At the Woodstock Festival
| At the Woodstock Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Live album by | |
| Released | 1970 |
| Recorded | 15 August 1969 |
| Venue | Max Yasgur's dairy farm, Bethel, NY |
| Genre | Indian classical music |
| Length | 41:23 |
| Label | World Pacific |
| Producer | Richard Bock |
At the Woodstock Festival is a live album by Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar that was released in 1970 on World Pacific Records.[1] It was recorded on 15 August 1969, during the first day of the Woodstock Festival in upstate New York. Shankar's set took place during a downpour and he later expressed his dissatisfaction with the event due to the prevalence of drugs among the crowd.[2]
Having performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, Woodstock was the last rock festival Shankar played, as he subsequently distanced himself from the 1960s hippie movement.[3][4] He said he felt the music was only "incidental" to the party atmosphere and likened the vast rain-soaked crowd to "the water buffaloes you see in India, submerged in the mud".[5]
The album includes an eight-minute tabla solo played by Alla Rakha. At the Woodstock Festival was issued on CD in 1991 by BGO Records.[6]
Track listing
Side one
- "Raga Puriya–Dhanashri/Gat in Sawarital" (11 Beats) (adapted by Ravi Shankar) – 11:04
- "Tabla Solo in Jhaptal" (10 Beats 2-3-2-3) (adapted by Alla Rakha) – 8:48
Side two
- "Raga Manj Khamaj" (Alap, Jor, Dhun in Kaharwa Tal (8 Beats), Medium and Fast Gat in Teental (16 Beats)) (adapted by Shankar) – 21:31
"Raga Puriya–Dhanashri/Gat in Sawarital" was in fact a studio recording. The live version performed at Woodstock was released for the first time in 2009, on the six-CD box set Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm.[7]
Personnel
- Ravi Shankar – sitar
- Alla Rakha – tabla
- Maya Kulkarni – tambura
- Richard Bock – producer
- Eddie Kramer – engineer
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