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The Cry of Love

"Cry of Love" redirects here. For the American rock band, see Cry of Love (band).

The Cry of Love is the first posthumous album of music by the American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Recorded primarily in 1970, it features new material that Hendrix was working on for his planned fourth studio album before his death later that year. While most of the songs were included on proposed track listings by Hendrix, the final selection was made by recording engineer Eddie Kramer and drummer Mitch Mitchell, with input from manager Michael Jeffery. Hendrix, Kramer, and Mitchell are credited as the album's producers, with Jeffery as the executive producer.

The Cry of Love
Studio album / compilation by
Jimi Hendrix
ReleasedMarch 5, 1971 (1971-03-05)
RecordedMarch 1968 – August 1970
Studio
Genre
Length39:48
LabelPolydor/Track (UK)
Reprise (US)
Barclay (France)
RTB (Yugoslavia)
Producer
Jimi Hendrix US chronology
Historic Performances
(1970) 		The Cry of Love
(1971) 		Rainbow Bridge
(1971)
Jimi Hendrix UK chronology
Band of Gypsys
(1970) 		The Cry of Love
(1971) 		Experience
(1971)
Singles from The Cry of Love
  1. "Freedom" / "Angel"
    Released: March 8, 1971 (US)
  2. "Angel" / "Night Bird Flying"
    Released: 1971 (UK)

Released on March 5, 1971, six months after his death on September 18, 1970, by Reprise Records in the United States and Track Records in the United Kingdom, The Cry of Love was successful on the record charts in both countries and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1998. Critics responded favorably to the album, viewing it as an impressive tribute to Hendrix. Several of its songs were later featured on other efforts to recreate the album Hendrix had been working on, including Voodoo Soup in 1995 and First Rays of the New Rising Sun in 1997.

Recording and production

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The Cry of Love featured songs Hendrix had been working on at the time of his death and was the first attempt at presenting his planned first studio recording since the breakup of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.[1] The Cry of Love is composed mostly of songs which Hendrix recorded in 1970 at his new Electric Lady Studios in New York City with drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox.[2]

About half of the album's ten songs were nearly completed with mixes prepared by Hendrix.[3] The balance were in varying stages of development and were mixed (and some overdubbed with new parts) after his death.[3] Two songs originally planned for The Cry of Love, "Dolly Dagger" and "Room Full of Mirrors", were instead held for the next planned Hendrix release, Rainbow Bridge; they were replaced by "Straight Ahead" and "My Friend".[3][4]

The album credits Hendrix as a producer, as well as long-time recording engineer Eddie Kramer and Mitchell, who prepared the final mixes and track selection, with input from manager Michael Jeffery.[3]

Seven of the songs on The Cry of Love were later included on Voodoo Soup, the 1995 attempt by producer Alan Douglas to present Hendrix's planned album. In 1997, all were included on First Rays of the New Rising Sun, along with seven other songs, in Kramer's most realized effort to complete Hendrix's last studio album.[1]

Album format

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According to music journalist Peter Doggett, the album was "accepted for years as an authentic Hendrix album rather than a posthumous compilation." Doggett himself described The Cry of Love as "Kramer's concoction",[5] while other music writers have identified it as being authorized or sanctioned by Hendrix himself.[6][7][8] Music historian Martin Huxley,[9] The Guardian's Jeremy Allen,[10] and rock music journalist Eduardo Rivadavia[11] call it a compilation album; music writers Phil Hardy,[12] Frank N. Magill,[13] and Richard Kienzle[14] identify it as a "authorized", "true", or "formal" studio album. Guitar World journalist Alan di Perna describes it as a "half-finished studio album".[15]

In Ritchie Unterberger's opinion: "although many songs had been laid down in a state of near-completion, there's no telling what Jimi might have added, erased, or otherwise changed, especially bearing in mind his perfectionist nature ... The biggest compromise, however, was the decision to make the record a single disc, rather than the double LP that Hendrix had envisioned. ... For these reasons, [The Cry of Love] can't be considered to be the fourth studio album Hendrix would have released had he survived, whether it would have ended up being called First Rays of the Rising Sun or something else."[16]

However, Billy Cox said: "we [Hendrix and I] discussed the possibility of doing a single or double LP, but it really didn't make that much of a difference. You must remember even though they [record label and management] gave him a lot of freedom in the studio, when the record deal itself came about, he did not have the last say-so."[17]

