Monterey Pop (1968)

People are voting emotionally.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Excellent, a Must See

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This terrific rock concert documentary radiates a delightful sense of joy, optimism, and totally infectious positive energy. Many of the top musical acts of the period are present and accounted for and for the most part are in peak form: Janis Joplin does a blistering performance of "Ball & Chain," Jimi Hendrix likewise kills it with his ferocious cover of "Wild Thing," Canned Heat seriously smoke, Otis Redding puts on a hell of an exciting show (Redding really knew how to work over a crowd), the Who do a raucous version of "My Generation," Simon & Garfunkel offer a peppy and pleasant "Feelin' Groovy," and Ravi Shankar tears it up on his sitar. Moreover, it's a treat to see the happy and attractive hippies in attendance having what appears to be a grand merry time. Done in a rough'n'ready style by D.A. Pennebaker, this baby overall hits the rousing rock'n'roll spot something sweet.

One of the great concert films. Up there with The Band's The Last Waltz, Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same (ignoring the surreal non-concert nonsense) and Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense. And yes, I do rate it higher than Woodstock.The list of artists is amazing: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Mamas and the Papas, Jefferson Airplane, The Animals, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar and Booker T and the MGs, plus Hugh Masekela, Canned Heat and Country Joe and the Fish.Great performances, with, I believe, Janis Joplin giving the stand- out one. Of course, this was the concert where Jimi Hendrix and The Who tossed a coin to see who of the two of them would go on first. Neither wanted to be last, as the other one would be a tough act to follow. The Who won the toss, went on first and, after their set, smashed up their guitars and drums. Hendrix managed to upstage them by setting his guitar on fire...An incredibly historic concert, for many reasons.

It was a great experience. I was 18 and hitch hiked to Monterey with a girl and her Doberman. One ride all the way. As soon as we got dropped at the fairgrounds, some people asked if we had a place to stay, took us to their pad, let us shower, and made breakfast. That was a good sign. I had no desire to go to Livestock; nothing could ever compare to those three days in Monterey. You see all the people with coats and blankets because it was cold at night and early morning. For weeks before we had been hearing the ads on the radio (KRLA)about all the performers and they kept saying the Jimi Hendrix Experience. We had no idea who this guy was; we were going to see and hear everyone we could. But that night, after The Who had tried to demolish the stage and Lou Adler and John Philips were scrambling to regain order, the stage went dark and a lone figure walked to the mike at center stage. When the spotlight came on we could see it was Brian Jones. He introduced Jimi Hendrix and when I saw, and heard, the most amazing things ever done or played on a Stratocaster (on any guitar for that matter)life wasn't the same. Hendrix took music to an alien world and came back with sounds and style that were beyond my imagination. This film is not the greatest quality and certainly--in a technical sense--pales in comparison to contemporary concert movies and videos; however, it was the first true rock festival, and if you were there you know what I mean. But if you let go of the need for cinematic purity and enormous production values, what you'll enjoy is an island of (not corny) peace, love, and incredible music.

1967 was the year many of us sort of metamorphosed from being "mod" to the initial stages of "hippiedom", whatever that encompasses. Anti-war protests, love-ins and "flower power" were becoming much more prominent in the American social fabric. As evidenced by this film, the hair wasn't all that long yet, faces were scrubbed clean and most of the people looked pretty much upper middle class in origin, especially evident from the hearty smiles that revealed attentive dental work that lower class kids could not afford! Either that, or the cameras merely focused on the attractive people and eschewed the more slovenly types. It is reminiscent of a loose congregation of 1967 northern California college kids and hip professor types intent on soaking up a vast variety of current musical trends, from the likes of the Mamas and the Papas, to Otis Redding, to Janis Joplin and others, and to the rousing finale by Ravi Shankar.This film, more innocent, peaceful (except for guitar blazing on two separate acts) and soulful than most of its successors, captures the artists and the audiences in simultaneous enjoyment of their mutual celebration. This film is not for those who insist on digitally remastered and edited sound quality, but for those who feel the raw power of the music in its innocent purity and its true to form, unencumbered passion and fervor. The 20 minute or so musical excursion by the aforementioned Ravi Shankar stands to this day as one of the most compelling and spiritually uplifting musical pieces captured on film. Rarely do you see and feel a crowd become totally enraptured and united by an awesome piece of music.In short, this film is a most enjoyable 79 minute trip down memory lane, to an era of unrelenting hope for a more peaceful world. So go ahead and soak in all the "flower power" you can on this film because some concerts in later years didn't pan out quite so peacefully as this one.