Woodstock box set unearths rarities
By GARY GRAFF
Billboard.com
DETROIT — Thirty-eight previously unreleased recordings — from
groups such as The Who, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater
Revival and Jefferson Airplane — will dot “Woodstock — 40 Years On:
Back to Yasgur’s Farm” box set, which will be released on Aug. 18.
Among the highlights of the six-CD, 77-song collection are a
19-minute rendition of the Dead’s “Dark Star”; “Amazing Journey”
and “Pinball Wizard” by The Who; “Feelin’ Alright” by Joe Cocker;
CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising”; Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “You’ve Made Me So
Very Happy”; and tracks from Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin,
Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Melanie, Country Joe and The Fish, Sha Na Na,
the Butterfield Blues Band, Johnny Winter and others.
The set, which lists for $79.98, also restores full-length
performances of Canned Heat’s “Woodstock Boogie” (to a whopping 30
minutes) and The Who’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” It also includes
the never-released Woodstock performances of Arlo Guthrie’s “Coming
Into Los Angeles” and Mountain’s “Theme For an Imaginary Western,”
which were replaced by “better-sounding” recordings from other
concerts for the original “Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music”
soundtrack.
The track lineup is accurate to the actual running order of the
legendary 1969 festival and also includes stage announcements, Wavy
Gravy’s announcement of “breakfast in bed” for the crowd estimated
at 500,000, Max Yasgur’s famous speech to the crowd and audio of Abbie
Hoffman’s encounter with Who guitarist Pete Townshend.
“This will be the most comprehensive collection of Woodstock music
yet,” says Rhino Vice-President of A&R Cheryl Pawelski. “The goal
was to make it as real as possible ... as authentic an experience as
possible. It feels like dirt. It feels like a field. We wanted to take
you there. We worked very hard to make it a true document of that
time.”
Co-producers Andy Zax and Mason Williams compiled “40 Years On”
from the original multitrack tapes recorded during the festival. Their
research also allowed them to put the songs and artists in the correct
performance order, and the accompanying booklet will include the
accurate sequence complete with full set lists.
One performance is conspicuously absent; Pawelski says Ten Years
After would not clear the use of its performance for the box, meaning
the group’s epic version of “Goin’ Home” will not be included. The
Band and Keef Hartley were the only other acts that opted out of the
set.
“40 Years On” follows the re-releases of “Woodstock: Music From
the Original Soundtrack and More” and “Woodstock 2.” A new
Woodstock.com also launched the first week of June and a new DVD
edition of “Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music — The Director’s
Cut” comes out Tuesday, June 9. And on June 30, added to the
onslaught will be “Woodstock Experience” editions of seminal albums
by five of the festival’s acts: Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers,”
Janis Joplin’s “I Got Dem ’Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama!,” Santana’s
self-titled debut album, Sly & the Family Stone’s “Stand!” and
Johnny Winter’s self-titled effort — each with a second CD featuring
the acts’ complete Woodstock performances.
Disc 11. “Handsome Johnny” — Richie Havens
2. “Freedom (Motherless Child)” — Richie Havens
3. “Choppity Choppity”— John Morris
4. “Look Out” — Sweetwater
5. “Two Worlds”—Sweetwater *
6. “Jennifer” — Bert Sommer *
7. “And When It’s Over”— Bert Sommer *
8. “Smile” — Bert Sommer *
9. “There Goes Marilyn!”— John Morris
10. “Hang On To A Dream” — Tim Hardin *
11. “Simple Song Of Freedom” — Tim Hardin *
12. “Flat Blue Acid”— John Morris
13. “Raga Puriya-Dhanashri/Gat In Sawarital” — Ravi Shankar *
14. “Momma Momma” — Melanie *
15. “Beautiful People” — Melanie
16. “Birthday Of The Sun” — Melanie
17. “Coming Into Los Angeles” — Arlo Guthrie ***
