The Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge (subtitled Original Motion Picture Sound Track) is a posthumous album by the American musician Jimi Hendrix. It was released in October 1971 through Reprise Records, and was produced by Mitch Mitchell, Eddie Kramer, and John Jansen, with Hendrix receiving a production credit as well. The album was the second released after Hendrix's death to consist primarily of previously unreleased studio material, much of which was intended for a potential fourth studio album. Despite being labeled as a soundtrack, the album is generally regarded as a compilation. While tracks included do appear as incidental music within the Rainbow Bridge film, the album does not include music from Hendrix's Maui performance which comprised his appearance in the movie. Five of the album's tracks–"Dolly Dagger", "Earth Blues", "Room Full of Mirrors", "Hear My Train A Comin'" and "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)"—were potential inclusions for Hendrix's fourth album. The majority of the album sees Hendrix backed by Billy Cox on bass and Mitchell on drums. Upon release, Rainbow Bridge was met with positive reviews by critics and was a commercial success. The album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200, while "Dolly Dagger", the album's only single, reached number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Hendrix's last charting single. Critics praised both Hendrix's playing along with the quality of songwriting, and the record continues to be regarded as one of the best of the guitarist's posthumous releases. The album was reissued by Experience Hendrix in 2014 on both vinyl and CD (the album's first official appearance on the latter format), while the material included has appeared on various other releases since, including First Rays of the New Rising Sun and South Saturn Delta (both 1997).