Monterey International Pop Festival
UK: Released in 1997 on Castle Communications as a 4-CD box set (ROK CD 102).
US: Released in 1997 on Rhino Records as a 4-CD box set (R2 72825) and 4-Cassette (R4 70596).
Taking place on June 16-18, 1967, on the Pacific coast of California, Monterey Pop was the first festival of its kind, a turning point in rock music history. This three-day event, packed with performances from acts who were, or would soon become, some of the biggest names in the genre, was the epicentre of the so-called ‘Summer of Love’. A full two years before Woodstock, 200,000 fans would experience an unparalleled event and the music is presented here in all its glory accompanied by a fully illustrated 88-page booklet. With truly legendary performances from The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin and Otis Redding, plus The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas & The Papas and many more, Monterey still represents the finest flowering of the hippie dream, a freak out, a turn-on and a tune-in that performer Art Garfunkel described as ‘the maraschino cherry on top of the sundae that was the ’60s. It was totally unprecedented and the audience was totally unprecedented in their joy.’
A four-CD box set including tracks from pretty much everyone who appeared at the festival from The Mamas and The Papas to The Who via Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, Canned Heat and a whole slew of the very best bands and acts from the summer of ’67. The Who are featured on Disc Three with five tracks: