Daily Staff Writer

“First Rays of the New Rising Sun”

Jimi Hendrix

When Jimi Hendrix died of an alleged and much disputed drug overdose in September of 1970, he was beginning to record an epic double LP at his nearly completed studio.

After his death, the albums remained incomplete and disarrayed, often circulated as bootlegs among serious music collectors.

Eventually, some of these songs were released on “The Cry of Love,” “War Heroes” and “Rainbow Bridge.” But they were never quite polished up and never compiled like they were supposed to be. Until now.

“First Rays” is a broad showcase of the musical ability Hendrix possessed.

From the beginning overture of “Freedom” to the final crunches of “Belly Button Window,” Hendrix proves that he deserves to be called the greatest guitar player ever.

Much of the songs included on this CD are a far cry from the blistering guitar and psychedelics that Hendrix is mostly known for. Part of that is due to Hendrix’s premature death and the subsequent lack of his innovate studio trickery on the vast majority of the songs.

Yet “Room Full of Mirrors” seems rather trippy with its waves of distortion and off-beat tempo. The distortion and lyrics like “making love was strange in my bed” are rather appropriate since part of the song is about taking acid and having sex.

“Angel” and “Drifting” are poignant love songs, while “Ezy Ryder” and “Straight Ahead” sound like electrified bar songs. But Hendrix has never limited himself to any category. There is also a hearty dose of blues in “Earth Blues” and “In From the Sun” and some rock-and-roll in “Astro Man.”

At worse, “First Rays” can be called a compilation of mostly-released material that would have been included in the two LP set. Fortunately, the Hendrix family (supervised by Jimi’s father, Al) smoothed out the major flaws left in the wake of Hendrix’s death.

At best, “First Rays” shows the world what an innovative, talented man Hendrix was. It hints at the musical experiments that were yet to come and makes one wonder what the final product would have been if Hendrix wouldn’t have died on that fateful September day.

4 1/2 stars

— Ben Jones