According to The Independent, the estates of Jimi Hendrix’s former bandmates, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, have launched a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment UK (SMEUK) in the High Court. The lawsuit alleges that Redding and Mitchell “died in relative poverty” while the music they created with Hendrix generates significant revenue for major labels through streaming.
The dispute centers on copyright and performers’ rights for three iconic albums by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love, and Electric Ladyland, all recorded in the 1960s.
Simon Malynicz KC, representing the estates of the bassist and drummer, told the court that The Jimi Hendrix Experience was “one of the most commercially successful acts of its era.” The band was formed with Hendrix in 1966 and disbanded shortly before the legendary guitarist’s death in 1970. Malynicz argued that Redding and Mitchell were excluded from the profits early on and “died in relative poverty,” despite the recordings continuing to generate significant income in the digital age.
Malynicz further argued that since their passing, their successors have also been consistently excluded from receiving a share of the revenue. He clarified that this marginalization was not at the hands of Jimi Hendrix himself, but rather by the administrators of his estate, subsequent legal proceedings, and “yet again by a major multinational which refuses to recognize or remunerate their copyright and performers’ rights.”
A barrister explained that a recorded song typically involves multiple types of copyright: those pertaining to the musical and lyrical composition, and those related to the sound recording itself.
Read the full report at the-independent.com.
On November 7, the deluxe box set, Bold As Love – The Axis: Bold As Love Sessions, was released. Produced by Janie Hendrix, original Experience recording engineer Eddie Kramer, and John McDermott, this expansive collection is available as either a five-vinyl LP plus Blu-ray or a four-CD plus Blu-ray set.
The deluxe box set includes the original stereo and mono mixes of Axis: Bold As Love, remastered from the original mixes created by Hendrix, the album’s producer Chas Chandler, and original engineer Eddie Kramer. Kramer and engineer Chandler Harrod recently created brand-new immersive Dolby ATMOS mixes of the entire 13-song album. The box set also presents an additional 40 alternative versions, unreleased studio takes, demos, live tracks, and television appearances from the album’s gestation and recording period, with 28 of these tracks never before released. One of these tracks, a previously unreleased October 1967 studio demo of “Stone Free/Up From The Skies [Demo],” has been made available.
Order Bold As Love by the Jimi Hendrix Experience here.
By May 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience had finalized their groundbreaking debut album Are You Experienced at Olympic Studios in London and immediately began work on their next album. After arriving in London in late September 1966, Hendrix quickly amassed three top 10 singles in the UK and soon achieved success across Europe, although they had yet to conquer the US. In June 1967, the group left for the US to make their American debut at the Monterey International Pop Festival. Their stunning Monterey debut, which included Hendrix setting his guitar alight, propelled them across the US throughout the summer of 1967.
Before returning to London, producer Chas Chandler recorded the group’s fourth single “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” b/w “The Stars That Play With Laughing Dice” at sessions in New York and Los Angeles. Bold As Love showcases previously unreleased versions of both of these songs.
Starting on October 1, 1967, Chandler led the group back to Olympic Studios in London to resume work on what would become Axis: Bold As Love. Chandler was determined to help Hendrix make a critical leap forward creatively. He worked closely with Hendrix to prepare his new songs for recording and even took the unusual step of same-day, double-booking both Olympic and Regent Studios in London so that the group would have a firm handle on the arrangements of Hendrix’s exceptional new material.
Axis: Bold As Love was released in the UK and Europe in December 1967 to great acclaim and commercial success. In the US, where Are You Experienced had only just been issued in late August, Reprise issued the album in January 1968, where it too became a best seller. Evergreen favorites such as “Little Wing,” “Spanish Castle Magic,” and “Castles Made of Sand” have been covered by countless artists throughout the world. The iconic “If 6 Was 9” was used with dramatic effect as part of the soundtrack for the film Easy Rider.
The Bold As Love box set encompasses Hendrix’s effort to craft his definitive follow-up to Are You Experienced. In addition to the demos made at Regent Sound, the collection showcases Hendrix’s unique creative approach to recording, drawing upon previously unreleased takes of songs from the Axis: Bold As Love album. These include previously unreleased alternate takes recorded at Olympic, as well as alternate versions of songs, most notably “Castles Made of Sand” with a backwards guitar track.
The Experience’s performances on British TV programs Top of the Pops and Dee Time, Dutch TV program Hoepla, and eight songs from a September 1967 concert in Stockholm round off the bonus tracks. Music journalist David Fricke and Experience Hendrix’s John McDermott provide comprehensive liner notes that tell the complete history of this exciting period for the band.
Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix, L.L.C., commented, “Jimi was fearless in his artistic expression. Each song, each lyrical composition, was and is an invitation for those listening to be free to feel. His music was an unapologetic statement of how he perceived the world and all the emotions it evoked. Bold As Love is the creative embodiment of those feelings. The Bold As Love set masterfully reintroduces the beauty of Jimi’s musical depth, highlighting a significant segment of not just his career, but his life.”
The cover art, a drawing done by Jimi when he was five years old, was hand-selected by his sister Janie. It was kept by their father, giving it added special meaning. “I thought it was perfect for this project. It’s a colorful dragon that depicts exactly what the song ‘Bold As Love’ is talking about — the empowerment of each color of the rainbow. I don’t believe there could be a better reflection of the message in the song.”
