Uploaded January 2014 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
(Written by Chet Powers a.k.a. Dino Valente)
From their 1967 debut album
Alex Nesic
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H.P. Lovecraft - Let's Get Together (1967)
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![Love with Jimi Hendrix - The Everlasting First (Take 16) [From the Blue Thumb Acetate 1970]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QZRVzS3IeG8/mqdefault.jpg "Love with Jimi Hendrix - The Everlasting First (Take 16) [From the Blue Thumb Acetate 1970]
This acetate was sold on eBay in July 2009. Ending price: US $2,025.00
Recorded on 8-track at Studio One (aka Studio A)
Olympic Sound Studios, Barnes, London, UK
Tuesday 17 March 1970
Engineers: Keith Harwood, Jeremy Gee
Love is:
Arthur Lee - lead vocals / rhythm guitar
Gary Rowles - lead guitar
Frank Fayad - bass
George Suranovich - drums
with:
Jimi Hendrix - vocals / guitar
Remi Kabaka - percussion, drums on Loon
Lasisi Amao - percussionist and conga player on Loon
There were 16 takes recorded of The Everlasting First,
2 takes recorded of Easy Rider and 1 take of Loon (an instrumental jam)
1 The Everlasting First - take 16
2 Easy Rider - take 1
3 Easy Rider - take 2
4 Loon
The Everlasting First written by Arthur Lee
The Everlasting First arranged by Jimi Hendrix and Arthur Lee
Easy Rider written by Jimi Hendrix Tuesday, March 17.1970
Olympic Studios, London, England
Engineer: Keith Harwood
Invited by Loves Arthur Lee to contribute to his bands album, Hendrix returned to Olympic Studios, the recording facility where he had recorded Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold As Love. Hendrix and percussionist Remi Kabaka joined Love in recording The Everlasting First, which came out in December of 1970 as part of Loves False Start. The three musicians recorded sixteen takes of before a basic track met Lees approval. Two clean, complete takes of Hendrixs own Ezy Rider followed next. Hendrix then took part in an extended instrumental jam session before departing.
Love were touring the UK/Europe in Feb/March 1970, so presumably most of the band were available and present at this session. Clearly it is more than three people. I doubt there are any overdubs on Ezy Rider, and besides Jimi I hear another guitar, bass, and drums. The jam has Jimi, two other guitars, bass, drums, and percussion.
Presumably the core band is Jimi, Gary Rowles - guitar, Frank Fayad - bass, and George Suranovich - drums. On the jam they are joined by either Arthur Lee or Noony Ricket on guitar, and Remi on percussion.
The released version of The Everlasting First has been padded with ~31 seconds of another take (the middle section just after the vocals end) grafted onto the start, preceded by the faint sounds of a deck rewinding. The last ~2 seconds have been replaces by a snippet apparently from some other song. Weird.
The acetate version has just a few of Arthurs vocals double tracked, while the released version has most of them doubled. Otherwise the two sound generally similar, no big change to the final mix.
As for Remi Kabaka, there is no mention of him on the False Start album liner notes. At the time he was a member of the band Osibisa which recorded a couple of well received proto-prog albums that mix African sounds with rock music. He would later work with Ginger Bakers Airforce, and the resurrected 1970s version of Traffic.
As for the song The Everlasting First, it seems to be a song about original sin (I think that is what the title refers to), and the pain and suffering that has brought to man. In particular, it may be a blues to the death of Martin Luther King, maybe partly inspired by the year old hit Dion song Abraham, Martin & John.")
![Quicksilver Messenger Service - Runaway [Live 1966]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R9Jd2uQ_JY4/mqdefault.jpg "Quicksilver Messenger Service - Runaway [Live 1966]
(Live audio)
Live at the Matrix Club, San
Francisco, CA 1966")
