The American musician Jimi Hendrix intended to release his fourth studio album as a double or triple LP before Christmas 1970.
The Cry of Love (1971), Voodoo Soup (1995) and First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) are officially released attempts to reconstruct the planned album.
The extensive sessions for Electric Ladyland had been a reason for Chas Chandler to quit his role of producer, and also soured Hendrix's relation with bass player Noel Redding.
Electric Lady's Studio A was designed to serve as Hendrix's personal creative space; an inspiring environment where he could develop his music from demos to final mixes, with a supportive team and the best equipment available.
Hendrix and his team soon showed much progress in the creation of a new album, so the studio time of August 1970 was almost exclusively used for mixing and overdubbing sessions to finish the recorded songs.
[3][4] A 24 June 1970 memo by Hendrix listed 11 songs "having backing tracks completed", with the last entries "Drifter's Escape" and "Burning Desire" receiving question marks.
Almost all the recordings at Electric Lady were made with the planned album in mind, but some were incidental jams or compositions that were abandoned: Hendrix had preferred the title First Rays of the New Rising Sun since January 1969.
[17] During the tour, "Lover Man", "Hear My Train A Comin'", "Freedom", "Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)", "Ezy Ryder", "Machine Gun", "The Star-Spangled Banner", "Straight Ahead", "Midnight Lightning", "Dolly Dagger", "Room Full of Mirrors", and "In from the Storm" were performed, along with tracks from his previous albums and singles.
When work in his Electric Lady Studios advanced, Hendrix imagined the album could become a triple, under the title People, Hell and Angels.
It was reportedly recalled because it could interfere with the sales of the Band of Gypsys live album that was delivered to Capitol Records to fulfil a contractual obligation.
A single with "Dolly Dagger" b/w "Night Bird Flying" was mastered on 26 August 1970 but the planned release by Reprise Records was cancelled after Hendrix's death.
After Michael Jeffrey had decided to hold back "Dolly Dagger" and "Room Full of Mirrors" for release on Rainbow Bridge, the tracks "My Friend" and "Straight Ahead" were selected instead.
First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997) is the officially released attempt by Experience Hendrix (his family estate's company), in collaboration with Kramer, to reconstruct the planned double album.