Customer Reviews

Woodstock: 40 Years on: Back to Yasgur's Farm (6CD, Limited Edition)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an incredible set! The best Woodstock collection yet! The sound quality is stellar. The packaging? Fantastic! Similar to Rhino's "Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970" but with the CD's in plastic DVD length cases, so no worry about scratching your CD's. I would like to give this set four and A HALF stars, just shy of five. Why only four and a half and not five? Well, first off, it can't be helped that Keef Hartley Band, Ten Years After, and The Band backed out of being a part of this collection. I'm sure Rhino tried all they could, but what can you do? What I'm at a loss about is the repeated inclusion of CSN&Y's non-Woodstock performance of "Sea Of Madness." It's been established that this performance was at the Fillmore East a week later from the festival. Why couldn't "Blackbird," "Mr. Soul," or "Helplessly Hoping" been included instead? Anyways, the included booklet is awesome featuring the COMPLETE listing of Woodstock performers and their complete sets for the first time! FINALLY! This set is 6-CDs long so are you ready for this? Here we go.

DISC ONE:

1. RITCHIE HAVENS: The remix makes his performance sound much more intimate and close.
2. SWEETWATER: Better than expected! "Look Out" ROCKS and "Two Worlds" is faster than the studio version.
3. BERT SOMMER: To have left this guy off for 40 years is criminal! A BEAUTIFUL, inspired sounding acoustic set. What a voice!
4. TIM HARDIN: Tim is all his disheveled glory. "Simple Song Of Freedom" will make you smile and cry at the same time.
5. RAVI SHANKAR: I've heard better from Ravi (Monterey, etc.), but this rather short raga is good.
6. MELANIE: A POWERFUL three songs from the raspy voiced singing/songwriting princess of the early '70s.
7. ARLO GUTHRIE: Well now we know why his Woodstock performance of "Coming Into Los Angeles" was replaced on the soundtrack, Arlo's mic was off for the first verse of the song!

DISC TWO:

1. JOAN BAEZ: Aside from the inclusion of "Hickory Wind" this is pretty much the same as you've always known from Joan.
2. QUILL: IT'S ABOUT TIME THIS BAND GOT SOME RECOGNITION! A percussion based psychedelic rock band that were REALLY theatrical!
3. COUNTRY JOE MCDONALD: Did you know he came back for another verse of "Fixin' To Die" after his shouted "ALRIGHT!" Me neither.
4. SANTANA: A killer "Persuasion" and an unedited "Soul Sacrifice."
5. JOHN B. SEBASTIAN: Yep, John was stoned. His stage patter is finally in the correct places after all these years.
6. INCREDIBLE STRING BAND: Very hippie, very acoustic, very folk, very good.

DISC THREE:

1. CANNED HEAT: The Bear has to pee before "Going Up The Country" and "Woodstock Boogie" KILLS...ALL 28 MINUTES OF IT!
2. MOUNTAIN: A better "Blood Of The Sun" than on "Woodstock Two." And a great "For Yasgur's Farm" with Leslie belting it!
3. GRATEFUL DEAD: A 19-minute "Dark Star" that's not all that bad despite being from one of The Dead's worst performances.
4. CCR: Creedence was TIGHT after following The Dead. "Green River," "Bad Moon Rising," and "I Put A Spell On You" are all KILLER! The inclusion of "Keep On Chooglin" would have been nice though.

DISC FOUR:

1. JANIS JOPLIN: A better mix than the 25th Anniversary set! Janis wasn't in her best form but she got the point across.
2. SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: The UNEDITED medley that almost brought the stage down early that Sunday morning. 100% PURE FUNK!
3. ABBIE HOFFMAN: "John Sinclair...John Sinclair...blah...blah...blah"
4. THE WHO: INSANE, ghostly feedback from Pete's amp for "Amazing Journey." And Abbie and Pete duet. Ha ha ha.
5. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: Morning maniac music. The Airplane rocked Sunday morning with the opening "The Other Side Of This Life."

