Come September, it will have been 40 years since Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose at the age of 27. Just three of his studio albums were released during his tragically short career: Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold As Love in 1967, and Electric Ladyland in 1968. Several more, containing unreleased and alternate tracks were released after his death.

But there are still more Hendrix recordings that haven't been available publicly. The Hendrix estate (Experience Hendrix LLC) and Sony Music Entertainment are about to release an album of 12 previously unreleased tracks, among the last Jimi Hendrix Experience studio recordings, most recorded over a four month period in 1969.

Valleys Of Neptune includes covers such as "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "Bleeding Heart" and original Hendrix compositions like "Ships Passing Through The Night" and "Lullaby For The Summer." The album's title track will be released as a single on February 2, followed by the full album on March 9.

This release is the opening shot of what's being called the 2010 Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project, which will also include (among other things) new CD/DVD editions of the three titles mentioned above, plus First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, also to be released on March 9.