyrics show, as do the lyrics of other songs on this disc, that Jimi was struggling to make the message fit the rythym. But that's nit picking - these are great tunes. I am hugely appreciative that the Hendrix family got the right people together to make this happen. It's a must-have.


"An album you can't get enough of- A mature Jimi Hendrix"   August 12, 1999
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

"I see hands and tear-stained faces, reaching up but not quite touching the promised land..." -Earth Blues. An example perhaps, of how a maturing Hendrix sees the situation of his people (african-americans) and using poignant imagery to convey his feelings.

First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, along with all of his music in 1970, shows a very different musician to what people might expect. Gone are the pop tunes that were produced solely for commercial profit and in with a fusion of styles that surely leaves this album as one of the most under-rated of Jimi's career. From the truly amusing Astro Man to the flowing harmony of Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun), every track on this disc is music that needs to be heard and savoured! Compared to the limited experience of Noel Redding (sorry Noel), Billy Cox gives Hendrix' sound a new dimension with simple yet innovative bass playing. Cox had become friends with Hendrix in 1962, when the two were serving Uncle Sam- and on many tracks you can hear Jimi playing in unison with Billy's bass riffs and then leaning into his no-doubt improvised solo. Let us not forget Mitch Mitchell, whose jazz drumming education keeps his rhythms progressive and complimentary with the wonders of Jimi's imagination and his guitar-playing. Mitchell was the architect of "Beginnings" the only instrumental that features on album- four minutes of sounds with swirling moods that leave you wanting more.

If you're looking for album with a difference- try listening to First Rays of The New Rising Sun.


"Riding down the highway of desire..."   December 10, 2001
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

It should not be expected that compilations of unreleased material should live up to an artist's fundamental body of work, but the posthumous Jimi Hendrix collection, First Rays a New Rising Sun, comes pretty close. Most of its material was compiled from work meant for the guitar-slinging hippie hero's forth studio album, which he was in the midst of recording at the time of his unfortunate death in 1970. The LP was meant to be a return to the highway-roaming, rapid-fire rock of his debut, 1967's Are You Experienced. If songs such as the rollicking "Dolly Dagger," the impassioned "Ezy Rider," the Vietnam-inspired "Izabella," the epic title track and the anthems, "Earth Blues" and "Freedom" are any indications, Hendrix had a good chance at topping himself. Of coarse, First Rays does include a few tracks that may have been improved or deleted if Hendrix had completed this work, such as the half-baked "Astro Man" and the ironically meandering "Straight Ahead." But for a collection of unreleased work, First Rays of a New Rising Sun is absolutely as good as they come.