Hendrix- Cry of Love 2014 vs First Rays 1997*

I have the original War Heroes Cd and it sounds good, at least not loud and shouty like First Rays et al.

 

These are the songs Hendrix was actively overdubbing/mixing during the summer of 1970:

Ezy Ryder [alternate mix, 6/15/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Purple box)
In From The Storm [alternate mix, 8/20/70, Electric Lady Studios] (WCSB)
Room Full of Mirrors [8/20/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Rainbow Bridge)
Dolly Dagger [8/20/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Rainbow Bridge)
Straight Ahead [8/20/70, Electric Lady Studios – Eddie Kramer only] (Cry of Love)
Come Down Hard On Me [8/22/70, Electric Lady] (Purple Box)
Astro Man [8/22/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Cry of Love)
Drifter’s Escape [8/22/70, Electric Lady Studios] (South Saturn Delta)
Earth Blues [alternate mix 8/22/70] (Purple Box)
Message To Love [alternate mix, 8/22/70] (WCSB)
Night Bird Flying [alternate mix, 8/22/70] (Purple Box)
Ezy Ryder [8/22/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Cry of Love)
Belly Button Window [8/24/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Cry of Love)
Freedom [8/24/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Cry of Love)
Night Bird Flying [8/24/70, Electric Lady Studios] (Cry of Love)

He also did plenty of additional recording during the spring and summer of 1970 (for example, he continued to search for working masters for both Hey Baby and Midnight Lightning), but the aforementioned songs received a lot of his attention prior to leaving for Europe.

Very little from the EH VoN compilation would have been part of any fall 1970 album. The title track was likely a contender on some level because he did track it during the spring and the track was one of many that surfaced on various lists of songs under consideration and development. With respect to My Friend, one can only speculate if Hendrix would have ultimately issued it — he did request to pull it from the tape library for review (he allegedly did the same thing with Highway Chile), but who knows what he was thinking. With so many new songs under development, I am skeptical that he was going to revive a two year old song.

 

POB recapped it well. If you're looking to what was likely to the front of Jimi's mind, look to those late August mixing sessions. Not to say that's the final word, but those were the ones he was interested in.

The versions on VoN likely weren't part of the mix for the next album. Would Jimi have put a vocal on the Valleys backing track they used or gone back and tried it yet again? Bleeding Heart might have made it, but likely the version from War Heroes, done around March 1970. Lullaby for the Summer was picked apart to add into Ezy Ryder (as was Inside Out from PHA), that one was definitely on, as was Ships Passing later iteration, Night Bird Flying. He still hadn't done a studio version of Hear My Train or Lover Man to his satisfaction. Best to look at the "trilogy" as works in progress heading towards someplace Jimi never quite reached.