Release and reception

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Retrospective professional reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [18]
Christgau's Record GuideA[19]
Classic Rock6/10[20]
Down Beat     [21]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [22]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[23]
MusicHound Rock2/5[24]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [25]
The Sydney Morning Herald     [26]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+[27]

The Cry of Love was released on March 5, 1971.[28] The album entered Billboard's Top LP's chart in the US at number 17 on March 6[29] and eventually reached number three.[30] By April, it had achieved one million dollars in sales,[31] and, in 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum, which indicated sales of one million copies.[31] In the UK, it entered the UK Albums Chart on April 3, where it peaked at number two.[30][32]

Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1971, Lenny Kaye hailed The Cry of Love as the authentic posthumous Hendrix album, his last work, and "a beautiful, poignant testimonial, a fitting coda to the career of a man who was clearly the finest electric guitarist to be produced by the Sixties, bar none".[33] That same year, Robert Christgau wrote in The Village Voice that the album is an "excellent testament" and may be Hendrix's best record behind Electric Ladyland (1968) because of its quality as a whole rather than its individual songs.[34] Years later, he said the album as whole is free-flowing, devoid of affectations, and "warmer than the three Experience LPs", while writing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981):

It isn't just the flow—these tracks work as individual compositions, from offhand rhapsodies like "Angel" and "Night Bird Flying" through primal riffsongs like "Ezy Ryder" and "Astro Man" to inspired goofs like "My Friend" and "Belly Button Window." What a testament.[19]

In the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006), Colin Larkin called The Cry of Love a "fitting tribute" to Hendrix,[22] and Paul Evans wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) that it "showed the master, playing with Cox and Mitchell, at his most confident: 'Ezy Rider' and 'Angel' are the tough and tender faces of the genius at his most appealing."[25] In 2014, VH1 deemed The Cry of Love "the greatest posthumous classic rock record of all time". That same year, it was reissued in both CD and LP formats by Experience Hendrix.[35] Reviewing the reissue for Classic Rock magazine, Hugh Fielder acknowledged the "glories" of the original album's songs but questioned its value given their inclusion on 1997's First Rays of the New Rising Sun.[20] However, Dan Bigna from The Sydney Morning Herald said in his review that, although all of the songs had been compiled on the more comprehensive First Rays collection, "there is something satisfying about having this first posthumous Hendrix release as a distinct object that illuminates the brush strokes of a genius".[26]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Jimi Hendrix

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom"3:24
2."Drifting"3:46
3."Ezy Ryder"4:09
4."Night Bird Flying"3:50
5."My Friend"4:40
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Straight Ahead"4:42
2."Astro Man"3:37
3."Angel"4:25
4."In from the Storm"3:42
5."Belly Button Window"3:34

Personnel

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From the original Reprise LP liner notes,[36] supplemented with details from the First Rays of the New Rising Sun CD booklet.[37]

Band members

Additional musicians

Additional personnel

Charts

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Chart performance for The Cry of Love
Chart (1971) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[32] 2
Canada RPM 100 Albums[38] 3
Norway Charts[39] 7
US Billboard 200[30] 3
US Best Selling Soul LP's[40] 6