18. “Wheel Of Fortune” — Arlo Guthrie *
19. “Every Hand In The Land” — Arlo Guthrie *
20. “All You Funny People”— John Morris
Disc 21. “Joe Hill”— Joan Baez
2. “Sweet Sir Galahad”— Joan Baez
3. “Hickory Wind” — Joan Baez *
4. “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” — Joan Baez w/Jeffrey Shurtleff
5. “Bring Scully His Asthma Pills”— John Morris
6. “Insulin” & Quill Intro— John Morris
7. “They Live The Life” — Quill *
8. “That’s How I Eat”— Quill *
9. “I Understand Your Wife Is Having A Baby”— Chip Monck
10. “Donovan’s Reef” — Country Joe McDonald *
11. “The ‘Fish’ Cheer”/”I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” — Country Joe McDonald
12. “Persuasion” — Santana
13. “Soul Sacrifice” — Santana
14. “How Have You Been”— John B. Sebastian
15. “Rainbows All Over Your Blues” — John B. Sebastian
16. “I Had A Dream” — John B. Sebastian
17. “The Letter” — Incredible String Band *
18. “When You Find Out Who You Are” — Incredible String Band *
19. “She Is Lost”— Chip Monck
Disc 31. “We’re In Pretty Good Shape”— Chip Monck
2. “Going Up The Country” — Canned Heat
3. “Woodstock Boogie” — Canned Heat **
4. “The Brown Acid Is Not Specifically Too Good”— Chip Monck
5. “Blood Of The Sun” — Mountain ***
6. “Theme For An Imaginary Western” — Mountain ***
7. “For Yasgur’s Farm” — Mountain *
8. “For Those Of You Who Have Partaken Of The Green Acid”— Chip Monck
9. “Green Acid Advice”— Jerry Garcia & Country Joe McDonald
10. “Dark Star” — Grateful Dead *
11. “Green River”— Creedence Clearwater Revival
12. “Bad Moon Rising”— Creedence Clearwater Revival *
13. “I Put A Spell On You” — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Disc 41. “Work Me, Lord” — Janis Joplin
2. “Ball And Chain” — Janis Joplin
3. Medley: “Dance To The Music”/”Music Lover”/”I Want To Take You Higher”—Sly & The
Family Stone
4. “The Politics Of The Situation”— Abbie Hoffman
5. “Amazing Journey” — The Who *
6. “Pinball Wizard” — The Who *
7. Abbie Hoffman vs. Pete Townshend
8. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” — The Who **
9. “The Other Side Of This Life” — Jefferson Airplane *
10. “Somebody To Love”— Jefferson Airplane
11. “Won’t You Try”/ “Saturday Afternoon”— Jefferson Airplane
12. “We Got A Whole Lot Of Orange”— Grace Slick
13. “Volunteers” — Jefferson Airplane
14. “Breakfast In Bed For 400,000”—Wavy Gravy
15. “It Just Keeps Goin’”— John Morris
16. Max Yasgur Speaks
Disc 51. “Feelin’ Alright”— Joe Cocker *
2. “Let’s Go Get Stoned”— Joe Cocker
3. “With A Little Help From My Friends” — Joe Cocker
4. The Rainstorm
5. “Rock & Soul Music”— Country Joe & The Fish
6. “Love” — Country Joe & The Fish *
7. “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine”— Country Joe & The Fish *
8. “Summer Dresses”— Country Joe & The Fish *
9. “Silver and Gold”— Country Joe & The Fish *
10. “Rock & Soul Music” (Reprise)— Country Joe & The Fish *
11. “Leland Mississippi Blues” — Johnny Winter *
12. “Mean Town Blues” — Johnny Winter
13. “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”— Blood Sweat & Tears *
Disc 61. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” — Crosby Stills & Nash
2. “Guinnevere”— Crosby Stills & Nash
3. “Marrakesh Express” — Crosby Stills & Nash
4. “4 + 20” — Crosby Stills & Nash
5. “Sea Of Madness” — Crosby Stills Nash & Young
6. “Wooden Ships” — Crosby Stills Nash & Young
7. “No Amount Of Loving”—The Butterfield Blues Band *
8. “Love March” — The Butterfield Blues Band
9. “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” — The Butterfield Blues Band
10. “Get A Job” — Sha Na Na *
11. “At The Hop” — Sha Na Na
12. “Get A Job” (Reprise) — Sha Na Na *
13. “The Star Spangled Banner”— Jimi Hendrix
“Purple Haze”— Jimi Hendrix
“Woodstock Improvisation”— Jimi Hendrix
14. “Woodstock Farewell”— Chip Monck
*Previously Unissued = never before released
**Previously Unissued Full-Length Version = previously released on a Woodstock title in edited form.
***Previously Unissued Woodstock Recording = presenting the actual Woodstock performances here for the first time.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E2QHBS/?tag=imwan-20