Woodstock - Back to the Garden - 50th Anniversary Collection

This was an excellent Album of Live Woodstock event even including announcements so the number of tracks is not all music. I would not have paid full price for it the the Amazon price was good.

This three cd set goes great with the DVD Woodstock Diary 1969. You can have your own 6 hour Woodstock. Enjoy.

Alas, money doesn't always sneak into my wallet, so I opted for this hugely more affordable offering. Unlike my two vinyl sets, this 3-CD set isn't a randomizer. It's presented chronologically. For the most part, the state-of-the-art remix is superb and it seems as if layers of dust have been removed. The music is brought out more forward than on the vinyls I've owned for decades.The main problem I have with this product is that it bypasses Jimi Hendrix, the headliner, entirely. This didn't necessarily have to include the omnipresent "Star Spangled Banner", but it could have closed with the genius of his "Woodstock Improvisation" sequeing into his gorgeously soulful "Villanova Junction". Or, how about "Jam Back at the House"? These instrumentals came from the deep recess of Hendrix's mind. Somehow, Sha-Na-Na closing this set gives this configuration an anti-climax, therefore diluting the Woodstock experience.However, there's enough of a big star line-up capturing the moment to cushion some of the blow. Arlo Guthrie's "Coming Into Los Angeles" is the actual Woodstock gig recording. And it poses the question, why wasn't it used on the original vinyl? It's real fine and it's the real scar found in fine leather. The other folk-oriented highlight is John Sebastian stripping down the Lovin' Spoonful nugget, "Darling Be Home Soon". Canned Heat's two biggest songs are of frank, ragged beauty. Bless you, Alan Wilson for being around for this.Supposedly, the Grateful Dead's set was wretched. But "Dark Star" found here sounds like they're really getting it on for a full nineteen minutes. Creedence Clearwater scores highly with "I Put a Spell on You" for that one person who was awake during their time slot. Sly & the Family Stone whip up excitement on the audience-enhanced prelude to "I Want to Take You Higher" then heads into it as total vigorous funk.On the third disc, Ten Years After's "I'm Going Home" is total delirium and I'm a sucker for Garth Hudson's organ on "The Weight" as well as the Band's harmonies. But exceeding everything at the festival for me (and always has been) is Joe Cocker's uninhibited translation of "With A Little Help From My Friends", in which he has the utmost spiritual connection to a song.Thankfully, the three stage announcements (amongst others) that I cherish most get to be heard again. Hugh Romney's (Wavy Gravy) "It's not poison!" and his "We must be in heaven, man" and property owner Max Yasgur's comments where there's no denying his faith in the human spirit.Imperfect this CD is, but it's not a waste of money. The liner notes are worth reading. I wish I could jack this up to 3 and a half stars even though I'll make sure my Jimi Hendrix "Woodstock" CD is with me to complete the picture I envision. Oh, those who were awakened by his Statocaster that Monday morning!Woodstock was a monumental event that shifted one's view of what a rock concert could achieve. A united geographic presence was made for one long beautiful weekend at Bethel, New York in August 1969. Peace.* Dedicated to Christine Brouillard, an attendee who was awakened by Jimi.

For me this collection is a fuller representation of what I've heard before and the liner notes highlight the potential shortcomings. Those are of concern. The interplay between sets by announcers John Morris and Chip Monck are a lot of fun, but yeah of heard it all before. The songs as well are raw, which is fine, but also of poor quality which isn't. Disc 3 is the better one from my perspective, but if you like the songs, there are better options to hear them.

This 3-CD set has remastered sound, new essays and photos, and includes lots of music that wasn't on the original movie soundtrack. It also includes stage announcements and chatter by the artists to enhance the audio time-travel vibe. Interestingly, special computer processing had to be used on the Blood, Sweat and Tears track because the horns were off-key, Not a bad package for the bucks, but a caveat: If you're looking for the Jimi Hendrix performance, it's not here. Licensing hassles from the Hendrix estate, I guess. Check the track listing to see which music IS here, because this is not the 38-CD blowout box with every note or word that went out over a mic.

I haven't listened to all 3 CDs yet but first impressions: lots of great additional music (including Janis!), announcements and crowd ambiance that really brings the Woodstock experience to life! The sound quality is variable -- sometimes instrumental sound was picked up much more loudly/clearly than vocals. Other reviews deducted stars because Hendrix is not included -- not that much of an issue with me. It did take a very long time to be shipped -- ordered Aug. 20th and delivered Sept. 13th. But the price is reasonable and overall I'm pleased.

