The Complete Monterey Pop Festival



On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the “Summer of Love,” the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward—capturing a decade’s spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few among a wildly diverse cast including Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, The Who, The Byrds, Hugh Masekela, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic verité style, D.A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalizing those moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend destroying his guitar; Jimi Hendrix burning his. The Criterion Collection is proud to present the most comprehensive document of the Monterey International Pop Festival ever produced, featuring all three films of the Festival, Monterey Pop, Jimi Plays Monterey, and Shake! Otis at Monterey, along with nearly every complete performance filmed by Pennebaker and his crew.

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Monterey Pop



In 1967, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade’s spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few.

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Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey



Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding arrived at California’s Monterey International Pop Festival virtually unknown. Returning stateside from London, where he had moved to launch his musical career, Hendrix exploded onstage, flooring an unsuspecting audience with his maniacal six-string pyrotechnics. Redding, a venerable star of Memphis’s Stax record label, seduced the “love crowd” in one of his best—and last—shows. Jimi Plays Monterey and Shake! Otis at Monterey, acclaimed documentarian D. A. Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop companion pieces, feature the entire sets by these legendary musicians, performances that have entered rock-and-roll mythology.

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Disc Features

- New high-definition digital transfers, supervised by D.A. Pennebaker
- New 5.1 mixes by legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer, presented in Dolby Digital and DTS
- Two hours of performances not included in the original film, from the following artists: The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Blues Project, The Byrds, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, Jefferson Airplane, Al Kooper, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Simon and Garfunkel, Tiny Tim, and The Who
- Audio commentary on Monterey Pop by Festival producer Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker
- New video interview with Lou Adler and D.A. Pennebaker
- Audio interviews with Festival producer John Phillips, Festival publicist Derek Taylor, and performers Cass Elliot and David Crosby
- Photo essay by photographer Elaine Mayes
- Original theatrical trailer for Monterey Pop
- Original theatrical radio spots for Monterey Pop
- Monterey Pop scrapbook
- Audio commentary on Jimi Plays Monterey by music critic and historian Charles Shaar Murray
- Two audio commentaries on Shake! by music critic and historian Peter Guralnick: the first on Otis Redding’s Monterey performance, song by song; the second on Redding before and after Monterey
- Interview with Phil Walden, Otis Redding’s manager from 1959 to 1967
- Original theatrical trailer for Jimi Plays Monterey
- Video excerpt: Pete Townshend on Monterey and Jimi Hendrix

ur... I feel slightly underwhelmed with this. Janis Joplin and the Indian guys were the only parts that really stuck out to me. Then again, I wasn't alive in 67 or whenever.

Jimi freakin' Hendrix gets a disc all to himself and you're underwhelmed?!? Hell, my PARENTS were in grade-school in '67 and this is top of the DDD November 'to buy' list (and I'm amazed I've managed to not own it this long).

Age has nothing to do with this set. If you don't like the music, you don't like the music -- and if you don't like the music, it's not gonna be extremely likely that the cultural aspect of Monterey will be up your alley, either.

For the record, I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands...

-Toilet Dcuk

lol. I'm sorry, I'm speaking about the first disc primarily. I haven't watched jimi yet, cept for the setting his guitar on fire on the first disc. Yeah, I meant shankar. Sorry, I am new to this music, mostly, I didn't mean any disrespect by saying "indian guys."

I am very interested in the culture at the time and find it interesting but also found that the documentary focused mainly on the musicians and not the people. The small amount of crowd shots serves to aid this point. Most of the shots of the crowd we get are of 1 to 2 people in close up as opposed to sweeping shots, though there are a few of those in there. I would have like to have seen more of the people who were there, though I'm sure the music was far more important to be recording at the time as the filmmakers were likely not as interested in videotaping the people at the time. They were likely not thinking that the late 60's would go down with such notoriety.

One reason I enjoy Fear and Loathing is its political opinions and talk about the death of the late 60's. I figured that would pull through in this as well. Keep in mind I've only watched the 90 minute or so documentary. Maybe the rest will satisfy me.

Other complaint is that the film was much to short. A whole weekend worth of sets and they only pull out 90 minutes? Also doesn't help that my favorite performers were Simon and Garfunkle and their little segment wasn't any more awe-inspiring than listening to the song on a CD.

I won't be selling it though, there's still a lot for me to go through. I am not so enthusiastic about the Shake! Otis disc, but I am very interested in the Hendrix. I'm a collector anyways.

I'm not sure about this, isn't there a montage of the atmosphere at the festival at the beginning with 'San Francisco' playing over it and a few soundbites from people? I would have thought that the filmmakers were concentrating on the reason why everyone was there in the first place - the music. From the interviews it seems that there was also barely enough time in such a packed schedule as well as some technical difficulties to follow all of the acts let alone everyone in the crowd. I would much prefer to see the reason why everyone was there and as much of the music as possible.

