The.woodstock.bus

Following on the heels of the success of the rock opera Tommy and the band’s grandstand appearance at the Woodstock Festival, when released in 1970, Live At Leeds unwittingly documented the Who at the peak of their powers, their shows now stretching up to two and a half hours without a break and containing Tommy as their centrepiece.
Except it should have been very different. The original intention was to release the recording from the Hull City Hall performance the following night after Leeds as the live album.

Well, it does exactly what it says on the box. The 57 tracks on this 'Magic Bus' compilation run from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, but, with remarkable perspicacity, the compiler has mixed them up very cleverly. The CDs are called 'Turn On', 'Tune In' and 'Drop Out' and the songs on each one reflect, more or less, their monikers. Thus, on CD1 Scott McKenzie rubs shoulders with Barry McGuire, CD2 is full of singer-songwriters; Dylan, Cat Stevens and the like; whilst CD3 rocks it up with Steppenwolf and Cream. What this collection is selling is nostalgia and it does it very, very well. Anyone who grew up through the years in question will remember every one of these songs and probably sing along with them too. It has to be said that there are two major omissions though, there is nothing by either The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Down to licensing presumably. That said, this is an absolutely classic collection that has been selected with extreme care and, dare it be said, love.

On September 17, 2008, the legendary Levon Helm took his beloved Midnight Ramble on the road to one of America’s treasured venues, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Accompanied by such luminaries as Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, George Receli, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton, the Levon Helm Band created an unforgettable night of stage magic. Ramble At The Ryman – Live CD & DVD (each sold separately) captures the joy, essence and reverence of Helm’s live shows. This collection features the Levon Helm Band in a veritable tour through the American songbook, performing classics from Helm’s tenure with The Band, as well as song’s from his Grammy winning release Dirt Farmer and selections from artists such as Chuck Berry, the Carter Family and more.

You were either on the Mountain Bus, or you were not. Those who did like Gear Fab's 1998 reissue of the Chicago band's sole album - and perhaps even some of those who did not - should find the even more satisfying Amazing Grace, which collects the various recordings made by the post-Mountain Bus communal band Sky Farmer, to be a welcome treat. From the time the original band was litigated out of existence until its reshuffling and re-emergence with the music found on this archival release, the members of Sky Farmer discovered an even more liberating range of stylistic eclecticism…

This rock documentary includes the complete concert performance of The Who at the third and final Isle of Wight music festival. Playing to 600,000 ravenous fans on August 30, 1970, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon outdid themselves with a towering set. They even went so far as to play the rock opera TOMMY in its entirety, giving audiences yet another reason to shout…