A previously unknown tape featuring alternative versions of several Jimi Hendrix classics is to be auctioned next month. For the last 50 years the tape has been in the possession of Patricia “Trixie” Sullivan, former personal assistant to Hendrix’s manager, Mike Jeffery, who rescued it from Jeffrey's Central London office in central London after it had been ransacked by bailiffs.
"The Ampex tape, which includes seven minutes of audio, features four unreleased demo recordings by The Jimi Hendrix Experience," reads the sales blurb accompanying the tape's listing. "The songs on the tape are Stone Free, Up From the Skies, Ain't No Telling and Little Miss Lover.
"None of these songs have ever surfaced, been circulated or have even been known to exist. These recordings are very different in sound and are generally shorter than the more common examples. It has been said that they sound better than the originals."
"These versions have never been heard before, circulated or broadcast and are very different in sound and length to the more common examples, " says Mark Hochman, music consultant for the auctioneer, Propstore. "They’re a lot tighter and smoother. You can hear more guitar, which is obviously what Hendrix was famous for. The experts who have visited and heard the recordings all agree that these are far superior to all the other versions of these tracks."
Other Hendrix items up for grabs in the auction include reel-to-real tapes including alternative mixes of the classics The Wind Cries Mary, Burning The Midnight Lamp, That Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice and Hey Joe, as well as a tape containing mono mixes of 11 songs from Hendrix's Are You Experienced album, and two further tapes containing stereo mixes of the tracks from Axis: Bold as Love.
Also up for grabs is a significant amount of paperwork associated with the guitarist, including a US State Department form completed by Hendrix applying for a replacement US passport, and 20 pieces of paper containing Hendrix's hand-annotated lyrics of songs from Are You Experienced.
The music section of Propstore's 2024 Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction takes place in London on November 15.
