Originally posted August 29, 2009. Last updated March 2, 2019.
Woodstockvarious artists |
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Recorded: August 15-18, 1969 (all of below as well) Released: June 6, 1970 Peak: #14 US Sales (in millions): 2.0 US Genre: classic rock (all of below as well) |
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Released:April 10, 1971 Peak: #7 US Sales (in millions): 0.5 US |
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Released: June 21, 1994 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): 0.1 US |
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Released: August 27, 1994 Peak: #186 US Sales (in millions): -- |
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Released: August 30, 1994 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): 0.025 US |
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Released: August 18, 2009 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- |
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Tracks: * The list below reflects, in order of performance, what has been commercially released on any of collections referenced on this page. For track listings of each of those collections individually, check the links under “Review Source(s).” Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
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Review: This page highlights only the most significant various artists collections out of a myriad of official and bootleg albums that have covered much of the music featured at the August 15-18, 1969 events at Yasgur’s field. The 1970 Woodstock Soundtrack is the highest ranked of the batch in the Dave’s Music Database. The best way to get this version is the 2009 Rhino remaster, “but even it has problems: the source tapes were problematic at best. It restores the original LP order, features new liners by Gene Sculatti, and has more photos in the booklet.” J1 There’s also the 1971 sequel, Woodstock 2, which was combined with the original Woodstock soundtrack on the Mobile Fidelity triple-CD version. BE In 1994, a 25th anniversary, four-disc box set was released and then in 2009 another box set, Woodstock: 40 Years On – Back to Yasgur’s Farm, celebrated the 40th anniversary by expanding to six discs. This is the best place to go for the most complete view of Woodstock. Check out Wikia Entertainment for the full schedule and setlists of each performer. WoodstockProject.com is a great resource for tracking down all the commercially and bootlegged Woodstock material. Here’s the highlights of each set.
“There were some telling moments: the second-ever public appearance by Crosby, Stills & Nash, not in great voice but surprisingly adequate given that they were trying to harmonize in front of 250,000 people, and the introduction of Neil Young as the fourth member of the group; Joan Baez, at her most politically defiant and at the height of her reach with younger audiences, doing what is probably the definitive version of Gram Parsons’ Drugstore Truck Driving Man; Canned Heat near the end of the road for its classic lineup; Joe Cocker on his way up the superstar ladder; Jefferson Airplane near the end of its classic era; and Jimi Hendrix in one of his biographically (if not musically) transcendant public appearances.” BE “Musically, the second disc sounds the least dated with its over the top performances by a shockingly great Santana with Soul Sacrifice, Ten Years After’s guitar workout on I’m Goin’ Home, Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner medley (still a stunner after all these decades); the Jefferson Airplane’s rocking and raucous version of Volunteers, and the orgiastic Sly & the Family Stone medley that includes Dance to the Music, Music Lover, and an insanely great I Want to Take You Higher. There is some filler as well thanks to a drippy John Sebastian track called Rainbows All Over Your Blues, and an indulgent Love March by an out-of-their-prime Butterfield Blues Band.” J1 “Disc one is more complex. There are some fine moments here, especially the CS&N and CSN&Y tunes, including Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (perhaps not perfect in voice but a very inspired performance), and Wooden Ships, with a decent if not thrilling Sea of Madness, in between. There is a desultory We’re Not Gonna Take It from the Who that is out of context, given they performed the entirety of Tommy. While Canned Heat’s Goin’ Up the Country has aged well, Country Joe & the Fish’s The ‘Fish’ Cheer/ I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag has not, nor has Joan Baez’s performance of ‘Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man.’ Her version of Joe Hill is generic.” J1 “Richie Havens’ Freedom (which is really a rewrite of ‘Motherless Child’)” BE “is still thrilling, especially since it is preceded by Sebastian opening the entire set up with another duller-than-dull I Had a Dream.” J1 “Freedom” and “Arlo Guthrie’s Comin’ into Los Angeles give listeners about the same level of intimacy on their acoustic guitars. And listening to CSNY’s Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, while it might not be the group’s best harmonizing or tightest performance, Stephen Stills does one hell of a great job and offers a sample of what he’d deliver on his stunning first solo album a little down the road.” BE The most out of place thing here is Sha Na Na’s At the Hop, which sounds surreal but ragged and right, and Joe Cocker’s With a Little Help from My Friends, that closes disc one; it’s electrifying if rather out of tune.” J1 “The original, domestic triple-LP vinyl version had notoriously noisy pressings, and the original master suffered from all of the sound leakages and other defects inherent in recording live in the open air in front of several hundred thousand people.” BE The album, and its sequel, also “took the music out of the historical sequence of the festival and re-ordered (and edited) it for a sense of flow. Whether or not it accomplished its objective has been the subject of much debate…What is relevant is that these performances signified via their spotty recording quality – and sometimes dodgy performances – that there was an amazing array of legendary talent on hand at Woodstock; though not all of it is captured here.” J1
“So as it stands, Woodstock is a wildly mixed bag, and not particularly pleasant to listen to, but it does indeed have a significant place in the rock pantheon and should be regarded more as an artifact than as an album in its own right.” J1
“Jefferson Airplane is also here with an extra 12 minutes of music. Judging by this contribution and the inclusion of ‘Volunteers,’ on volume 1, this ranks as one of their greatest live sets ever issued. They begin Saturday Afternoon/ Won’t You Try with a medley of tunes from After Bathing at Baxter’s, issued early on in their career. The vocal performances by Marty Balin, Grace Slick, and Paul Kantner are simply stellar, but Jorma Kaukonen’s guitar as a guiding light also really shines here, and it screams on their other selection, Eskimo Blue Day, from the Volunteers album, even if its basic structure aped Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower.’ Disc one ends with the Butterfield Blues Band redeeming themselves with Little Walter’s Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, after the indulgent debacle of ‘Love March’ on volume one.” J2
“Disc Two features a trio of fine cuts by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young including Marrakesh Express, and a pair from Mountain: the stellar rocker Blood of the Sun, and the more pastoral Theme from an Imaginary Western. Canned Heat’s 13-minute Woodstock Boogie is a bit monotonous, but it’s a blast all the same. The tracks by Melanie and Joan Baez included here add nothing to this set and should have been left off in favor of some other artists who weren’t included on either volume, but that's personal preference. The Rhino edition of Woodstock Two contains new liner notes by Gene Sculatti, new photos, and completely remastered sound that’s a grand improvement on any CD edition released thus far.” J2
The collection features “38 previously unreleased recordings, including the Grateful Dead, The Who, Tim Hardin, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe & The Fish, and others.” AZ “In addition to the music, the set offers considerable amount of ancillary material sprinkled throughout the discs,” AZ including “stage announcements by Chip Monck, John Morris, and Wavy Gravy” J40, “lysergic babble, the sounds of rain, a cameo appearance by Abbie Hoffman, and the graciousness of Max Yasgur’s address to the crowd, heard for the first time in its entirety.” AZ “In presenting a historical document of this proportion there are some interesting judgment calls to make. Producers Andy Zax, Mason Williams, and Cheryl Pawleski” J40 “pored over every inch of multitrack tape in search of the strongest parts of each of the 33 sets.” AZ “The sound, which was done by Eddie Kramer, is as good as it can possibly get…The book is a monster, loaded with photos and featuring Bud Scoppa’s wonderfully researched and presented liner essay, whose chapters account for each day, act by act.” J40 “Ultimately, however, it all comes down to the music. While we only get Dark Star by the Dead, we get (a bit) more music from the Who. The three tracks by CCR are all monsters, and hearing the five tracks by…[CSN/Y] all in correct sequence between BS&T and the Butterfield Blues Band makes total sense. One of the more welcome surprises is the expanded set by Sha Na Na. Fans of individual acts here will be delighted or complain about the treatment individual artists receive. Even though there is a bit more music, the Who still get short-sheeted (but we do get to hear the infamous row between Pete Townshend and Abbie Hoffman), as do the Dead. We didn’t need more of Arlo Guthrie than we already had, and why we still needed three tracks by Melanie or more by the completely unmusical Country Joe & the Fish is a mystery. We could have used more of the Incredible String Band or Richie Havens! But these are individual complaints. The set as it stands is the ultimate document – thus far – and will likely be for some time to come.” J40
Review Source(s):
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