Customer Reviews

Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 40th anniversary of Woodstock is upon us in exactly 3 weeks, and the market is being flooded with Woodstock related books of all kinds.

"Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked The World" (288 pages) is a coffee table book edited by Mike Evans and Paul Kingsbury. It is a pure delight to read from start to finish. The book is organized chronologically (rather than, say, thematically), a major plus. Every single artist that played at Woodstock gets profiled and interviewed and on top of that, We get the time of when they came on stage (e.g., Paul Butterfield Blues Band came on Sunday night into Monday morning at 5 am) and every single set list is included as well. Some artists only payed a couple of songs. It is surprising to me how many bands or artists played Woodstsock which I barely recognize (Tim Hardin, the Keefer Hartley Band, etc.), and how many of them were strictly acoustic. The other thing that is so different from the big festivals of today like Bonnaroo is that there was only one stage.

The artists relay many funny stories about their experience at Woodstock, some new, others not. About to be helicoptered from her hotel to the stage area, Melanie retells how "my mother and I started walking towards this helicopter, and someone says 'Wait, who's she?', and I said 'It's my mother' and they say, 'No, only bands and managers'--and I didn't even have the sense to say 'She's my manager'. I just said 'Goodbye, Mom' and I felt aweful about leaving her behind but I had no choice." Haha! Or how John Sebastian is unexpectedly asked to jump in and play a set and hence has to borrow Tim Hardin's guitar. And on and on.

The visuals in this book are just a marvel to look at. Some of these pictures are now iconic, but there are lots of others that are equally interesting and entertaining. In all, I can't say enough how impressed I was with this book. It's like you were there, really (except for the soundtrack of it all, which of course you can find on many newly released reissues from many bands that played the festival).

This coffeetable book celebrating the 40th anniversary of this Woodstock has lots of great photos and choice interview quotes from the artists and organizers. The main reason I snatched this up was because of the inclusion of setlists for each of the acts who played at the festival, which as far as I know, has never been compiled in one place. I was a bit disappointed that these were incomplete. For example, the Jefferson Airplane section omitted "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds," "...Pooneil," and "Wooden Ships"; Tim Hardin's "Simple Song of Freedom", Melanie's "Momma Momma", Country Joe and the Fish's "Summer Dresses" and "Silver & Gold" - I'm sure I missed a few others. The sad part is that I knew of most of these selections because they will be included in the upcoming Woodstock 6-CD boxed set. The Jefferson Airplane set was just released in its entirety and has way more songs than those listed in the book. Figured they'd do a better job on the research end... but still it's a worthy souvenir.

Logically organized, with surrounding events put into context, this product of the new Bethel museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the history of this epic event. Great pix, of course, but the text is good, too. I never realized that Michael Lang staged a Woodstock warmup at a racetrack just north of Miami. Woodstock seemed to come out of nowhere. Also, the festival's theme song, and that of a generation, practically, was written by Joni Mitchell based on observations conveyed to her by Graham Nash and David Crosby after the fact. Joni spent Woodstock ensconcsed in David Geffen's luxury apartment on NYC's Central Park West because she was afraid to miss her date on the Dick Cavett show the day after the festival ended. It's a great song anyway. The pictures of many Woodstock attendees now look quite contemporary. Styles have come around again!

I wasn't able to get to the Woodstock Festival (though I did make it to the Atlantic City Pop Festival just two weeks before) and so my knowledge of what actually happened has been based - like many other music fans - on the three-hour feature film (now released in a four-hour version with an hour of extra performances).

With this HEAVY coffee-table book I was able to experience the event in chronological order from the advance advertising, through all the performances, and on to the "cleanup". The authors Mike Evans - the British based researcher (you can tell when they refer to the "American audience" that Mike's from across the pond) - and Paul Kingsbury, the US journalist who Americanized Evans' text, did an excellent job in juxtaposing photos, set lists and both archival and new recollections from the performers.

All the performers who mounted the stage are covered both the well known and the more obscure, like Sweetwater, Bert Sommer and Quill. What? You never heard of Quill? That's because - due to technical difficulties - the audio and film footage was unusable and - remember - some of the artists - such as Melanie -were virtually unknown before the feature film was released. It was "Woodstock - the film" that made their careers.

Another reviewer pointed out that there are inaccuracies in the set lists included in the book. I trust that - based on his sources - he is correct and this is somewhat disappointing. And for this I have dropped a star from what would be a five star review.

Of course, it would be great to have CD of the music to go along with this book but there is 6-CD set forthcoming and you could program that is set list order (except of course for the unrecorded artists, as noted above.).

Overall a nice memento for those that attended and a nice document with photos and well organized quotes from those who participated in the event.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

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I bought this a gift but could not put it down. The recipient liked it a lot as well. I was too young in 1969 to go to Woodstock but learned a lot about that event through this book. This is among the best books on the Woodstock event that I have seen.

This book is filled with great shots from that time and all the info you need to know about what all happened and how. Very well put together.

I absolutely love this book. It's so informative and I like how they talk about how the movie was made and what specific parts inspired the movie. Also, I liked the fact that there are actual quotes from performers at woodstock who talked about what the experience was like. It gives a whole new perspective on the event.

The best book on Woodstock that I have seen after some research. Great pictures and text. Covers all the acts that performed as well as the events of the time. If you enjoy this music and all that surrounds it, this is the book for you.

Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World covers all aspects of the music festival and appears in three parts: a survey of its origins in the music and cultural trends of its times, a chronicle of the event with coverage of each act and their performance, and a survey of media coverage, follow-up festivals and the ongoing impact of Woodstock. Add a survey packed with color photos and you have a 'must' for any library strong in American cultural history, music, or Woodstock events.

My mom is slightly obsessed with everything Woodstock and I am getting this for her for Christmas(with all of it's imperfections re: song lists, etc..) as she kept renewing this book from the library. As I've mentioned via comment to a reviewer, this IS an ultimate keepsake for anyone who is all about Woodstock, the 60s, and pop culture. It's fascinating, it's emotional, it's interesting, most importantly...it's beautiful.