Everyone’s piling on the the 40th anniversary of Woodstock bandwagon. Added and unreleased audio and video is out or on its way; films like Academy Award-winning Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, books, concert tours and other celebrations of one kind or another are underway. Legacy has taken a creative approach by issuing The Woodstock Experience, double-CD sets of Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane and Johnny Winter, five artists who appeared at the famed music festival. Each set includes the artist’s studio release from 1969 on one disc, and that same artist’s entire Woodstock performance on the second disc. The deluxe
packaging is enhanced with suave reproductions of each studio album’s cover art and sleeve, short yet sweet liner notes and a 16”x20” collectible poster of the group photographed at Woodstock. All the Woodstock recordings were remastered by legendary original Woodstock producer Eddie Kramer. You can buy the sets separately or as part of a limited edition box set.
There’s little doubt that Woodstock played a significant role in the rising star of Santana. The group’s 1969 debut was initially shelved for a spell, but Woodstock quickly changed all that. Santana’s breakout performance of “Soul Sacrifice,” featured prominently in the Woodstock film and soundtrack, cemented their distinguished place on the festival’s mantel. Then ‘Evil Ways” hit the Top 10, and Santana was on its way. Santana: The group’s Latin percussion-rich, Hammond-heavy, bluesy guitar-drenched first album, repackaged in a beautiful replica of its original gatefold and sounding as sweet and vibrant as ever. The second disc roars with the group’s captivating Woodstock set — seven tunes from the Santana album and a funky little nonsensical rave-up with uncredited horns and an Allman Brothers Band drive. This is definitely one of the jewels of The Woodstock Experience.
By the time Woodstock happened, Janis Joplin was a well-established star. But the festival and the album I Got Dem ‘Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama! that came out a month later announced a major change in the direction of Joplin’s music and the people she made it with. She had parted company with Big Brother & the Holding Company the year before with the idea of going solo. “Try (Just A Little Bit Harder),” which opens I Got Dem ‘Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, was just a sampling of what Joplin had in store for the rest of the album — a horn-heavy, funk-filled mixed bag of near hits and far-off misses. The cover of the Bee Gees song “To Love Somebody” left a lot of strange looks on listener’s faces, but once Joplin took the stage, all was forgotten. The 10-song set at Woodstock redefines Joplin’s magical presence and bluesy intonations. The Kozmic Blues Band, her new group filled with new players except for Big Brother guitarist Sam Andrew, hit their stride at Woodstock, giving the singer the support and breathing room she needed during a turbulent moment of the festival. “Summertime” flourishes like the flower it aspires to be and “Piece Of My Heart” gets a jazzy kick in the rhythm. Joplin asks the crowd how they are and essentially tells them not to let the music blow their collective minds before launching into a soulful “Ball And Chain.” No head count on how many minds were blown, but it could possibly number into the tens of thousands.
Nineteen sixty-nine proved to be a banner year for Sly & The Family Stone, whose album Stand! spawned the funky hits “Everyday People,” “Sing A Simple Song,” “Stand,” and “I Want to Take You Higher.” The album spent 100 weeks on the charts, and solidified Sly Stone’s role as funky spokesman for the Woodstock generation. The Family Stone didn’t have the good sense to play “Sex Machine” at Woodstock, instead sticking to the upbeat hits. “Dance To The Music” delivers its message loud and clear. Stone verbosely works the crowd into the act during “Medley: Music Lover/Higher” before moving on to a full-fledge “I Want to Take You Higher.” The energy level at Woodstock was funkified by Sly & The Family Stone.
Jefferson Airplane was one of the bigger attractions at Woodstock, apparently the first act booked for the festival. They played a rousing Sunday morning set of hits (“Somebody To Love” and “White Rabbit”), heavier trips (“3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds” and “Eskimo Blue Day”) and some truly electrifying rock n’ roll (“Wooden Ships” and “Volunteers”). The Airplane’s performance fills a disc and half of The Woodstock Experience edition. As for Volunteers the album — beautifully remastered and repackaged — it came out in November, three months after Woodstock, and went gold in three months. Sounding incredibly melodic and bluesy, friends like Jerry Garcia play pedal steel guitar, and David Crosby and Stephen Stills sing, play the Hammond or just hang out. Meanwhile, pianist Nicky Hopkins, the semi-famous English sideman for the Rolling Stones, the Who, John Lennon and dozens of others, ably pitched in where and when he can. Thrown together, you can really get lost listening to the free-form jamming on “Hey Frederick” It would have been perfect for Woodstock, but when you have five albums to choose from, you can’t play them all live — you just go with what’s working., Everything worked just fine for Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock.
Another “new kid on the block” at Woodstock was guitarist Johnny Winter. No portion of his performance at Woodstock has ever been officially released, so the eight-song disc in the Woodstock Experience set is unique. One listen, and you’ll wonder why in the hell this didn’t come out earlier. Winter rips up the frets from the get-go, yucking it up on “Mama, Talk To Your Daughter” before reaching down deep for a pair of his own blues-based rockers — “Leland Mississippi Blues” and “Mean Town Blues.” Brother Edgar Winter joins the band that includes drummer Uncle John Turner and bassist Tommy Shannon (who later played in Double Trouble with Stevie Ray Vaughn) for “I Can’t Stand It,” “Tobacco Road” and “Tell The Truth.” Even back then, both Winter brothers sort of rose above the pack as gifted virtuosos. The same cast of characters appear on Winter’s self-titled debut, perfecting the bluesy strokes of masters like Robert Johnson (“When You Got A Good Friend”), Sonny Boy Williamson (“Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”) Lightnin’ Hopkins (“Back Door Friend”) and B.B. King (“Be Careful With A Fool”). The record also features guests like Willie Dixon and Walter “Shakey” Horton to give it even more authenticity. Turns out, Winter’s status as future elder bluesman was assured even back then.
~ Shawn Perry