DISC FIVE:

1. JOE COCKER: No "Something's Coming On" but Joe and the band sound FANTASTIC with this remix. Funny backing vocals as always.
2. THE RAINSTORM: Got everyone's attention after Joe but never got a record deal. Very soothing...for 4 minutes.
3. COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH: A ROCKING set from The Fish! A "reprise" version of "Rock And Soul Music" that lasts 12 minutes.
4. JOHNNY WINTER: The full "Mean Town Blues" which features some KILLER slide work from Johnny.
5. BLOOD, SWEAT, & TEARS: Their last song, "You've Made Me So Very Happy," and they sound really good here. Good horn section!

DISC SIX:

1/2. CSN&Y: They were alright. "Marrakesh Express" is the best of THIS set, but no "Blackbird" which WAS their best that night.
3. BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND: "No Amount Of Loving" is plagued by a faulty mic but this thing grooves so good it makes up for it.
4. SHA NA NA: Would have like to have heard "Teen Angel" as well. "Get A Job" was their opener. Face it, these guys ruled.
5. JIMI HENDRIX: The same as you've heard but it doesn't sound remixed for the box set.

Well there you go, all six discs. Not only does the music sound better than it has ever sounded before but the stage announcements included are great as well. I guess they read my review for the 25th Anniversary box set. You're going to hear some pretty funny announcements that were not included on the original soundtrack. Come to find out the brown acid warning was at night after Canned Heat's set and that wasn't the only problem, both John Morris and Chip Monck were CONSTANTLY having to tell festival goers to get off of the towers! There's even some advice on taking the green acid tabs from none other than the San Francisco acid team themselves, Jerry Garcia and Country Joe! And most importantly, the full unedited speech from Mr. Max Yasgur. God Bless your memory Max. By opening your heart, you made history.

Wow! As a stand-alone overview,this is a fantastic release.

Six discs crammed (almost 8 hours-still only 1/5 of all the music) with exciting music from great artists. An 80 page large-format book,filled with wonderfully printed color and b&w photographs from the festival. A written introduction by producer Andy Zax,who originally wanted to release all the music from Woodstock-on 30 discs. And notes by Bud Scoppa detailing events over the three days and the era in general. There is a set list of the performers,and who played what instrument in this collection,and a complete list in chronological order of all the performers/songs played at Woodstock.

There's great unreleased music from artists (COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH,Tim Hardin among others) heard on previous Woodstock releases. But listeners,finally,get to hear people/groups (the great Bert Sommer,THE GRATEFUL DEAD),plus,full-length versions of already released songs,and authentic sets (MOUNTAIN,Ravi Shankar) not heard on past releases-all in improved sound. The tracks have been remastered and are clean and crisp-yet still retain their original warmth and immediacy. Another plus is that the performances are heard in the original order as experienced at the three day festival. This brings listeners closer to what actually happened,which gives this collection even more weight.

Combine all this with Max Yasgur's complete speech to "the kids",Abbie Hoffman's attempt at politicizing the crowd and THE WHO's Pete Townshend's words to that attempt,the sometimes humorous yet very atmospheric stage announcements and sounds from the festival,and it all adds up to a stunning collection.

The packaging is similar to Rhino's hardcover "Love Is The Song We Sing:S.F. Nuggets 1965-1970" release from awhile back,except the discs are snapped in,inside the front and back covers. The book is slipped into its own inside cardboard pocket. INSIDE the pocket is a color picture of a Yasgur's dairy box and on the other side,a quote. All in all,a pretty good presentation.

Yes,there's a lot of previously released music here. THE BAND,TEN YEARS AFTER,and THE KEEF HARTLEY BAND are not represented. And once in a while the mix isn't as perfect (Arlo Guthrie's "Coming Into Los Angeles",CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL) as some listeners might wish. But what listeners do have is a collection of good,important,,exciting music from some of the greatest bands/performers of the era. Artists who came together to create one of the most important,far-reaching,musical events in our history. Something which can never be repeated.

Forget nostalgia. Sit back and listen to this still vital music. It has the power to set your feet moving and put a smile on your face. And that's a sure sign of good music. With this collection,"Woodstock nation" still lives.

P.S. As of today (08/11/09) I notice that Amazon is no longer selling this set. So if you're thinking of purchasing it-don't wait. Maybe in this instance "limited edition" actually means what it says. Also,for anyone who wants to know the tracks on this collection,they can be found on one of the discussion sites under this collection's title. S.J.

