Woodstock and beyond

The 40th anniversary celebration of the Woodstock Rock Festival continues with the centerpiece of the releases, the reissue of the Woodstock movie on DVD and Blu-Ray. The four-disc set comes housed in a slipcase that looks like a fringe jacket stolen from David Crosby’s closet. The discs contain Michael Wadleigh’s director’s cut of the film, with newly remastered sound and picture since its initial release in 2004. The film itself clocks in at a monstrous four hours, but that’s not all! The third disc features two additional hours of previously unreleased performances from the festival, including acts not seen in the original film (i.e., Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead). And the fourth disc contains oodles of bonus features that provide behind-the-scenes documentaries about the festival as well as the production of the film and soundtrack (including interviews with director Wadleigh and film editor Martin Scorsese). They also explain how this film, which certainly made this festival a household word worldwide, came close to never being made at all! 

And if that weren’t enough, the package contains a whole bunch of booklets and festival memorabilia, including a replica of the Life magazine devoted to the festival. All in all, a most impressive package that will probably take many viewers the three days the original festival lasted to digest it all.

At last, it looks like the video folks finally got it right with Woodstock. But it leaves one wondering: What will they do for the 50th anniversary in 2019 to top this?

Now Hear These!

Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Santana, Sly & the Family Stone, Johnny Winter: The Woodstock Experience

Back in 1970, when Warner Bros. Pictures and Atlantic Records were assembling the Woodstock film and soundtrack album, they approached the various record labels whose artists appeared at the festival for the legal clearances to allow their inclusion. The biggest share of the acts were Columbia Records artists, certainly one of the Big Boys of the record biz. As such, they proved to be the least willing to release their artists to a project for which they wouldn’t get the lion’s share of the action. As a result, some of Columbia’s superstars of the time, like Janis Joplin, hot guitar phenom Johnny Winter, and Blood, Sweat & Tears, didn’t appear in the film or album.

But now, Sony Legacy, which now owns both Columbia and former archrival label RCA, appears to be rectifying that with yet another project commemorating the festival’s 40th anniversary.

The Woodstock Experience takes the five acts mentioned above and gives each a two-CD set. One disc contains the act’s current album at the time of the festival (the Airplane’s Volunteers, Joplin’s I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again, Mama!, Santana’s self-titled debut album, Sly & the Family Stone’s Stand!, and Winter’s self-titled debut) and packages it with a disc containing the act’s complete Woodstock performance. Each set also contains a period poster of the act along with other goodies, all packed in a slipcase (eco-friendly, of course). You can get each act separately, or get the entire caboodle in a collector’s box set.

Although it’s taken 40 years, kudos to Sony Legacy for giving these Woodstock stars (especially Joplin and Winter) their due.

Paul Simon & Friends, The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song DVD

Since this concert took place in Washington (and was shown on PBS) in 2007, I was starting to doubt if this marvelous event would ever get a release on home video. Well, the wait is finally over, and it was well worth it. Some of music’s greatest names gathered to celebrate the career of Paul Simon on the occasion of being named the first recipient of the Gershwin Prize. And this superbly filmed and recorded concert is filled with memorable performances. To name just a few: Lyle Lovett’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” Shawn Colvin and Allison Krauss’ “The Boxer” (with gorgeous dobro work from Jerry Douglas), Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s “Homeless,” Dianne Reeves’ “Something So Right,” James Taylor’s “Still Crazy After All These Years,” Stephen Marley’s “Mother and Child Reunion,” Lovett with Buckwheat Zydeco on “That Was Your Mother,” and Simon and Stevie Wonder on “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” And Art Garfunkel joins his old partner for the penultimate Simon song, “Bridge over Troubled Water.”

This one’s got more great music moments than a dozen Grammy telecasts.

Diana Krall, Live in Rio DVD

Mrs. Elvis Costello presents a concert dominated by the songs of the great Antonio Carlos Jobim performed on his home turf, Brazil. The DVD, filmed in HD, provides breathtaking views of Rio and the Brazilian countryside, and the music’s pretty great too. Especially considering she’s backed by the rock solid rhythm section of drummer Jeff Hamilton and legendary bassist John Clayton. Watching his work alone is almost worth the price of the DVD. Another favorite moment comes during “The Boy from Ipanema,” when Ms. Krall stops singing in English and listens to the audience sing to her in the song’s original Portuguese.

Great for summer viewing and listening.

Various Artists, Hits with Strings and Things

Ace Records is to the UK what Rhino is to the USA, a label specializing in great compilations. And they do know quite a bit when it comes to American music, as illustrated by this superb new installment in the label’s “Golden Age of American Popular Music” series. The 28 songs span the late ’50s through the ’60s, and for those of a certain age, the titles alone will trigger memories: “Theme from a Summer Place,” “A Walk in the Black Forest,” “Java,” “Calcutta,” “Baby Elephant Walk,” “Love Is Blue,” “A Swingin’ Safari,” “Stranger on the Shore,” “Alley Cat,” just to name a few. Believe it or not, there was a time when artists with names like Horst Jankowski, Al Hirt, the Village Stompers, Percy Faith, Hugo Winterhalter, Paul Mauriat, Bent Fabric, and Lawrence Welk-yes, even Lawrence Welk-were heard alongside the latest hits from the Beatles, Stones, Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Motown on Top 40 radio. They’re all here in their sonic glory, along with a great booklet featuring great backstories on the artists and their songs. For example, on Welk’s chart-topping “Calcutta,” the Champagne Music Maestro doesn’t even appear on the record (although the unmistakable accordion of Myron Floren and harpsichord of Frank Scott certainly do). And the British account of Welk’s rise to stardom in America is quite amusing, to say the least.

Also, the stunning sound quality of the tracks may startle some listeners, given that many originally heard these tunes over the tinny speaker of a transistor AM radio. This is one of my favorite releases of 2009.

Some Summerfest Recommendations

Wednesday, July 1

2:30pm, Cascio Interstate Groove Garage: Delta Routine

Thursday, July 2

7:30pm, M&I Classic Rock Stage: Jon Paris

Saturday, July 4

2:30pm, Potawatomi Mid-Gate Stage: Mrs. Fun

7:30pm, Cascio Interstate Groove Garage: Pezzetino

9:30pm, Cascio Interstate Groove Garage: Invade Rome