‘Black Gold’: what happened to the lost Jimi Hendrix album?
Pop history is filled with albums that were never released and works that hint at unexplored paths. They’re often called lost or unreleased albums, representing creations meant to exist but ultimately held back. These were shelved, fully prepared albums either stolen, discarded, or abruptly deemed unfit for release. Numerous prominent artists have mystery projects that remained in obscurity, spanning from Green Day to the legendary Jimi Hendrix.
The potential reason for this can be as diverse as the album-making process itself. Sometimes, an artist enthusiastically begins promoting a new album, complete with a title and thematic concept, only to face creative exhaustion and ultimately abandon the project. Conversely, fresh inspiration can strike at any moment, guiding them in a completely different direction that requires them to refrain from revisiting and completing the narrative.
Following Hendrix’s passing, a substantial amount of his unreleased music was left behind. Over the past five decades, a significant portion of this material has been extensively examined and reissued. However, there remains one recording that fans eagerly anticipate: the Black Gold suite. This ambitious concept album was conceived by Hendrix, weaving elements of his own life into a song cycle that was intended to be accompanied by a superhero-themed cartoon.
Black Gold comprises exclusively of solo acoustic recordings captured directly onto tape. These recordings were entrusted to Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell by Hendrix and were subsequently forgotten for many decades. Although certain songs such as ‘Drifting’, ‘Machine Gun’, and ‘Stepping Stone’ have surfaced in alternate versions, Black Gold appears to be one of the rare instances of previously unreleased Hendrix material. Despite Janie Hendrix’s announcement back in 2010 that a Black Gold release was planned, the album has yet to be unveiled to the world.
In the case of Green Day, the unreleased album Cigarettes and Valentines was left behind to make way for the iconic American Idiot. When they were writing Cigarettes and Valentines, it was intended to signify a momentary departure from the “hard and fast music” heard in their previous albums Nimrod and Warning. However, the recordings were stolen, which they later reflected upon as a “blessing in disguise”.
Of course, the resulting American Idiot went on to solidify Green Day as pioneers of their craft with a concept album that was deeply societally critical and politically charged. It also marked a huge comeback for the band, who were disappointed with the sales of their previous albums. Whatever Cigarettes and Valentines may have been, it’s hard to imagine it ever coming close to the quality of American Idiot.
The potential greatness of a lost album is always uncertain. While Black Gold could have emerged during Hendrix’s peak, it might have been shelved and held back for valid reasons. Nevertheless, most unreleased albums certainly succeed in piquing our curiosity — whether due to the uncharted phase in an artist’s career, they may signify the expected quality of the work or sheer intrigue.