...but it looks as if this is as close as we're going to get. In the accompanying booklet, Andy Zax, the compiler of this magnificent box set, begins by telling us: "When we began working on this project four years ago, the original intention was to try to put out all three days' worth of music from the festival on 30 CD's. Though we were able to locate, assemble and reconstruct about 99% of the music from Woodstock...some rather non-Aquarian logistical realities ultimately dictated that this project would take a slightly less sprawling form".

1960's, meet the 2000's...

That said, this collection, which brings us about a fifth of what went down (musically) at the festival, is sonic heaven. The remixes are brilliant, the sound crisp and vibrant. Though some of the performances were a little, ahem, muddy (I'm looking at you, Sweetwater), the box is on the whole cheap at twice the price. I only wish I could get the thought of the whole festival on 30 CD's out of my head. Sigh...

I personally have created a not-too-shabby Woodstock playlist on my Ipod by combining this box with the missing performances from the 25th anniversary set (TYA, The Band, etc.), the Sly/Airplane/Winter/Joplin/Santana shows from the Woodstock Experience box, the complete Hendrix show, and a few odds and ends from my collection (such as John Sebastian's complete performance from his Rhino Handmade set).

Still, though, I just can't stop thinking about those 30 CD's. Maybe someday...

First of all, the sound, remastering, packaging, and previously unissued material is all excellent. Anyone interested in Woodstock, whether you own the previous music releases or not, should definitely get this new 40th anniversary set. It's well worth the price. My only complaints, like others who have reviewed it, are regarding what's missing. I wouldn't have minded more disks in the set--which could have been done--to include all the stuff that was on the previous Woodstock releases (the first album, "Woodstock Two", and the 25th Anniversary set) that has mysteriously been left off this set. For example, the crowd rain chant is not here on the new set, and that is a seminal part of the "experience." We're also missing some of the stage announcements and non-music sound bytes that were on the first two albums. I understand there was some rights issues for not including some bands (Ten Years After "I'm Going Home" not included), which is stupid on the band managements' part... but still. This set *should* have been a compilation--remastered--of everything that had been released before (so we could unload the previous releases at a used shop or on ebay) as well as the new stuff. I would have welcomed a 10-disk set or even more, it would have been worth it. That said, the producers of this set should still be complimented on an excellent job of presenting the best possible quality for these historical recordings.

People,Please Stop Analyzing,Searching For Flaws.The Whole Event Was One Giant Flaw,That's What Made It So Cool!!!This Is The Best Bunch Of Flawed Recordings You Will Ever Hear.Lets Be Happy With What We Have Here.Who Cares If The Music Industry Makes Millions From It.They Deserve The Money For Making Sure These Recordings Stay Protected For Future Generations.Besides,The Anticipation Of Waiting For The Next Anniversary And What New Music Will Be Included Is All Part Of The Fun.When The Day Comes That Everything Is Put Out All At Once,The Fun Will Be Over.Stringing This Out Over Decades Makes The Magic Of It That Much Better.As Far As Sonic Quality Goes.Ive Compared All The Versions Of This Event,This Is By Far The Closest To The Actual Sound Recorded In 1969.Possibly Better.It Seems They Didn'T Try To Cover Up The Sonic Imperfections This Time Around And I'm Glad.This Is A Gift From The Powers That Be Who Control The Legacy.Lets Enjoy It For Its Own Sake.Peace Man!!!

Having just spent a week of car rides to work and back listening to the 6-disc set, it was OK. I would take the 2-CD set over this any day. Less is more. Maybe if they had included 6 sides of Havens, Who, CSN (&Y), Santana, Cocker, it would have been worth it but I think I've come away knowing I am not a Country Joe fan. There are some more obscure artists (Quill, anyone?) to me, and that's ok from a history of music. Others like Tim Harden, extra Joan Baez are nice to hear because they made an impact on the history of mankind. In the end, Woodstock was a defining moment in America and history itself. The songs, many of war-protest and freedom and drugs are moment in time. Bands like CSN, performing for one of the very first time, could never have imagined the impact they would have 40 years later, others like Hendrix and Janis never got a chance to get out of the decade alive. My biggest quibble is the exclusion of ALVIN LEE. There are probably 5 to 10 quintessential performances, ground breaking, call it what you will performances from this show (Souls Sacrifice, Motherless Child, We've Not Gonna Take It, Suite: Just Blue Eyes), but ALVIN LEE, his guitar, his band and his watermelon is perhaps the greatest live guitar assault ever recorded. Licensing rights or not, get that cut on any Woodstock box set. Less "Fish" more BAND, as well.

