First Rays of The New Rising Sun - Hendrix's Original Plan For The Album

Hendrix's Original Plan For The Album

The original plans for the album changed many times and were never finalized. Hendrix was looking towards releasing a double or even triple LP. During mid-summer 1970, Hendrix even talked about releasing an additional LP of new songs that didn't fit the project, under the name People, Hell And Angels.

The last documented working name for the album was Strate Ahead (the title atop the last documented track list found in Hendrix's notes). The name of this release (First Rays of the New Rising Sun) was promoted by Hendrix in several interviews from late 1969 onwards, is referenced in at least two songs intended for the album "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" and "Izabella", and also in several onstage comments Hendrix made during live performances that were recorded at that time.

During recording sessions for the album, Hendrix had written a few conceptual track listings. The following track list written on a 3M tape box has no title and is not in Hendrix's handwriting:

Side A

1. Dolly Dagger
2. Night Bird Flying
3. Room Full Of Mirrors
4. Belly Button Window
5. Freedom

Side B

1. Ezy Rider
2. Astro Man
3. Drifting
4. Straight Ahead
5. Freedom

Side C

1. Night Bird Flying
2. (Drifter's Escape)
3. (Come Down On Me)
4. Beginnings
5. Cherokee Mist
6. (Angel)

Side D

This section was blank.

On the track listing above, "Freedom" is on both side A and B, and "Night Bird Flying" is on both side A and C. Also, on the handwritten track listing, two songs on side C have lines through them. It is noteworthy that Hendrix did not include many other songs which he had been working on during the summer of 1970, including "Izabella," "Lover Man," "Stepping Stone," "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)," "Earth Blues," "In From The Storm," "Bleeding Heart," "Burning Desire," "Can I Whisper In Your Ear," "Hear My Train A'Comin'," "Midnight Lightning" and "Send My Love To Linda."

Other proposed track listings

The last track listing available is for an LP entitled Strate Ahead, which is in Hendrix's handwriting. It is unknown what the crosses, ticks and dashes signify:

->Strate Ahead-> x

1. Ezy Ryder x
2. Room full of Mirrors x-
3. Earth Blues - Today √
4. Valleys of Neptune -
5. Have you heard* - √ *aka "Straight Ahead"
6. Cherokee Mist - instr.
7. Freedom x √
8. Steppin Stone √
9. IZABella √
10. Astroman x -
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11. Drifters Escape
12. Angel
13. Burning Desire
14. Nightbird Flying
15. Electric Lady - Slow.
16. Getting My Heart Back Together Again
17. Lover Man
18. Midnight Lightning
19. Can I Whisper In Your Ear - slow
20. Sending My Love - slow to medium
21. This Little Boy
22. Locomotion
23. Dolly Dagger
24. The New Rising Sun (Hey Baby)

These lists include several new songs that were in the process of being created. Some can be heard now on various releases, in early stages of development; others are difficult to identify. It is unknown whether "Sending My Love" is the same song as "Sending My Love to Linda." The song "Burning Desire" only exists in live rehearsal/concert versions and nothing of "Locomotion" is known beyond a couple of early lyric lines on a piece of paper. The identity of the song "Electric Lady-slow" is impossible to ascertain. "This Little Boy" appears to have no references and has disappeared without a trace. Most of the rest of the songs were almost finished when Hendrix died.