Customer Reviews

Monterey International Pop Festival

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well i actually came to see if there was an even more complete version, as some of the artists listed on the original Monterey Pop bill (from the booklet in the set) werent in the cd collection, and I wanted to hear those other performers Hugh Masekela, Laura Nyro, Dion Warwick, and others. I am 48 and grew up with this music the first time around. Its dear to my heart.

Heres why I gave it such a high rating:these are fresh performances, and bits of the performers personalities come through in the on stage commnets, as well as the performance. For example, as a long time Janis Joplin lover, this performance clearly reveals a young voice, fresh and vibrant, probably before the heavy pressures of her fame ( and substances) changed her voice.

The Hendrix session is also vibrant, full tilt, exciting.

Without going into every performance, this is a particularly good example of this era's stars, in a non-polished non-studio recording. All of it is good, IMHO.

The booklet has some very interesting information and is insightful as to what people had in mind for the concert. This concert seems to be unique in that it was the FIRST of the 'flower' concerts...not so much a scene..but a concert in a relaxed and artistic atmoshpere. ON of the earliest to bill both black r and b stars to a white audience.

From a time when rock musicians were just that, and not 'all around entertainers' and models and media concepts. I would buy this again in a heartbeat. After looking in the used section, ( to hopefull find a photo to confirm the set) however, I realized that the set can be far more than I paid just about two years ago-$39.00 mint, used-now almost ten times that amount if its the same set-(for 400 or even 100 i would have to think again!!!

It was quite a nice Saturday morning in June in the year 1967, I was in the backseat of my parent's 57 Ford Fairlaine with my older sister. We were on the way to visit Aunt Josie & Uncle Ross in Pacific Grove, right next to the town of Monterey. Getting through town that morning was not easy as normally empty roads were jammed with VW busses and cars full of day-glo freaks with flowers in their long hair. Hitch-hikers were everywhere and the sounds of The Doors and the Jefferson Airplane could be heard blasting outta radios from all the other cars around us. My parents didn't like dirty-stinkin' hippies at all, and they had Perry Como, playing for our listening enjoyment!

My Aunt told us that a big show was going on all weekend at the Fairgrounds and that some very strange people were over there and in her Words; "freakin'-out at the Love-In". I got lucky and got to walk Aunt Josie's, Irish Setter {To get outta there!} We headed towards the music that could be heard faintly drifting over from the Fairgrounds. That dog and I sat on a hill {Fool on a...} for a few hours and though we couldn't see it, we could hear some groovy sounds coming from quite a distance where HISTORY was being made for that very lucky audience.

This big yellow box set is the document that features the sounds of that June weekend in Monterey, 41 years ago and it is indeed a very nice package.

The Who, Canned Heat, Otis Redding, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, The Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix. This Festival was the begining of what is now known as: "The Age of Festivals". From 1967 through the early 1970's, lot's of gatherings would follow Monterey....Woodstock, Isle of Wright, Altamont, Mar Y Sol, Atlanta Pop...ETC.ETC.


This set is far from complete {Buffalo Springfield and Simon & Garfunkel are just two of the many performers that are not part of this set}. Over the years many, many bootlegs have appeared featuring more of these Shows, and they are well worth seeking out. The Movie: "Monterey Pop", is excellent as well and it is: "Must-See Viewing".

Even with 4 CD's, this package is still only a sampler of that historic weekend, down in Monterey. It is an essential listening experience of sixties music, and this would be a 5-star rating, if it DID NOT contain that wretched tripe: "San Francicso" {"Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair"} by: Scott McKenzie. That song alone is why a lot of Bay Area bands didn't want to perform at this festival in the first place!

That said, forgetting that one crappy song, this is a great box set. This big yellow box contains a lot of HISTORY, and belongs in any music collection.
FOUR STARS!

As David Crosby noted in the film: "What a groovy sound system...finally!" This recording on that "groovy sound system" is astonishly clear and the performances are raw and exciting. Most of these acts were just breaking big at the time: The Who, Hendrix, Big Brother, the Airplane, Otis and so on...

There is a lot more still unreleased material from Monterrey which I'd love to get my hands on. Buffalo Springfield (with David Crosby!), Moby Grape, the Grateful Dead, Simon and Garfunkel and Laura Nyro did memorable sets some of which I've heard on bootlegs....fantastic sound quality.

John Phillips took the tapes on an FM radio tour in the early seventies and most of those tapes ended up on bootlegs....why not release the entire festival? It's all good...it's all really, REALLY good...far better than Woodstock. Most of the music was getting pretty undisiplined and downright sloppy by the time of Woodstock only two years later.

Here, all of the artists are in top form.

The Monterey International Pop Festival (live 1967) / Rhino box set: As with any recorded presentation of an important concert, the more that is missing the less satisfying the release. The four CDs of this Rhino box set are still very satisfying, but there is obvious room for improvement. For me, the greatest omission is the absence of Eric Burden's version of "Paint it Black". When it comes right down to brass tacks, this CD box set is very good, but it can be made better if you buy the Criterion Collection's "The Complete Monterey Pop Festival" 3 DVD set to go along with it (which is obviously not part of this CD box set). This Rhino 4 CD box set is essential, but it necessitates the addition of the movies. As with the Woodstock releases, we await a more complete presentation of Monterey Pop (that may never come to be) and so we continue to piece together what we have as best we can.

While I can agree with much of what others have said in the above reviews, this set was a disappointment for me because the poor sound quality overall and the poor musicianship in many instances. I love most of these bands--I was 17 in 1967 and have owned LPs by many of these artists. I love the Monterey movie. I love my Hendrix/Redding Monterey LP from, when, '70 before it was finally released? This box set's booklet is fascinating, worth $10-15 by itself. Monterey had a good sound system for the time, we are told. And recording engineer Wally Heider was about as good as you could get back then. Yet the sound is so thin, and the results, for the most part, are just so-so. Sets like Otis and Jimi rock (now I know why that LP was all that was initially issued), but some of the others are hard to listen to. Maybe it was a monitor thing, but many groups known for their tight harmonies are way off. Even some of the instruments are out of tune. Most embarrassing of all are the concluding Mamas & Papas. Yes, the liner notes mention they didn't rehearse, Denny was late, etc.; but their harmonies are horrible, lyrics are lost/confused, arrangements forgotten--even the between-song banter is lame. This is a great historical snapshot, and has some fascinating moments--some even rock. But when I want live Who, will I turn here before "Leeds"? No. Nor will I choose this Airplane over "Pointed Little Head," nor this Big Brother over "Cheap Thrills," nor...get the picture? But I still remember all of the air-guitar chords Jimi taught me on "Wild Thing" back in '70!

Standout performances from Janis Joplin, Booker T & The MG's, Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix. The rest of this is pretty hit or miss as far as performances go, but I still give it 5 stars because it an incredible time capsule of the summer of 1967. Plus the 95 page book that comes with this box set is amazing...with brilliant photographs and numerous memories and insights from Steve Miller, Eric Burdon, Jackson Browne, Al Kooper, David Crosby, Dennis Hopper, Lou Rawls and many others make this highly collectable...like a high end coffee table book that you listen to as well as read.

The Era of The Sixties changed the world in more ways than one. I don't know if it started with the music or if music was just a reflection of the times and events. Regardless, you cannot pretend to remember anything about that time without the music. Before Woodstock there was the Monterey Pop Festival. A number of the same artists performed at both but not enough. There were unique moments at both festivals.
The FOUR CDs of music from Monterey were easily as impressive as Woodstock. If you appreciate live music that reflects a revolution in music and life, you will love this collection!