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b McDermott, John (1997). First Rays of the New Rising Sun (CD booklet). Jimi Hendrix. MCA Records. p. 16. MCAD-1159.
  2. ^ Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Caesar (1995). "Appendix 1: Music, Sweet Music: The Discography". Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy (3rd ed.). St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 537–538. ISBN 978-0-312-13062-6.
  3. ^ a b c d McDermott, John; Kramer, Eddie; Cox, Billy (2009). Ultimate Hendrix. Backbeat Books. pp. 249–250, 298–299. ISBN 978-0-87930-938-1.
  4. ^ McDermott, John; Kramer, Eddie (1992). Lewinsohn, Mark (ed.). Hendrix: setting the record straight. New York, NY: Warner Books. ISBN 978-0-446-39431-4.
  5. ^ Doggett, Peter (2012). "The New Hendrix Catalogue". Jimi Hendrix: The Complete Guide to His Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857127105. The result was The Cry Of Love, accepted for years as an authentic Hendrix album rather than a posthumous compilation. Then, in 1994, Alan Douglas announced plans to replace Kramer's concoction with an album titled First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, with the contents chosen by Hendrix's fans. Instead, he released Voodoo Soup the following year...
  6. ^ Lazell, Barry (1989). Rock Movers & Shakers. Billboard Publications. p. 229. ISBN 978-0823076086. The Cry Of Love. the last LP sanctioned by Hendrix himself
  7. ^ Hochman, Steve (1999). Popular Musicians: The Doobie Brothers-Paul McCartney. Salem Press. pp. 485–486. ISBN 978-0893569884. The Cry of Love ( 1971), his last self-authorized album
  8. ^ Romanowski Bashe, Patricia; George-Warren, Holly; Pareles, Jon (1995). The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Fireside Publishing. pp. viii–ix. ISBN 978-0684810447. Cry of Love, Hendrix's last self- authorized album
  9. ^ Huxley, Martin (1995). Psychedelia: The Long Strange Trip. Friedman/Fairfax. p. 14. ISBN 1567992285. The following year saw the release of The Cry of Love, a compilation of songs that were at varying points of completion at the time of Hendrix's death. That album proved to be the first in a flood of posthumous (and generally marginal) Hendrix products that would continue to saturate the market.
  10. ^ Allen, Jeremy (March 15, 2017). "Jimi Hendrix – 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (October 10, 2016). "Why Completists Flocked to Jimi Hendrix's Second Posthumous LP, 'Rainbow Bridge'". KYGL. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  12. ^ Hardy, Phil (1995). The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 421. ISBN 978-0306806407. This trio made the final authorized Hendrix studio album, Cry of Love
  13. ^ Magill, Frank N. (1998). Chronology of Twentieth-Century History: Arts and Culture. Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 1479. ISBN 978-1884964664. His last true studio album, The Cry of Love
  14. ^ Kienzle, Richard (1985). Great Guitarists. Facts on File. p. 209. ISBN 978-0816010295. his final formal studio album, The Cry of Love
  15. ^ di Perna, Alan (November 27, 2012). "The Lost Year: The Story of the Final Months of Jimi Hendrix". Guitar World. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  16. ^ Unterberger, Richie (2009). "The Legacy: 1970–Present". The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix. Penguin. ISBN 978-1405381093.
  17. ^ Roby, Steven (2002). Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix. New York City: Billboard Books. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-8230-7854-7.
  18. ^ Westergaard, Sean. "Jimi Hendrix: The Cry of Love". AllMusic. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: H". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  20. ^ a b Fielder, Hugh (November 5, 2014). "Jimi Hendrix: Cry Of Love/Rainbow Bridge". Classic Rock. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  21. ^ "Jimi Hendrix - Cry of Love CD Album". CD Universe. Muze. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. Oxford University Press. p. 249. ISBN 0-19-531373-9.
  23. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). New York: Canongate. p. 689. OL 18807297M.
  24. ^ Galens, Dave (1996). "Jimi Hendrix". In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787610372.
  25. ^ a b Evans, Paul (1992). "Jimi Hendrix". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 315. ISBN 0679737294.
  26. ^ a b Bigna, Dan (2014). "Album review: Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love is a first-rate reissue". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. October 9. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  27. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: Jimi Hendrix". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  28. ^ McDermott, John; Kramer, Eddie; Cox, Billy (2009). Ultimate Hendrix. New York City: Backbeat Books. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-87930-938-1.
  29. ^ Billboard (March 6, 1971). "Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 10. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510.
  30. ^ a b c Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Cesar (1990). Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy. New York City: St. Martin's Press. p. 539. ISBN 0-312-05861-6.
  31. ^ a b "Jimi Hendrix: Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  32. ^ a b Strong, Martin Charles (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate U.S. p. 494. ISBN 1841958603. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  33. ^ Kaye, Lenny (April 1, 1971). "Album Reviews – Jimi Hendrix: The Cry of Love". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  34. ^ Christgau, Robert (1971). "Consumer Guide (16)". The Village Voice. No. March 11. New York. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  35. ^ "The Cry of Love & Rainbow Bridge to Be Reissued on CD & LP September 16". JimiHendrix.com (official website). Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  36. ^ The Cry of Love (Album notes). Jimi Hendrix. Burbank, California: Reprise Records. 1971. Inside cover. OCLC 16792396. MS2034.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  37. ^ First Rays of the New Rising Sun (CD booklet). Jimi Hendrix. Universal City, California: MCA Records. 1997. pp. 5–20. OCLC 173216743. MCAD-11599.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. ^ "RPM100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. March 27, 1971 – via Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  39. ^ "The Cry of Love: Jimi Hendrix". Vglista.no. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  40. ^ "Jimi Hendrix: Chart History – Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
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