The quality of sound is very good. The one big problem is that the second disc wouldn't play. I finally got it to work and now I have it on my MP3. This would have made me click on 3 stars if not for the excellent sound. I have seen complaints about Hendrix not being included, but I have most of his stuff on other CDs.

Very nice but by necessity limited selection from arguably the most renowned Rock Festival. Not to be missed: the Who trying valiantly to find the melodic key to "Tommy" and the debut of CSN&Y. A little too much disc space devoted to public announcements about bad/poison "acid" (lysergic, that is).

Big fan of all the Woodstock releases, but this could be much better.Lots of complete sets are already available for moaning specific fans ie Jimi,Janis,Santana,Airplane etc etc.I was interested in the other artists, but as a teaser its not bad, but you might as well buy the 2 original (wrong order) releases from the 70's. The booklet goes into great length about re order/remixing eq, but on listening its not all great.There are too many announcements about the same thing, please get off the lighting gantry,acid... long pieces that should be edited, and worse they mostly have low hum on, something I could easily remove with my software !!Why feature Soul Sacrifice again (great) with a long drum solo, tuneups, again could be edited. Both Credence and Sly are distorted ,so just one song each ?? There are even some abrupt edits/cuts which could have easily been smoothed out. Highlights for me are Arlo , CSNY( replacing the wrong concert), C Heat with Harvey Mandel in wicked form, Dark Star. So could have been a great 2 CD.I recommend the 6 CD Woodstock 40th box, (as great booklet with all sets lists etc, missing from this) and nearly all these recordings and much more for same price. Rhino should have released a great 2 CD for newbies, and then a brill 3 - 6CD for all unissued stuff completists.............ahh well

Philadelphia-based radio station WXPN recreated the Woodstock festival in near real-time over the weekend of 17th - 18th August 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of the festival – this broadcast was available to listen to over the internet and was produced using Rhino's 38 CD “Back To The Garden” 50th Anniversary Collection. That massive 38 CD set was a limited edition of 1969 sets costing well over six hundred pounds each – and long since sold out. More reasonably priced is the 10 CD set at around one hundred and twenty pounds – still too much for me – and this 3 CD set at something under fourteen pounds. I opted for this budget 3 CD version and I must say that I was ultimately disappointed with it – the 6 CD set produced by Rhino to mark the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock (Woodstock 40 Years on: Back to Yasgur's Farm) is still available and represents much better value at under nineteen pounds currently from Amazon. There is a lot of duplication between the new 3 CD set and the 6 CD set from ten years ago and if you are only interested in CDs then go for the earlier set. However, if you are looking for vinyl then Woodstock - Back To The Garden is also available as a five LP box set – unlike Back to Yasgur's Farm which is on CD only. However as the new vinyl collection costs more than the 50th Anniversary 10 CD version then you will need to consider what is the better value for your money. Listening to the broadcast from WXPN I heard much good music from the festival that I had not heard previously – and having it presented in real time made the whole experience come to life. Sadly this new 3 CD set barely touches the material available and recycles many tracks already released – plus there are an annoying amount of announcements included in an attempt to capture the feel of the festival – you will soon get fed up with them! On the positive side the new remastering by Andy Zax works quite well and the 24 page booklet makes an interesting read – if you don't already have the 40th anniversary set then this 50th celebration is worth considering and is reasonable value at the current price. However, it is a bit of a missed opportunity and is of limited appeal to most of it's target audience – hopefully one day more of the rarer music will become available at a realistic price; it is well worth a listen. I can't really give this budget 3 CD effort any more than three stars and feel it has somewhat missed the point.

Over the years there have been many compilations of Woodstock performances. This 3 disc version is yet another one. Taken from the complete recordings this one claims to tell the story more accurately than previous ones. As such the sound quality varies as it claims to be a faithful reproduction of the actual artists act. A good overview of the whole three day event and if you want a more in depth recording of individual performances then you can always purchase the complete set of a few of the main acts. A very good sampler of a major point in recent rock history . The 3 disc version is very good value for money. Excellent sleeve notes too.

A good selection of Woodstock performers. Good quality, well packaged

Excellent box set, Good quality pressings except for disc 5 which was slightly dished. Good packaging and booklet. I must have for all you ageing hippies out there.