It's amazing what you find lying around the place - the proverbial Silver Jubilee coins at the back of the sofa, a rare Gauguin sketch used as a table-napkin or a pile of unheard Hendrix songs gathering dust in a vault in deepest America. 'What's that?' you say - Jimi rarities yet again? Ah yes but these really are unreleased - until now.

On March 8th, Sony and the Hendrix Estate will unleash a new collection of brand-spanking new songs by the left-handed legend, utilizing the curation skills of a certain Eddie Kramer, the man who engineered 'Are You Experienced?' (amongst many others), Janie Hendrix (CEO of Hendrix LLC) and John McDermott (Liner-notes provider for this issue). The set is comprised of 12 tracks recorded between the albums 'Electric Ladyland' and the swansong 'First Rays of the Rising Sun' and should represent Hendrix during a pivotal stage in his recording career.

Tracks include unheard compositions 'Ships Passing Through the Night' and 'Lullaby for the Summer' as well as cover versions of Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love' and the Elmore James standard, 'Bleeding Heart'. A track from the earlier 1967 'Axis' sessions is also included in the form of 'Mr Bad Luck' as well as a brushed-up version of 'Crying Blue Rain'.

As if this feast isn't enough, Sony are also re-issuing the four important Hendrix studio albums on CD/DVD Deluxe Editions on the same date. 'Are You Experienced?', 'Axis:Bold As Love', 'Electric Ladyland' and 'First Rays of the Rising Sun' all hit the shelves on the 8th, along with the early Jimi compilation 'Smash Hits' and 'Live At Woodstock' on DVD / Blu-ray. Tasty indeed.