Bold As Love vinyl tracklisting:
LP One (Axis: Bold As Love Original Stereo Mix)
Side A
“EXP”
“Up From The Skies”
“Spanish Castle Magic”
“Wait Until Tomorrow”
“Ain’t No Telling”
“Little Wing”
“If 6 Was 9”
Side B
“You Got Me Floatin’”
“Castles Made Of Sand”
“She’s So Fine”
“One Rainy Wish”
“Little Miss Lover”
“Bold As Love”
LP Two (Axis: Bold As Love Original Mono Mix)
Side A
“EXP”
“Up From The Skies”
“Spanish Castle Magic”
“Wait Until Tomorrow”
“Ain’t No Telling”
“Little Wing”
“If 6 Was 9”
Side B
“You Got Me Floatin’”
“Castles Made Of Sand”
“She’s So Fine”
“One Rainy Wish”
“Little Miss Lover”
“Bold As Love”
LP Three
Side A
“Mr. Bad Luck” [Take 6]*
“She’s So Fine” [Take 4]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Take 30]*
“The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” [Paramount Studios]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Instrumental]*
“The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” [Instrumental]*
Side B
“Stone Free/Up From The Skies” [Demo]*
“Up From The Skies” [Take 2]*
“Ain’t No Telling” [Demo]*
“Ain’t No Telling” [Take 12]*
“Little Miss Lover” [Demo]*
“One Rainy Wish” [Take 1]*
“You Got Me Floatin’” [Take 1]*
“Untitled Guitar Experiment”*
“Castles Made Of Sand” [Take 16]*
LP Four
Side A
“Bold As Love” [Take 19]*
“Wait Until Tomorrow” [Take 2]*
“Spanish Castle Magic” [Take 2]*
“Little Wing” [Take 2]*
“Untitled Instrumental #1” [Take 3]*
“Untitled Instrumental #2” [Take 1]*
Side B
“Little Miss Lover” [Alternate Version]*
“Spanish Castle Magic” [Take 4]*
“Wait Until Tomorrow” [Take 14]*
“Castles Made Of Sand” [Backwards Guitar]*
“One Rainy Wish” [Alternate Version]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Original Mono Mix]
“The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” [Original Mono Mix]
LP Five
Side A
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” [Sweden]
“Fire” [Sweden]
“The Wind Cries Mary” [Sweden]
“Foxey Lady” [Sweden]
“Hey Joe” [Sweden]
“I Don’t Live Today” [Sweden]
Side B
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Sweden]
“Purple Haze” [Sweden]
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Dee Time]
“Purple Haze” [Hoepla]*
“Foxey Lady” [Hoepla]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Top Of The Pops]
* Previously Unreleased Recording
Bold As Love CD tracklisting:
CD One (Axis: Bold As Love Original Stereo Mix)
“EXP”
“Up From The Skies”
“Spanish Castle Magic”
“Wait Until Tomorrow”
“Ain’t No Telling”
“Little Wing”
“If 6 Was 9”
“You Got Me Floatin’”
“Castles Made Of Sand”
“She’s So Fine”
“One Rainy Wish”
“Little Miss Lover”
“Bold As Love”
CD Two (Axis: Bold As Love Original Mono Mix)
“EXP”
“Up From The Skies”
“Spanish Castle Magic”
“Wait Until Tomorrow”
“Ain’t No Telling”
“Little Wing”
“If 6 Was 9”
“You Got Me Floatin’”
“Castles Made Of Sand”
“She’s So Fine”
“One Rainy Wish”
“Little Miss Lover”
“Bold As Love”
CD Three
“Mr. Bad Luck” [Take 6]*
“She’s So Fine” [Take 4]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Take 30]*
“The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” [Paramount Studios]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Instrumental]*
“The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” [Instrumental]*
“Stone Free/Up From The Skies” [Demo]*
“Up From The Skies” [Take 2]*
“Ain’t No Telling” [Demo]*
“Ain’t No Telling” [Take 12]*
“Little Miss Lover” [Demo]*
“One Rainy Wish” [Take 1]*
“You Got Me Floatin’” [Take 1]*
“Untitled Guitar Experiment”*
“Bold As Love” [Take 19]*
“Castles Made Of Sand” [Take 16]*
“Wait Until Tomorrow” [Take 2]*
“Spanish Castle Magic” [Take 2]*
“Little Wing” [Take 2]*
“Untitled Instrumental #1” [Take 3]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Original Mono Mix]
“The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” [Original Mono Mix]
CD Four
“Little Miss Lover” [Alternate Version]*
“Spanish Castle Magic” [Take 4]*
“Wait Until Tomorrow” [Take 14]*
“Castles Made Of Sand” [Backwards Guitar]*
“One Rainy Wish” [Alternate Version]*
“Untitled Instrumental #2” [Take 1]*
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Dee Time]
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” [Sweden]
“Fire” [Sweden]
“The Wind Cries Mary” [Sweden]
“Foxey Lady” [Sweden]
“Hey Joe” [Sweden]
“I Don’t Live Today” [Sweden]
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Sweden]
“Purple Haze” [Sweden]
“Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” [Top Of The Pops]
“Purple Haze” [Hoepla]*
“Foxey Lady” [Hoepla]*
* Previously Unreleased Recording
