South Saturn Delta
Encyclopedia
South Saturn Delta is a posthumous Jimi Hendrix
album compiled by the Hendrix estate that consists of material such as demo tapes, unfinished takes and alternate mixes, previously released material, most of which Hendrix had been working on prior to his death in 1970.
When the Hendrix family acquired the rights for Jimi's catalog in 1995, they signed a contract with MCA Records
(predecessor to the Universal Music Group
) to release compilations of rare or newly discovered material. The first album that resulted of this contract was First Rays of the New Rising Sun
, which was released in 1997 and was an attempt to rebuild the album left unfinished at Hendrix's death. South Saturn Delta followed it some months later and is a collection of unreleased material. It has been re-released by the Hendrix Family in a special CD/DVD digipak package on April 12, 2011. The track list includes tracks from out-of-print albums such as Rainbow Bridge
("Look Over Yonder", "Pali Gap"); War Heroes
("Bleeding Heart", "Tax Free", "Midnight"); and Loose Ends
("The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice", "Drifter's Escape") along with new mixes of songs ("All Along the Watchtower
").
"Look Over Yonder" is an outtake from 1968 featuring the original Experience line-up. The incorrectly tagged "Little Wing
" is a demo tape performed solely by Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell and musically identical to "Angel
". "Here He Comes (Lover Man)" is a well known Hendrix concert staple song that never made it to any of his albums. "South Saturn Delta" is a horn-laden funk-jazz song while "Power of Soul" and "Message to the Universe (Message to Love)" are studio versions of two Band of Gypsys
tracks, the latter performed by Hendrix's Woodstock band Gypsy Sun and Rainbows. "Tax Free" is a studio recording of the song written by the Swedish instrumental duo Hansson and Carlsson, occasionally played on stage by Hendrix. "All Along the Watchtower" is the same take that appears on the Electric Ladyland
album, but this one is the earlier mix by Chas Chandler
. The stereo mix of "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice
" (originally the B-side to "Burning of the Midnight Lamp") is taken from the Loose Ends album, which was released in 1974 in Europe and Japan. "Midnight" is an instrumental song from the Electric Ladyland sessions. "Sweet Angel" is an early demo version of the song "Angel" featuring Hendrix using a primitive drum machine (the original tape had become slightly damaged some years back, although suspiciously, the same version remains intact on the Jimi Hendrix Experience box set). "Bleeding Heart" is a jam based on an old blues song that appeared in 1972 on War Heroes and in 1994 on Blues. "Pali Gap" is an instrumental. "Drifter's Escape" is a Bob Dylan
cover that also appeared on Loose Ends. "Midnight Lightning" is a demo tape of Hendrix's delta blues song featuring Hendrix alone tapping his foot to keep time while playing.
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
album compiled by the Hendrix estate that consists of material such as demo tapes, unfinished takes and alternate mixes, previously released material, most of which Hendrix had been working on prior to his death in 1970.
When the Hendrix family acquired the rights for Jimi's catalog in 1995, they signed a contract with MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
(predecessor to the Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) to release compilations of rare or newly discovered material. The first album that resulted of this contract was First Rays of the New Rising Sun
First Rays of the New Rising Sun
First Rays of the New Rising Sun is a "concept compilation" attempting to recreate the album Jimi Hendrix was working on at the time of his death in 1970, as closely as is feasible to how he would have wanted it...
, which was released in 1997 and was an attempt to rebuild the album left unfinished at Hendrix's death. South Saturn Delta followed it some months later and is a collection of unreleased material. It has been re-released by the Hendrix Family in a special CD/DVD digipak package on April 12, 2011. The track list includes tracks from out-of-print albums such as Rainbow Bridge
Rainbow Bridge (album)
-Non album tracks that appear in the film:*"Bleeding Heart" Released on War Heroes in 1972....
("Look Over Yonder", "Pali Gap"); War Heroes
War Heroes
-Personnel:*Jimi Hendrix – guitars, lead vocals, bass on track 1, backing vocals on "Izabella"*Mitch Mitchell – drums*Billy Cox – bass*Noel Redding – bass on "Highway Chile", "Tax Free" & "Midnight"-Recording details:...
("Bleeding Heart", "Tax Free", "Midnight"); and Loose Ends
Loose Ends (Jimi Hendrix album)
-Personnel:*Jimi Hendrix – guitars, lead vocals*Billy Cox – bass, backing vocals on track 6*Mitch Mitchell – drums on tracks 1, 3, 4 and 5*Buddy Miles – drums on tracks 2, 6, 7 and 8 , backing vocals on tracks 6 and 7...
("The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice", "Drifter's Escape") along with new mixes of songs ("All Along the Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
").
"Look Over Yonder" is an outtake from 1968 featuring the original Experience line-up. The incorrectly tagged "Little Wing
Little Wing
"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
" is a demo tape performed solely by Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell and musically identical to "Angel
Angel (Jimi Hendrix song)
"Angel" is the name of a song written and recorded by Jimi Hendrix, first released in February 1971 on the posthumous LP The Cry of Love. In April it was released as a single, which failed to chart...