Usually when I get huge box sets like Woodstock etc, what I do is I'll listen to it once and then I'll most likely make a selection of the best songs on there. And then I'll delete the rest from my iTunes but I'll occasionally bring them back. Here's what I have on my playlist. Hope you like it.

Disc 1.
Richie Havens: Freedom - It's what he was seeing around him. And it was totally improvised.
Bert Sommer: And When It's Over - What a fantastic voice!
Joan Baez: Sweet Sir Galahad - The angelic voice that sang the children to their sleep
Country Joe McDonald: Donovan's Reef - A lyrical masterpiece. Makes me think of Dalí.
Santana: Soul Sacrifice - The acoustic songs are over and now it's time to get to the Latin music.
Canned Heat: Woodstock Boogie - 28 minutes featuring the best slide guitar player ever, Alan Wilson

Disc 2:
Sly And The Family Stone: Medley - Get up and dance to the funky music!
The Who: Amazing Journey / Sparks - I've never heard Townshend play like that before, man! What amazing feedback. I can feel the sparks if you know what I mean!
Jefferson Airplane: Won't You Try / Saturday Afternoon - The triple harmonies soar like birds
Country Joe & The Fish: Silver And Gold - The most beautiful solo I've ever heard
Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young: Wooden Ships - Fine harmonies from the Laurel Canyon boys
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Love March - Definitely the most interesting song on the album. I dig Buzzy Feiten's guitar playing
Jimi Hendrix: The Star Spangled Banner, etch. - I love the way he closes out this playlist.

We all know that Woodstock was a seminal moment in history. This box set lays out the events in a full (but not complete) and colorful way. The booklet that comes with the set is of high quality, with plenty photos of the artists who played at the event. You can easily tell that there has been some cleaning up of the recordings. I'm not sure they could have done more with cleaning up the recordings without then comprimising the quality of the songs. Some of the groups definitely sound better than earlier attempts, while some of the new songs that have been added to this box set are good, but not great (sound recording wise). I know they wanted to present as many artists as they could, but there are a couple of acts that (imho) they could've left off. Then they would've had more room to expand out the set lists for some of the other acts. I'm glad they included Dark Star, more Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe and the Fish, and the Who, as well as the full version of Woodstock Boogie. I hope the Who decide to put out their complete act in a seperate disc, like the Jefferson Airplane and the others did.

Despite everyone's desire to have selected this comp, the producers did an admirable job. Sure it's not perfect but so what. As one reveiwer said just sit back and enjoy the music. There's a lot of it here. With this comp things are assembled in context. Depsite the technichal difficulties, the Arlo Guthrie material is excellent, as is Baez. When you hear Bert Sommer you wonder why you never heard more of him or why you never heard him at all. The extra stage announcements coupled with the movie help fill in the broader picture. This deseves an A just for the mamouth task completed.. Sound quality is greatly improved. At times it has the qaulity of feild notes. Eat that document. It's worth it.

After waiting a month to receive this, I am not disappointed. Lots and lots of great music here. Some bands, however, I think are represented a little too much, while others aren't represented enough. Also, some of the banter has been edited out from previous versions. I particularly like the introduction to Joan Baez's "Drug Store Truck Drivin Man", which was dedicated to "the Governor of California, Ronald RAYGUN...ZAP!" Classic, but it's not here. Nor is the introduction to "Sweet Sir Galahad." I could have used more Joan Baez, more Richie Havens, CSN&Y, Janis, The WHO (especially The Who), and LESS Country Joe and The Fish, the Incredible String Band (really bad), and Canned Heat. And the Hendrix segment seems edited. I seem to remember the "Woodstock Improvisation" and "Villnova Junction" pieces being longer. And why play only the end of "Voodoo Child"?

Still, there's so much good stuff on here, it's hard to complain too much. The best we can hope for is that more artists release their entire performance.

Listening, seeing, and reading about this concert, I really wish I had been there, but alas, I wasn't born yet. There will never be another concert like this.