It's almost impossible to regard the soundtrack albums for the
Michael Wadleigh documentary Woodstock, simply as music, apart from the event that inspired them or what that event has come to represent. Music from the Original Soundtrack and More: Woodstock was originally released by Atlantic's Cotillion imprint as a three-LP set in a gatefold sleeve. It topped the Billboard Charts for four weeks and sold two million copies. It sold so well that Cotillion issued a sequel double album of more music from the festival that never appeared in the film. The LPs took the music out of the historical sequence of the festival and re-ordered (and edited) it for a sense of flow. Whether or not it accomplished its objective has been the subject of much debate and beyond this review's scope. What is relevant is that these performances signified via their spotty recording quality -- and sometimes dodgy performances -- that there was an amazing array of legendary talent on hand at Woodstock; though not all of it is captured here. Rhino's 2009 remastered edition of this set on a double CD is the cleanest edition yet, but even it has problems: the source tapes were problematic at best. It restores the original LP order, features new liners by
Gene Sculatti, and has more photos in the booklet. Musically, the second disc sounds the least dated with its over the top performances by a shockingly great
Santana with "Soul Sacrifice,"
Ten Years After's guitar workout on "I'm Goin' Home,"
Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" medley (still a stunner after all these decades); the
Jefferson Airplane's rocking and raucous version of "Volunteers," and the orgiastic
Sly & the Family Stone medley that includes "Dance to the Music," "Music Lover," and an insanely great "I Want to Take You Higher." There is some filler as well thanks to a drippy
John Sebastian track called "Rainbows All Over Your Blues," and an indulgent "Love March" by an out-of-their-prime Butterfield Blues Band.