". "Here He Comes (Lover Man)" is a well known Hendrix concert staple song that never made it to any of his albums. "South Saturn Delta" is a horn-laden funk-jazz song while "Power of Soul" and "Message to the Universe (Message to Love)" are studio versions of two Band of Gypsys
Band of Gypsys
Band of Gypsys was a blues rock band led by Jimi Hendrix and backed by Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Hendrix formed the band after the dissolution of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Band of Gypsys is also the band's eponymous live album recorded on two separate nights, 31 December 1969 and 1 January...
tracks, the latter performed by Hendrix's Woodstock band Gypsy Sun and Rainbows. "Tax Free" is a studio recording of the song written by the Swedish instrumental duo Hansson and Carlsson, occasionally played on stage by Hendrix. "All Along the Watchtower" is the same take that appears on the Electric Ladyland
Electric Ladyland
Electric Ladyland is the third and final album of new material by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in October 1968 on Reprise Records, catalogue 2RS 6307. It is the only Hendrix studio album professionally produced under his supervision. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks in...
album, but this one is the earlier mix by Chas Chandler
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler was an English musician, record producer and manager of several successful music acts....
. The stereo mix of "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice
The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice
"The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice", also known as "STP with LSD" and various related abbreviations and shortenings, is a song by English-American psychedelic rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, featured as the B-side to their 1967 fourth single "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"...
" (originally the B-side to "Burning of the Midnight Lamp") is taken from the Loose Ends album, which was released in 1974 in Europe and Japan. "Midnight" is an instrumental song from the Electric Ladyland sessions. "Sweet Angel" is an early demo version of the song "Angel" featuring Hendrix using a primitive drum machine (the original tape had become slightly damaged some years back, although suspiciously, the same version remains intact on the Jimi Hendrix Experience box set). "Bleeding Heart" is a jam based on an old blues song that appeared in 1972 on War Heroes and in 1994 on Blues. "Pali Gap" is an instrumental. "Drifter's Escape" is a Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
cover that also appeared on Loose Ends. "Midnight Lightning" is a demo tape of Hendrix's delta blues song featuring Hendrix alone tapping his foot to keep time while playing.
Track listing
All songs were written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted.- "Look Over Yonder" – 3:25
- "Little WingLittle Wing"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
" – 2:44 - "Here He Comes (Lover Man)Lover Man (Jimi Hendrix song)"Lover Man" is a song written and performed by American psychedelic rock musician and singer Jimi Hendrix...
" – 6:33 - "South Saturn Delta" – 4:07
- "Power of Soul" – 5:20
- "Message to the Universe (Message To Love)" – 6:19
- "Tax Free" (Bo HanssonBo HanssonBo Hansson was a Swedish musician best known for his four instrumental albums released in the 1970s.-Early life and musical career:...
) – 4:58 - "All Along the WatchtowerAll Along the Watchtower"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 4:01 - "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's DiceThe Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice"The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice", also known as "STP with LSD" and various related abbreviations and shortenings, is a song by English-American psychedelic rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, featured as the B-side to their 1967 fourth single "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"...
" – 4:20 - "Midnight" – 5:32
- "Sweet Angel (Angel)Angel (Jimi Hendrix song)"Angel" is the name of a song written and recorded by Jimi Hendrix, first released in February 1971 on the posthumous LP The Cry of Love. In April it was released as a single, which failed to chart...
" – 3:55 - "Bleeding Heart" (Elmore JamesElmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
) – 3:15 - "Pali Gap" – 5:08
- "Drifter's Escape" (Bob Dylan) – 3:05
- "Midnight Lightning" – 3:07
Recording details
- Track 1 recorded at TTG StudiosTTG StudiosTTG Studios was a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, founded by Ami Hadani and Tom Hidley.-Studio:"TTG" stood for "two terrible guys." The studio was first established in 1965 at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in Hollywood section of Los Angeles...
in Hollywood, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on Oct. 22, 1968 - Track 2 recorded at Olympic StudiosOlympic StudiosOlympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on Oct. 14, 1967 - Track 3 recorded at TTG Studios in Hollywood, California on Oct. 29, 1968
- Track 4 recorded at Record Plant StudiosRecord Plant StudiosThe Record Plant was a series of three famous recording studios which were founded by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone, beginning in New York City in 1968. The next year, Kellgren and Stone opened a second studio in Los Angeles. In 1972, the company expanded again with a third location in Sausalito,...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on May 2 and Jun. 14, 1968 - Track 5 recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City, New York on Jan. 21 and Feb. 3, 1970 and at Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
in New York City, New York on Aug. 22, 1970 - Track 6 recorded at The Hit FactoryThe Hit FactoryThe Hit Factory was a recording studio in New York City famous for its clientele. It was officially closed for business April 1, 2005 whereas other Hit Factory studio locations remained open, such as in Miami, Florida.-History:...
in New York City, New York on Aug. 28, 1969 - Track 7 recorded at Olympic Studios in London, UK on Jan. 26 and 28, 1968 and at Record Plant Studios in New York City, New York on May 1, 1968
- Track 8 recorded at Olympic Studios in London, UK on Jan. 21 and 26, 1968
- Track 9 recorded at Mayfair Studios in New York City, New York on Jul. 19, 1967
- Track 10 recorded at Olmstead Studios in New York City, New York on Apr. 1 and 3, 1969
- Track 11 recorded at Olympic Studions in London, UK on Nov. 13, 1967
- Track 12 recorded at Record Plant Studions in New York City, New York on Mar. 24, 1970 and at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York in June 1970
- Track 13 recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York on Jul. 1, 1970
- Track 14 recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York on Jun. 17, Jul. 19-20 and Aug. 22, 1970
- Track 15 recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City, New York on Mar. 23, 1970