“A womb-like space”: Hendrix with Eddie Kramer and studio manager Jim Marron in the control room of Electric Lady, NYC, June 17, 1970; (below) mugshots on his arrest in Toronto in 1969
WHEN Jimi Hendrix plugged in at Electric Lady for the very first time, his sense of relief was palpable. After over a year pouring funds into the construction of a studio on Eighth Street in New York City, his sanctuary in the heart of Greenwich Village was finally open for business. Building Electric Lady had been a long, fraught and costly process, but on June 15, 1970 – as Hendrix began to jam on “Valleys Of Neptune” accompanied by Steve Winwood and engineer Dave Palmer on drums – finally it all seemed worthwhile.
“Jimi was so excited,” says Eddie Kramer, Hendrix’s engineer, who worked alongside Hendrix to finish the studio. “Traffic were in town, so he invited Steve to the studio because he wanted to get in there to play. Winwood and Hendrix began playing ‘Valleys Of Neptune’ and it got tighter and tighter. This was a chance for them to break in the studio without worrying about the cost or being asked to leave. They were free to create. I never saw him so happy.”
The completion of Electric Lady was a much-needed positive after a difficult 1969 – one that Kramer describes with some understatement as “turbulent”. It wasn’t just the demands of building Electric Lady – the constant touring required to pay for its construction – but he seemed under fire from all directions. Already embroiled in several legal disputes, that May, Hendrix was arrested in Toronto for possession of heroin and hash before being acquitted in December. Breaking up the original Experience in August, he experimented unsatisfactorily with different formulations, including the six-piece Gypsy Sun And Rainbows band, who backed him at Woodstock, and the three-piece Band Of Gypsys.
But now, that was all over. Hendrix had found a grouping of musicians he could work with. He had put his foot down with manager Mike Jeffery and insisted on a more satisfactory balance between touring and recording. He had settled one key lawsuit. And the power was finally on at Electric Lady. Over June, July and August, Hendrix began to lay down music for his next studio album, his first since Electric Ladyland in 1968. Kramer and Hendrix had already mixed four tracks when Hendrix headed out on a European tour, including a headline slot at the Isle Of Wight Festival. Although he didn’t particularly want to go, Hendrix was looking forward to being back in the UK. He was even thinking about bringing his old manager Chas Chandler back into the fold, another sign of his growing confidence about his future.
On the way out: Buddy Miles…
“He was under pressure, he had to deliver a record, but he could choose what and when,” says archivist John McDermott, who has directed a documentary about the studio. “Having the studio gave him a foundation. He was happy with the band and generally much more in control by the summer of ’70 than he had been in 1969.”
This pivotal summer – the last of Hendrix’s life – is the focus of two complementary releases: McDermott’s documentary and a boxset featuring music
