Woodstock Back To the Garden 50th Anniversary Collection 180g 5LP Box Set (Vinyl)

50th Anniversary Collection 180g 5LP Box Set!

Back To the Garden celebrates the 50th anniversary of the the music festival held in the Catskill Mountains near New York City, August 15-18, 1969. The concert attracted over 400,000 music fans who were united in their quest for peace and love. "Woodstock 1969 was a reaction by the youth of its time and the conditions we faced," says Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang. "We proved that it is possible to live together in harmony and with compassion…with only our best selves represented. Woodstock gave people around the world hope, which is why I think it remains relevant today."

The Woodstock Back to the Garden 50th Anniversary 5LP Box Set Collection showcases the best performances from the festival with 42 tracks of 30 songs from over 20 artists! This package is housed in a cigarette style rigid box with single sleeve Stoughton jackets with a pocket for a book featuring images, an editorial cut down and reel art press book.

Producer Andy Zax says he, sound producer Brian Kehew and mastering engineer Dave Schultz avoided interfering with the tapes as much as possible in order to preserve their authenticity. "It’s not surprising that other producers’ first reaction to these tapes over the years has been ‘uh-oh,’ immediately followed by ‘we’ve gotta find a way to fix this.’ I'm not unsympathetic to that approach, but if there's a single overriding lesson that Brian Kehew and I have learned since we began working with the Woodstock tapes in 2005, it’s this: you can't fix them… That’s less grim than it seems, because once you’ve accepted the idea that there is no way to make these recordings sound slick, you realize that these tapes are the sonic equivalent of heirloom tomatoes — slightly imperfect, but delicious."

"Everything in this 5 LP set is sourced from the actual Woodstock performances, remixed and remastered anew from the original tapes. In this instance digital mastering was both appropriate and advantageous and the sound is absolutely astonishing! My expectations were low but what I heard here was so well-executed, it's amazing that it took 50 years to get right this historical music document. The production team of Andy Zax (producer), Brian Kehew (mixing) and Dave Schultz (mastering), plus Chris Bellman (lacquer cutting) have created out of imperfect live recordings a perfect document of the event. The sound is occasionally somewhat rough but it's mostly remarkably transparent, three-dimensional and so open you can almost smell the late 60's Catskills air—a mixture of cow manure, chicken fat and stale jokes. Seriously, you can sit down put on these disks and have a 'you were there' experience, which is something I never thought would be possible based on how the muddy, messy original sounded. The five well-pressed LPs (I'm guessing Optimal?) come nicely presented in a flip-up style cardboard box and the booklet includes great notes, photos and memorabilia. There’s also a really smartly chosen set of stage announcements—including the ones burned into every attending acid-head's brain—and others from Chip Monck and Hugh Romney (Wavy Gravy)." - Michael Fremer, Analog Planet, Music 8/11, Sound 8/11

Features:
• 50th Anniversary Edition 5LP Box Set
• 42 Tracks
• Newly remastered audio
• 64-page booklet with photos & memorabilia
• Day-by-day artist bios & essay
• Producer's introduction
• Packaged in a cigarette style rigid box with single sleeve Stoughton jackets and a pocket for the booklet
• Made in the EU

Selections:
Record 1
Side 1:
1. Handsome Johnny - Richie Havens
2. Freedom - Richie Havens
3. Stage Announcement: "Everybody's ground getting comfortable?"
4. Reason To Believe - Tim Hardin
5. Stage Announcement: "It's deadly serious, man"
6. Coming Into Los Angeles - Arlo Guthrie
7. Arlo Guthrie: "Lotta freaks!"
Side 2:
1. Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man - Joan Baez with Jeffrey Shurtleff
2. Stage Announcement: "Please come down"
3. The "Fish" Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag - Country Joe McDonald
4. Jingo - Santana
5. Soul Sacrifice - Santana
Record 2
Side 3:
1. Stage Announcement: "Helen Savage, please call your father"
2. Darling Be Home Soon - John Sebastian
3. Hugh Romney: "It's not poison!"
4. Going Up The Country - Canned Heat
5. On The Road Again - Canned Heat
Side 4:
1. Chip Monck, Country Joe McDonald, Ken Babbs: "Country common sense"
2. Dark Star - Grateful Dead
Record 3
Side 5:
1. Stage Announcement: "We've got the keys to your house"
2. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. I Put A Spell On You - Creedence Clearwater Revival
4. Kozmic Blues - Janis Joplin
5. Piece Of My Heart - Janis Joplin
Side 6:
1. Medley: Dance To The Music / Music Lover / I Want To Take You Higher - Sly & The Family Stone
Record 4
Side 7:
1. We're Not Gonna Take It - The Who
2. My Generation - The Who
3. Somebody To Love - Jefferson Airplane
4. Volunteers - Jefferson Airplane
5. Hugh Romney: "We must be in Heaven, man!"
Side 8:
1. Max Yasgur: "I think you people have proven something to the world"
2. With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker
3. Stage Announcement: "Looks like we're gonna get a little bit of rain"
4. I'm Going Home - Ten Years After
Record 5
Side 9:
1. The Weight - The Band
2. Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears
3. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby, Stills & Nash
4. Sea Of Madness - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Side 10:
1. Wooden Ships - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
2. Love March - The Butterfield Blues Band
3. At The Hop - Sha Na Na
4. Stage Announcement: "It's been a delight seeing you"