I guess the reason why there were more one or two shots of people rather than crowd shots was to try to capture the effect the music was having on an individual, such as the people staring at Jimi Hendrix or in raptures by Ravi Shankar. It is more difficult to get that sense of being affected when you show a crowd unless they are holding up lit candles or doing a singalong to "We will rock you" or something.


Hmm. . . I think they knew the acts were great but had limited resources to film them all as well as some technical difficulties. I'm not sure about being unaware of the late 60s having much to do with it, after all who realises all the time that they are experiencing something amazing and has a camera primed and ready to capture the moment? I'm actually touched by the naivete displayed in thinking that they would not be recording all the acts and then discovering that more of the acts than they expected were great (it must also have been worrying in thinking how they were going to get it all into a 90 or 100 minute film, and making difficult decisions about which act to drop). It seems very different from modern concerts where the multiple cameras are recording every moment of a performance that may not be particularly worth recording, with DVDs available at the gate on the way out! There is a good and bad side to this - if there is a great concert or an amazing performance it is much more likely that it will be recorded for posterity now but there is also the sense of a concert becoming more micromanaged and safer in a strange way as performers might hold off from trying new things on stage, things that might make them look bad or might not come off but which if they do could be amazing. A performer might not want to do that if they know that the performance is being recorded and settle for doing their tried and tested standards.

Rather than concentrating on being a social record of the time it seems that the film really concentrates on what is most important, the music and the reaction to it. That is why I like DVD so much however as you can go into detail on the background in the commentary, the interviews and the booklet. In a similar way to Kurosawa skipping over history while telling Kagemusha or Ichikawa leaving out some events from Tokyo Olympiad we should not attack a film for failing to do something that it never set out to do (and would not have been able to do in a feature length film) but be glad that a DVD can give that background information and extra discs of outtake performances that enriches the experience of the film.

Good point. I guess I should say I'm dissapointed but not because of the filmmakers. Also, I wasn't aware of the budgetary restrictions and the other hastles, I guess I should keep my mouth shut til I finish the whole set.

This was a groundbreaking film coming on the heels of JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY & FESTIVAL [now available on DVD]. It was an attempt to breifly document the event and showcase some of the music. If you listen to Pennebaker's commentary you will hear his reasons for the length and shape of the film: his artistic reasons. When I first saw it in 1979 [TV] and 1981 [cinema] I was disappointed with the length. I wanted more and more. I have since matured and realised that as a documentary work of art it was and still is very good indeed. (If you want more aren't you satisified with the 2 hours of outtakes on disc 3?)

WOODSTOCK was possible - as a film - only because of MONTEREY POP. That film took its time to show both the people, the event and the music. To expect the same of MONTEREY is unfair in retrospect. History must take its course and we film buffs should always be aware of historical perspectives when criticising films.

Love, light and peace. [As dear old Spike would say.]

yeah, I would be satisfied with that many outtakes but I was commenting on it as a film/documentary. It feels to much just like a showcasing, it reminds me of a prolonged commercial in some far off aspect, where you hear clips from songs on the album they are pushing.

Sorry, but I think Monterey Pop is a great record of the event and of its times (this is the start of the late 60s, not its death, and it captures that giddy air of optimism and expectation perfectly) and a great movie in its own right. Given the guerilla-like deployment of the crew and the technical restrictions, it's amazing how many privileged moments Pennebaker and his team captured. Janis and Ravi are all well and good, but what about the performances given by Jimi, Otis and the Who? The secret of cinema verite is being in the right place at the right time, and in this film they nail it time and time again - take another look at "I've Been Loving You Too Long" for confirmation.

Further to this, I must say that this entire set is superb: a brilliant, compendious scholarly edition of a historic film. I can't imagine how it could be bettered.

Monterey Pop singles are coming on June 13th.
Monterey Pop
Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake!: Otis at Monterey

Instead of postcards all the individ discs will include tabs of fabulous Owsley Acid with great stamps of various CC covers... but beware the original 1st VIRIDIANA cover to fuck you into a tight, fists-beating-at-your face, shrieking in icewater-in-yer-viens-terror trip-tailspin, the wildcard prank.

Capricorn Records Founder Dies
Mon Apr 24,11:26 AM ET
Phil Walden, the Capricorn Records founder who launched the careers of Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers Band, has died after a long battle with cancer, a family friend said Monday. He was 66.

Walden died at his home Sunday, said Leon Jones, law partner of Walden's son, Philip Walden Jr.

The Macon, Ga.-based record label was influential in creating the Southern rock sound of the 1970s.

"Phil was a visionary," said Chuck Leavell, who joined the Allman Brothers on keyboards in 1972 and now plays with the Rolling Stones. "He just had a great vision and a true, deep passion for the music."

