DISC ONE: "Monterey Pop" New high-definition digitaltransfer,
supervised by D.A. Pennebaker. New 5.1 mix by legendary
engineer Eddie Kramer, presented in Dolby Digital and DTS. Audio
commentary by Festival producer Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker.
New video interview with Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker. Audio
interviews with Festival producer John Phillips, Festival
publicist Derek Taylor, and performers Cass Elliot and David
Crosby. Photo essay by photographer Elaine Mayes. Original
theatrical trailer. Orginal theatrical radio spots. Monterey Pop
scrapbook. Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition.
DISC TWO: "Jimi Plays Monterey" and "Shake! Otis at Monterey" New
high-definition digital transfers, supervised by D.A. Pennebaker.
New 5.1 mixes by legendary engineer Eddie Kramer,
presented in Dolby Digital and DTS. Audio commentary on Jimi
Plays Monterey by music critic and historian Charles Shaar
Murray. Two audio commentaries on Shake! by music critic and
historian Peter Guralnick: the first on Otis Redding's Monterey
performance, song by song; the second on Redding before and after
Monterey. Interview with Phil Walden, Otis Redding's manager from
1959 to 1967. Original theatrical trailer for Jimi Plays
Monterey. Video excerpt: Pete Townshend on Monterey and Jimi
Hendrix. Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
DISC THREE: "Monterey Pop -- The Outtake Performance" Two hours
of performances not included in the original film, from the
following artists: Buffalo Springfield performing "For What It's
Worth, " The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company,
The Blues Project, The Byrds, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band,
Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric , Jefferson Airplane,
Al Kooper, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver
Messenger Service, Simon and Garfunkel, Tiny Tim, and The Who.
Stills from Monterey Pop Festival (Click for larger image)
( https://images-na.ssl-images-.com/images/G/01/dvd/afaddis/image/Monterey1.jpg )
( https://images-na.ssl-images-.com/images/G/01/dvd/afaddis/image/Monterey2.jpg )
( https://images-na.ssl-images-.com/images/G/01/dvd/afaddis/image/Monterey3.jpg )
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The Monterey International Pop Festival, the three-day event
staged in 1967 that has become one of rock music's most famous
and in some ways greatest concerts, gets the royal with
this three-disc boxed set.
Material on two of the three discs has already been widely
available. Monterey Pop, D.A. Pennebaker's 79-minute, 1968 film,
effectively sets the scene for the festival, which took place
during the fabled "Summer of Love," when the hippie ethos was in
its fullest flower, especially on the West Coast. And while not
all the featured performances are thrilling, those that
are--principally by the Who, Jimi Hendrix, and the amazing Ravi
Shankar--are worth the price of admission, especially in the
high-definition digital transfer and new 5.1 mix seen and heard
here. The same can be said for Jimi Plays Monterey and Shake!
Otis at Monterey, which appear in the boxed set on a separate
disc and provide a much fuller look at Hendrix's and Otis
Redding's incendiary sets (literally, in the former case).
Those two discs are also loaded with bonus features, including
audio commentary by Pennebaker, festival producer Lou Adler (on
Monterey Pop), and author Peter Guralnick (Shake!); audio-only
remarks by some of the performers; photos; trailers; and other
material. There's also a substantial booklet, filled with essays
and photos. But it's the third disc, "The Outtake Performances,"
comprising some two hours of music that didn't make the final
film edit, that will be of most interest to many viewers. The
disc supplies a taste of some of the artists who didn't appear in
Monterey Pop at all (the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver
Messenger Service), and a more complete look at some who did (the
Who, Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas). A nice
addition to an already very impressive DVD collection. --Sam
Graham