Monterey Festival

Jefferson Airplane - Live at the Monterey Festival (1991)
Rock | 1CD | FLAC, CUE, LOG, Cover | 204MB | Total Time: 38:01
EAC Rip | Label: Thunderbolt

Live at the Monterey Festival is a live album by the San Francisco rock band, Jefferson Airplane, that was released in the United Kingdom and Europe by Thunderbolt Records in 1991. The album was authorized by the band and features the entire set from the group's June 17, 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. The album marked the first time that Jefferson Airplane's entire Monterey Pop Festival performance had been given a release by a legitimate record company.

This is a UK four CD repackaging of this excellent box set. Over a single weekend in June 1967, Monterey entered history as the very first rock festival. The paucity of official releases over the intervening years led to Monterey–like the Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus–becoming as much a figment of rock & roll myth as hard fact. Finally though, in 1994, the British company Castle Communications put together this beautifully assembled 4 CD box set. Unfortunately, some acts (Simon & Garfunkel, Grateful Dead)–perhaps feeling their performances were below-par–refused to license their material. But with over four hours of music, this set still presents a vivid snapshot of the event. For once, the packaging is as important as the music: a booklet is bound in, complete with memorabilia, previously unpublished photos, and first-hand reminiscences from performers like David Crosby, Dennis Hopper, Steve Miller, Eric Burdon and John Phillips.

This is a UK four CD repackaging of this excellent box set. Over a single weekend in June 1967, Monterey entered history as the very first rock festival. The paucity of official releases over the intervening years led to Monterey–like the Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus–becoming as much a figment of rock & roll myth as hard fact. Finally though, in 1994, the British company Castle Communications put together this beautifully assembled 4 CD box set. Unfortunately, some acts (Simon & Garfunkel, Grateful Dead)–perhaps feeling their performances were below-par–refused to license their material. But with over four hours of music, this set still presents a vivid snapshot of the event. For once, the packaging is as important as the music: a booklet is bound in, complete with memorabilia, previously unpublished photos, and first-hand reminiscences from performers like David Crosby, Dennis Hopper, Steve Miller, Eric Burdon and John Phillips.

This sampler is comprised of performances from several different Monterey Jazz Festivals, spanning 41 years. Some of the selections (those featuring Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Sarah Vaughan) were released elsewhere in the first batch in this series of previously unavailable Monterey performances. One can assume that the other seven songs will probably be in future releases. Just judged by itself, the most rewarding selections of this sampler are an inspired Thelonious Monk romp on "Rhythm-A-Ning," an excellent "Someday My Prince Will Come" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Joe Henderson's exploration of "Isotope," and Dizzy Gillespie's happy calypso "Poor Joe." Most of the other performances, including the 1963 Miles Davis Quintet on "Autumn Leaves" and Jimmy Witherspoon's humorous "S.K. Blues" have their moments of interest…