Over a long career, Walden also promoted groups including the Charlie Daniels Band and Wet Willie.

Walden's two most famous artists, Redding and guitarist Duane Allman, both died tragically, Redding in a plane crash in 1967 at 26 and Allman in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at age 24.

The Allman Brothers Band, the quintessential Southern rock band which the guitarist founded with brother Gregg and others, continued after Duane Allman's death.

"They weren't trendy," Walden said in a 1996 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"You had all these British groups dressed up in Edwardian finery," Walden continued. "But there was never any attempt by the Allmans to be a show band. They played music. On occasions, when they were allowed to, for hours."

Earlier, Walden met Redding in Macon in the 1950s, when both were teenagers. Redding became a top rhythm and blues star in the 1960s and was on the brink of wider acclaim when he died.

He had recorded his "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" just days earlier. It became a smash hit in 1968.

"His legend is really sans-hype," Walden said in a 1997 Associated Press interview. "It has made it to this point purely on the magnificence of his music."

During the 1970s, Walden was an early backer of then-Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter. He helped Carter's upstart bid for the presidency financially, as did the Allmans and other Capricorn groups, who played benefit shows.

Carter said Monday in a statement that he and wife Rosalynn were sad to hear of Walden's death. "Phil was one of the pre-eminent producers of great music in America," Carter said. "His many performing partners, including Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers, helped to put Macon and Georgia on the musical map of the world."

Redding and Walden's close friendship made them outcasts in the segregated South, Redding's widow, Zelma Redding, recalled in 1997. She said Walden's passion for black music made him "the little white boy who everybody was wanting to beat up on."
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Phil Walden gave an interview included in this box set; I can't remember if this was noted in the DVD, but he was going through chemo at the time and you can see it in his appearance.

He told a great story about Otis lending him a load of cash to put him through school. Phil didn't ask for it, Otis just did it.

BTW, MUCH better than the overrated Woodstock, which hasn't aged well (even though the inaccurate romanticism around it refuses to die). Check out Monterey Pop if you want to hear 60's music at its best, not at its most indulgent.

Well said, sir!

I found that one of the highlights from the film was Canned Heat's raw rendition of “Rollin' and Tumblin'.â€

it's been a while since I've seen this, but isn't this the show (though there may have been more than one) where Moon bounces a series of sticks off his snare IN TIME? He just whacks 'em and lets 'em bounce away, grabs another one...totally great.

What's unfortunate is that The Who didn't bring their own equipment and during the first song Townshend fries his distorted channel and has to play the rest of the set clean. Great performance, though.

Yep, the same performance with Moon firing off his sticks. The best is when he does a little twirl inna middle of Cohranes SUMMERTIME BLUES and bobbles the stick and makes Daltrey laugh so hard that Townsend has to sing the line alone. You can never watch enough Keith Moon. They invented the drumming term "monster" for this guy. The only guy I ever heard come close-- and this includes the whole genre of jazz & fusion-- is Vince Colaiuta esp when he played w Zappa 78-80 (i e on the SHUT UP & PLAY YER GUITAR albums... see songs like THE DEATHLESS HORSIE, or five Five FIVE, or RETURN OF THE SON OF SHUT UP & PLAYE YER GUITAR).

Has anyone peeked inside their box at the inner-binding zone-- little cartoon chicky in there?

yup. looked into the box after you mentioned it a month or so back. Surprised I didn't take a gander previous as CC's attention to the nooks and crannies of their product rewards thorough examination (likewise the Dazed and Confused set). Do you think the little chickadee et al are pulled from original poster art or program?

Mitch Mitchell's Monterey drumming seems to be Moon-influenced. Listen to "Can You See Me" for example. [By the time the world heard Mitch Moon had been at it for over 2 years.]

There is only one Moon style of drumming however which leaves all approaches as near-imitations.

Well, maybe aggression-wise Mitchell was Moon-influenced.. to deny his influence over every Brit drummer would be total lunacy. But whereas Mitch was a double-breasted spiffy jazzboy prior to his Hendrix audition (interesting tidbit is it was a tossup between Mitch & Aynsley Dunbar, who wound up getting snatched up by the only rock guitarist who could, at the time, or any time, show Jimi a thing or two: Zappa. Dubar later went over to join Journey), Keith Moon was an undisciplined maniac who played from pure, raw, instinct. Rumor had it if he laid off the drums between albums/tours, he had to sit down over a few days & totally reteach himself. Proof of his lack of training is his complete initial obliviousness to a hi-hat, even by the time of playing w the Who (later he used one, as he gained god status in the 70's). Look at his set in monterey-- he has his usual kit for the period which stuck a thinner, atrophied ride or a dampened little crash (doubt it was a splash) cymbal in the hihat position. Mitch had full jazz-chops & varied abilities (very Elvin Jones influenced), whereas Moon was just a storm of fills and his own very cool groove. But limited.

