Jimi Hendrix: The Posthumous Album by Album thread

Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge

Released: October 1971
Recorded: 1968–1970 at TTG Studios, Record Plant Studios and Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York and Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California
Length: 42:22
Label: Reprise
Producer: Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Eddie Kramer, John Jansen.

The pairing of Rainbow Bridge with The Cry of Love comprises the bulk of the most complete tracks that Hendrix was intending to release on his next (double) LP, First Rays of the New Rising Sun.

All songs on the album were written by Hendrix, except the cover of 'The Star-Spangled Banner', and recorded throughout 1969 and 1970, with the exception of 'Look Over Yonder', which was recorded in 1968.

The mighty 'Hear My Train A Comin' was recorded live at the Berkeley Community Theatre on May 30, 1970 (1st show).

The album was the second to be produced by Kramer and Mitchell, with the help of Jansen, and was again fairly well received, reaching number 15 and number 16 in the U.S. and the UK respectively.

'Dolly Dagger' b/w 'Star Spangled Banner' was released as a single in the U.S., but only reached number 74.

Four songs from Rainbow Bridge are featured on the EH 1997 compilation 'First Rays of the New Rising Sun'.

Two songs are featured on another EH 1997 compilation 'South Saturn Delta'. The (studio) version of 'The Star Spangled Banner' can be found in the 2000 box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box set).

Though misconstrued to be a live album of the famed concert uptop the Haleakala Crater; it is, indeed, the original soundtrack to the film as all tracks appear in various scenes.

The Berkeley performance of 'Hear My Train A Comin' doesn't appear in the film's soundtrack as it was performed in the Haleakala concert sequence. All other songs are new material from studio sessions.


Rainbow Bridge (1971)
(All songs written and composed by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted)

Side One

1. Dolly Dagger - 4:45
2. Earth Blues - 4:20
3. Pali Gap - 5:05
4. Room Full Of Mirrors - 3:17
5. Star Spangled Banner - (Francis Scott Key, John Stafford Smith, arr. Hendrix) (Studio Version) 4:07

Side Two

1. Look Over Yonder - 3:28
2. Hear My Train A Comin' (Live) - 11:15
3. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) - 6:05


Non Album tracks that appear in the Film

Bleeding Heart - Recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City, New York, USA on March 24, 1970.) Released on 'War Heroes' in 1972.

New Rising Sun - Recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios. This track has only been partially used in the composite edit with 'MLK' to make up the track 'Captain Coconut' on the 1975 Alan Douglas produced 'Crash Landing' and as the opening track to 1995's now deleted Voodoo Soup.

Bolero - Recorded July, 1970 at Electric Lady Studios. Never officially released.

Room Full Of Mirrors (alternate mix) - Recorded at Record Plant Studios on November 17, 1969 and Electric Lady Studios, October 22, 1970. This alternate mix has Buddy Miles' original drum tracks replaced with that of Mitch Mitchell, recorded onto open tracks on the original 16 track master reel, while saving Miles' parts. This alternate mix only appears very briefly in the movie and has not seen release elsewhere, bootleg or official, and is still in the Hendrix tape archive.

Beginnings - Recorded July, 1970 at Electric Lady Studios. Released on 1972's posthumous release, 'War Heroes' and 1997 Experience Hendrix compilation 'First Rays of the New Rising Sun'. An alternate take was later erased of the original backing tracks and replaced with session musicians for use on the second Alan Douglas/Hendrix release Midnight Lightning.

These original 1971 Reprise album mixes found on later releases
Rainbow Bridge, as an album has never released on compact disc, and IMO never will be. However, all of the original Reprise mix masters from the original Rainbow Bridge album have been issued on subsequent compilations.

Dolly Dagger is on the 1997 First Rays of the New Rising Sun album.
Earth Blues is on the 1997 First Rays of the New Rising Sun album.
Pali Gap is on the 1997 South Saturn Delta album.
Room Full Of Mirrors is on the 1997 First Rays of the New Rising Sun album.
Star Spangled Banner (Studio Version) is on the 2000 The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box set).
Look Over Yonder is on the 1997 South Saturn Delta album.
Hear My Train A Comin' (Live), is on 1994's Blues and with a slightly truncated end applause fade, is on on the 2001 Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection album.
Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) is on the 1997 First Rays of the New Rising Sun album.


