Jimi Hendrix first compilation ‘Smash Hits’ will be reissued on vinyl with an alternate cover.
The 2016 cover is a recreation of the poster that came with the original U.S. LP release. It shows Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding dressed in western attire on horseback.
According to Hendrix publicity “The photograph, taken by Grammy-winning photographer Ed Thrasher at Warner Bros. film studios in Burbank, CA in early 1969, was initially intended as cover art for the package. Ultimately, the iconic multiple photo image montage by Dezo Hoffmann was decided as the U.S. cover. For the first time ever, Thrasher’s photo will finally grace the cover of Smash Hits, a mere 47 years after the plan was conceived”.
The album also has some subtle musical differences. The info tells us, “Released in July, 1969, Smash Hits served a few purposes. It was the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s very first compilation album, originally conceived in 1968 by the group’s UK label as a vehicle to compile the group’s hit singles that had not yet appeared on the LP format. Jimi’s original U.S. record label Reprise sought to create its own version (just as it did with the group’s 1967 debut Are You Experienced combining essential songs such as “Remember” and “Can You See Me” with popular favorites such as “Purple Haze” and “All Along The Watchtower.” It also introduced North American fans to his signature blues song “Red House.” Recorded at De Lane Lea and Olympic Studios, the version of “Red House” that appears on Smash Hits derives from different sessions than the original take found on the UK version of Are You Experienced (recorded at CBS Studios). It was, thus, exclusive to this collection for the world at the time of release”.
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE – SMASH HITS track list
SIDE A
1) Purple Haze
2) Fire
3) The Wind Cries Mary
4) Can You See Me
5) Hey Joe
6) All Along The Watch Tower
SIDE B
1) Stone Free
2) Crosstown Traffic
3) Manic Depression
4) Remember
5) Red House
6) Foxey Lady
All tracks recorded October 1966 – August 1968
The first 5,000 units of this 150 gram vinyl package will be exclusively numbered for Record Store Day.
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