When I compare him to masters like Colaiuta above, I mean that from the purely maniacal-monster angle, in filling spot after spot with the heaviest, impossibly fast & deafening rolls & fills. Colaiuta could match that crazy emotional energy to the tee.

Speaking of 60's rock & Monterey....

Hendrix' supposed last concert with the original Experience lineup ( i e w Noel Redding on bass), at the Royal Albert Hall on 2-29-69, was filmed with the intention of being released theatrically under the title "EXPERIENCE".

Except for an apparently single screening, maybe two, the film was never released. The soundtrack has floated around in two parts, sometimes one, usually under the title "Original Soundtrack to the Film EXPERIENCE".

This file exists as something called a "torrent" file at the Traders Den. Inasmuch as I have no idea what the hell that file is, nor do I have the kind of setup to make my own dvd's at home, does anyone know of any official or unofficial releases out there of this excellent Hendrix concert, i e a SuperHappyFun type of release. The footage exists-- obviously-- but it's never been put out and it's been sort of a Holy Grail for me for years. I love these versions of ROOM FULL OF MIRRORS, LITTLE WING (called 'Little Ivey' here), SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE (as an instrumental), Elmore James' BLEEDING HEART, and THE SMASHING OF THE AMPS where you here him fiddling around with lines from STAR SPANGLED BANNER before demolishing his setup, months before Woodstock. There's a great gloomy, maudlin tone to the concert here, though the playing is very tight & Jimi is in great form. Dave Mason also sits in with the band, right around prior to the formation of BLIND FAITH.

It's been rumored that Experience Hendrix LLC has acquired the rights to this, but god knows how long it'll take, if it comes out at all..

I've always liked the before concert footage on BLUE WILD ANGEL where Hendrix asks [road manager] Stickells about these tapes [presumably both audio & film] and of when they themselves can get them [to look at or release?]. No doubt seeing Murray Lerner's crew getting set up at Isle of Wight reminded him of the ongoing saga (then over a year old). In comparison Cream's Albert Hall footage was put out rather hastily and screened on UK TV. The quality leaves a lot to be desired.

If you surf the usual video download sites you can see just about everything from the concert (ROOM FULL OF MIRRORS, I DONT LIVE TODAY & LITTLE IVEY/WING being my two favorite cuts musically.. pity SUNSHINE wasnt filmed) thrown up from VHS rips, but the footage must be restored onto 35mm and given digital telecine. Very gloomy & eerie playing from Jimi. Nice cover of Elmore James' BLEEDING HEART on there too. You also start hearing him begin fiddling with the Star Spangled Banner a couple times (during WILD THING/SMASHING OF AMPS & at the end of MIRRORS) prior to it coming to fruition in the summer that year.

Rocky & Dave Mason (and is that Chris Wood from Traffic on flute) also jamming on a few tracks there.

Just when I thought I consumed every item from this box (having bought it years ago) I found something I overlooked yesterday: namely further audio tracks by Charles Shaar Murray on Hendrix. Whilst not as entertaining as the main audio commentary they are still of interest. I missed them due to my habit of engaging commentaries on the fly rather than from the menu.

This still stands out for me as one of Criterion's best box set releases to date. I only wish WB or Rhino would do the same for WOODSTOCK.

for those interested in the ALbert Hall EXPERIENCE show/film, the estate just recently announced this show will get a big rollout soon.

The HENDRIX LIVE AT MONTEREY DVD is well worth a look for those interested in everything Monterey. The documentary on the festival/Hendrix covers the same ground as before but does have the most recent interviews with the now-departed John & Michelle Phillips and Derek Taylor. In addition there are previously unseen images from the festival grounds [preparation, organisation, etc..] filmed by Pennebaker's crew at the time.

'Purple Haze' is inserted within the main feature. It is made up of the opening shot seen in the credits of the box set version & crabbed shots to make up for missing film.

Extra footege is made available for five songs. By using the "angle" function on your remote you can watch either camera 1, 2 or 3 for "Killing Floor," "Foxey," & "Rolling Stone." You get 2 cameras for "Hey Joe" and one - a long shot - for "Wild Thing." Missing footage from any one camera is filled in with alternate shots for continuity's sake. Note these are all full frame versions not picture-in-picture. [The first version of 'Killing Floor' is amusing since you see Noel Redding for most of the song and not Hendrix. This camera man had real focus not to want to see the king in action and to stay on the bass instead.]

My only gripe - which applies to the Dylan at Newport disc as well - is that it is a R4 NTSC transfer here in Australia and not a PAL transfer which would be superior. I assume R2 is the same.