Rainbow Bridge Band

Jimi Hendrix – guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals on tracks 1 and 2
Mitch Mitchell – drums on all tracks except track 4.
Billy Cox – bass
Juma Sultan – congas, percussion
Albert Allen – backing vocals on track 1
Buddy Miles – drums on track 2 (prior to 1970 overdubs by Mitch Mitchell) and track 4, backing vocals on track 2
The Ronettes (Veronica Bennett, Estelle Bennett, Nedra Talley) – backing vocals on track 2
Noel Redding – bass on track 6

Recording details

Tracks 1, 3 and 8 recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York on July 1, 1970
Track 2 recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City, New York on December 19, 1969 and Electric Lady Studios, July, 1970
Track 4 recorded at Record Plant Studios on November 17, 1969 and Electric Lady Studios, July, 1970
Track 5 recorded at Record Plant Studios on March 18, 1969
Track 6 recorded at TTG Studios in New York City, New York on October 22, 1968
Track 7 recorded at Berkeley Community Theatre in Berkeley, California on May 30, 1970 (1st show)

(Adapted from Wilkipedia.com)

 

Anyone know why Rainbow Bridge was never released on CD? I think it's a great album and certainly more deserving of a CD release than several other posthumous albums which dit get a CD release.

 

No idea. It was even given the Reprise CD catalog number. My local record store keeper tried many times to order it for me during the 90's.

 

Oh my god, I used to have that exact same Rainbow Bridge poster!! Got one in pretty decent condition back around '88 (spring of my freshman year in college). No idea what happened to it. I think I even got it laminated it back then (if you can imagine a laminator that big). Haven't seen, nor thought of it, in years.

 

I also tried really hard to find a CD of Rainbow Bridge. I ended up needledropping my vinyl instead and it sounds worlds better than First Rays...

Frank R.

 

3. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) - 6:05

This is one of those Hendrix songs that when you first hear it, you get transported to another place and time. That's the way I remember feeling.

 

Now this is preety good. Great songs, good sequence, primo Hendrix.

I cant begin to tell you my frustration stories trying to get this one. Long story short, I never did get it.

Hey Baby is in my top 3 Hendrix songs of all time.

 

Totally, Hey Baby, Pali Gap and the 'scorching' Hear My Train were the highlights for me!

Does anyone know if the song 'Pali Gap' was 'named' by Hendrix or was named posthumously by the Rainbow Bridge producers, and was just an instrumental without a title, or maybe it had a different title in Hendrix's lifetime ? ?

 

I *believe" it was named my Michael Jeffrey. If not, I'm still reasonably certain that it was NOT named by Hendrix himself.

 

Mike Jeffery came up with the Pali Gap title after Jimi passed away. IIRC the tape box simply says "Slow Part".

 

Once Alan Douglas took over, outside of Cry Of Love, he deleted the Jeffery posthumous releases. Rainbow Bridge was a nice collection.

 

The song was a grower for me. At first, it sounded like a tossed-off number to me. Then, I finally took stock of the song's title as the name of and metaphor for, that specific character - Dolly Dagger (the Femme Fatale). It being more of a straight bluesy but funky and soulful, straightforward tune, made the blade of her knife all the sharper as she stuck into the heart of another of her men, lol. The phrase and lyrics work on other levels too. Anyway, I like the whole song very much and appreciate it, much more than when initially hearing it.

 

True. But Polydor released War Heroes and Loose Ends on CD in Europe. Was Rainbow Bridge contracted exclusive to Reprise?

 

Good question. Even Loose Ends, Cry of Love and War Heroes were released by Russian Labels (needle drops?), but I could not find Rainbow Bridge. I too think it is his strongest posthumous album up to when EH took over the catalog. The only dog for me is the studio Star Spangled Banner.

 

Rainbow Bridge has not been released (officially) on CD. And by the way, if you are seeking it out on vinyl, the one you want is stamped Sterling and has the initials RL in the dead wax. Listening to Pali Gap and Hey Baby on a clean copy of the LP is a pretty worth while way to spend ten minutes or so, if you ask me ...

 

I agree that it would be nice to have a dedicated CD release of "Rainbow Bridge", but it wouldn't be a difficult task to make a CD-R of it by simply burning the songs from "First Rays", "South Saturn Delta", the purple box, & "Blues", ........ assuming that you have all of those, of course.

 

Brilliant! thanks for that, i will check out my 'unofficial' release I am sure i have seen that 'Slow Part' title on a few releases, perhaps there is a longer/different version out there!!

 

Needledrop is the only way to go for 'Rainbow Bridge', the other EH releases are to compressed and sound mess up IMO, I tried what you suggested matching volumes etc, and it just didn't sound good, but a nice clean needledrop is and takes me back to how I first heard it from a cassette dub from Vinyl!!

 

Oh, I agree that the EH CD's wouldn't make the best "sounding" Rainbow Bridge, just that it could be done.

 

I've only ever seen Rainbow Bridge on Reprise - UK, US and Australian pressings. Virtually every album had been on Polydor in the UK and Australia up to that point (apart from the Experience Soundtrack - a slightly grey area release even to the present time). It was a great album. The stoned rap reproduced on the inside of the gatefold was far more readable on the UK pressing, whereas the US pressing was much better sounding. Warners had to contract separately for that soundtrack album, so presumably there is a different licensing structure for that one.

 

That album cover looks incredible if you have it in front of you.
One of my fave's.

 

Different tastes I guess. I think the studio version of the "Star Spangled Banner" is fantastic.

The studio version isn't a bold call to war/peace, or a restatement of the anthem for the "Youth Generation" or whatever has been lumbered on the Woodstock version by later writers. I like that version also for Jimi's solo guitar virtuosity.

The studio version though is a totally different vision of stunning than the live version, IMO. Jimi has the luxury of overdubbing an orchestra of guitar parts, so the studio version is all about the harmony guitars to me and there are a couple of harmony lines that never cease to amaze me and give me chills.

It helps if you keep in mind that it's ALL Jimi here. No drums, no bass, no synthesizers of course. All the sounds are coming from Jimi's guitar.

Its an amazing "head" arrangement. Jimi just played one guitar part, rewound tape and added another part and then another part,etc., all in one session if memory serves me. I also seem to recall that it was one of Jimi's first sixteen track sessions, and it sounds like it. I tried to look it up in the first edition of the "Sessions" book, but annoyingly..there's no index.

Does anyone know if there is an index in the new edition ? That would certainly make things easier to look up.

P.S. I got freaked out for a minute. I coudn't find my Rainbow Bridge album for a few minutes. Found it. Misfiled. Life is good.

 

I'm waaay behind on this thread. No idea about My Friend. I guess they were holding Dolly Dagger back for RB but no idea why My Friend other than there was a lot of stuff, including everything from Olympic, the compilers of the posthumous LP's didn't have.

No truth in that. Noel had a totally different song he called "My Friend" that was recorded in 3/70 for Noel's unre solo LP. Jimi did overdub a guitar part on Noel's song (which hasn't been released/booted) but Jimi's "My Friend" had nothing to do with Noel's song. If Noel listened to COL this would be obvious.

I'm with you on Straight Ahead. I dig the song but the recording on COL is kinda limp and tame IMO. I feel the same way about In From The Storm. Love the riff, love the song but the studio version is tepid. The Maui version has an energy and passion totally missing on the COL version. I think part of it is Mitch and part is the studio. Not sure why but out of all the studios Jimi used I think I like Electric Lady the least. Too much of a soft 70's plush carpet on the walls Eagles thing on some of the songs.

 

There was a time I played this one incessantly and learned to play that beaut Hey Baby opening riff on bass. What a delight.
In view of the 'original soundtrack' angle, it's a bit odd that Ezy Rider and In From The Storm were released earlier on COL. They served COL well, of course. The artwork on RB is so completely 'film stills', that it raises a couple more questions to me; The idea of a "soundtrack" contract has been mentioned. Mitchell did some overdubbing for the live-track. Is there any documentation that a live Maui ALBUM was ever considered or assembled, or were the Mitchell dubs just for the film? If there was a live album planned or assembled...was the line-up similar or identical to the 45min vinyl boot (which wasn't merely lifted from the film-track)? Did the chronological proximity of the film's release and the duplication of songs negate the need for one of the two, and the studio RB won? Any historical write-up on the decision process??

 

I've always loved the double image photo and the colors of the lettering on the lp cover. And it would've still looked nice at cd size, doggone it! I can live without Nine To The Universe on cd, but was always disappointed Rainbow Bridge didn't make it.