JIMI HENDRIX "VALLEYS OF NEPTUNE" DUE OUT IN MARCH

Over the summer, I wrote about how Experience Hendrix - the company that owns the recordings of Jimi Hendrix - was leaving Universal Music at the end of 2009 and moving to Sony Legacy. I wondered, "What could get me to buy more Jimi Hendrix CDs?" Obviously, I love Jimi, but I've purchased the all the studio albums more than once, and ditto for different versions of his BBC recordings, Woodstock, Montery, and his live Band Of Gypsys album.

Well, Experience Hendrix has answered that question: they just announced that on March 9, they will be releasing Valley Of Neptune, which will feature rare and unreleased stuff, including the title track, which was recorded at Jimi's final sessions. That song is actually on the long out-of-print Lifelines box set from 1990 ( back when the catalog was on Reprise Records). Lifelines was a four CD (or in my case, four cassette -- time to see if my car's tape deck is still working!) box set.  The first three tapes were a long BBC radio doc on Jimi (so most of the songs have narration and/or interview clips over the beginning and/or end, so the version of "Valley Of Neptune" isn't "clean"), and the 4th tape was a concert recorded 4/26/69 in Los Angeles.  Sony should reissue Lifelines, and give the option of "clean" versions of the songs. Another good box set from those days (which I also have only on cassette) was Stages, four tapes, each one a different concert from a different year.

Anyway, March 9 will also see the reissue of all three Jimi Hendrix Experience albums, the Smash Hits collection and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, (all with documentary DVDs) and a Woodstock DVD.