March 5, 1971 - The Cry Of Love

After the release of "Band Of Gypsys" in March of 1970, Jimi Hendrix began to write material for his first studio album since "Electric Ladyland" in 1968. He retained bassist Billy Cox from his previous live album, but drummer Buddy Miles was not asked to return (he does feature on one track, thankfully no singing). Instead, Jimi brought back Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, a decision I like for sure. The new 3-piece recorded in New York City throughout the summer at Hendrix's new Electric Lady studio and were more than halfway done making their new album. Sadly, on September 18, 1970 Jimi Hendrix died by choking on his own vomit after taking a large amount of sleeping pills at the age of 27. I can only imagine how tragic this would have been to hear about; one of the best guitarists ever, in the prime of his life and his career, gone. R.I.P. Jimi. After his death, Mitchell, recording engineer Eddie Kramer and Hendrix's manager Michael Jeffery would take the completed songs for the proposed new album, as well as some older material to finish it out, and released the posthumous album "The Cry Of Love" on March 5, 1971. While this is not officially Hendrix's fourth studio album, I'm very happy to hear one more album of this man's incredible music.

Side one begins with "Freedom" which is a rock and roll song kicked off by a cool Hendrix riff. Hendrix singing sounds very strong and confident, and he has lots of nice little licks while Cox carries with some cool bass. After another verse we hear a pretty good guitar solo, and then a different much quieter solo afterwards. An interesting comparison, and at the end of the song the background singers from the chorus get a few more lines than just the name. The next track is a slow rock song called "Drifting" and it's mood definitely fits that title. Jimi's singing is also slow and drifting and there's a cool instrumental bit with some trippy guitar that gets really crazy at the end of the song. Track 3 is titled "Ezy Ryder" a heavy rock song with some distorted bass and of course some great guitar. There's no solo in this song, as they just keep rockin' to the main riff, and during the very long fadeout at the end, the music keeps getting higher and higher. The next song is called "Night Bird Flying" and sounds kind of blues-y featuring some great drumming by Mitchell. Hendrix is really all over the place in this one, including an awesome guitar solo. He is really tearing it up and the bass and drums are great as well, and I really like this song. Side one ends with "My Friend" which begins with some talking in the studio and features a much different line-up than the rest of the album. Former bandmate Noel Redding is back on bass for this one, with a different drummer, another guitarist, harmonica, and even Stephen Stills on piano. Jimi keeps talking about his drink and we hear someone beg for a song to be played. Hendrix asks for his drink and obliges and starts up whatnot least seems like an impromptu jam. His singing is fantastic and he plays a blues guitar riff along with the harmonica. The lyrics talk about how his only friend is himself, and sound a little sad, but there seems to be a party in the studio as we hear cups clashing and ice swirling. It's a pretty cool blues jam and seems like one of the older songs added to fill out the album.

Side two begins with the rock and roll jam "Straight Ahead", led by a cool riff by Hendrix. It's got some solid drumming by Mitchell as well and not surprisingly has a pretty good guitar solo. Hendrix plays some excellent guitar throughout the next song, "Astro Man". It's led by a cool bass riff and like several songs on this album, the guys seem content to just jam out to the main riff and let Hendrix show off his stuff. It's a pretty solid formula that works very well on this song and the album. Track 8 is a slow love song titled "Angel". Mitchell goes heavy on the cymbals and despite it's slow mood Jimi still gets in lots of good licks. The next song is called "In From The Storm" and Hendrix sings very soulfully on this one. There are backup singers as well that really give it a soul vibe and it's led by a pretty catchy guitar riff. Jimi really shows off on this one and he was certainly a one of a kind talent. Cox's bass cues a new riff with some trippy guitar and faster vocals. I like this bit a lot and afterwards they go back to the soul riff to jam out the end of the song. The final track on the album is "Belly Button Window" which features just Jimi on guitar and vocals. It's a very blues-y song with some cool sounding guitar and Hendrix sings it really well. I really love his straightforward blues stuff and this cool little song with just Jimi seems like a fitting way to end the record that is a tribute to him.

That is the end of "The Cry Of Love" and the last album we will hear by Jimi Hendrix. So very sad that he passed away, he influenced an immense amount of people in a career that lasted only 4 years. But how does it compare with his previous work? Since this album was not fully completed when Jimi died, it makes sense to me that it might not live up to the standards of his usual studio albums. I don't believe this album is as good as any of the Experience stuff, but I do like it more than "Band Of Gypsys". Hendrix is always amazing, but it's not just the addition of Mitchell that makes it better, but the subtraction of Miles as I really didn't like his singing. My next release is in a couple weeks, until then, here are my final Jimi Hendrix album ranks...

1. Electric Ladyland
2. Are You Experienced
3. Axis: Bold As Love
4. The Cry Of Love
5. Band Of Gypsys