Deluxe Jimi Hendrix Reissues Set For Fall
After a first round of reissues and rarities this year, the Hendrix Estate will release a second set of deluxe reissues this fall, including Jimi Hendrix‘ Woodstock performance and a collection of the guitarist’s U.K. television and radio appearances. Jimi Hendrix: Blues, Live at Woodstock and Jimi Hendrix Experience: BBC Sessionswill hit stores on October 9th on both CD and vinyl. Additionally, the Hendrix reissue series will also include a new four-disc compilation titled West Coast Seattle Boy, a career-spanning set that will feature demos, alternate takes and other previously unreleased recordings. West Coast Seattle Boy will be bundled with a new Hendrix documentary by director Bob Smeaton.
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Jimi Hendrix: Blues, a collection of blues classics and originals, was originally released in 1994 but this edition will be upgraded with an extended version of Hendrix’ segment in Martin Scorsese’s documentary The Blues. Similarly, BBC Sessions rounds out the original with one previously unreleased performance: “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” from a 1967 episode of Top of the Pops. BBC Sessions will also include a DVD with some of Hendrix’s BBC appearances, including his riotous take on Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” on Happening For Lulu. The Live at Woodstock reissue will mirror MCA’s 1999 release of Hendrix’s legendary set concert on August 18th, 1969. Finally, Hendrix’s one-off 1969 holiday EP Merry Christmas & Happy New Year — featuring a medley of “Little Drummer Boy,” “Silent Night” and “Auld Lang Syne” with a b-side of “Three Little Bears” — will be reissued on CD and 7″ picture vinyl.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, the Hendrix reissue project kicked off earlier this year with Valleys of Neptune , a collection of unreleased Hendrix music including the psychedelic title track. In addition to reissuing Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland, the Hendrix Estate embraced the music gaming industry by releasing those three albums in their entirety as downloadable content through Rock Band . Seven “official concert bootlegs” and four albums filled with Hendrix studio demos were also finally released digitally last month.