Rolling Stones – Altamont Free Festival 1969 (Idol Mind IMP – N – 030 / 3)

This historic show begins with a moog synthesizer for soundcheck; then sam cutler thanking all the organizers for their tireless work to make this show possible; Santana opens with Savor heavy on keyboard tones and percussion; next is Jingo which shows the band in a good groove with Evil Ways following which is cut due to the crowd and the Hell’s Angels scuffling under the influence of acid mayhem; which builds during this concert. Jefferson Airplane follow woth The other Side of this Life with a nice harmony blend between grace slick,paul kantner and marty balin 3/5 of a mile is next with some nice bass runs by jack cassidy; greasy heart follows incorrectly listed as fat angel with a very tight rhythm groove and Jorma playing a solid lead; the angels and marty balin get into it during this time frame with balin being knocked out;order seems to be restored during white rabbit the trippy song accentuated by Grace’s smooth rendering of it; the Airplane set ends with Free Bird and a great groove on You&Me&Pooneil.

The Flying Burrito Brothers follow with a nice laid back set of the country rock flavored tunes Six Days on the Road,High Fashion Queen Cody Cody and the uptempo boogie number Lazy Day. Crosby, Stills,Nash&Young follow the Burrito set with Stephen Stills penned track Black Queen with some nice lead work by Stills; pre road downs is the next tune with some nice guitar interplay between stills & Neil Young with Graham Nash & David Crosby intertwined on vocals with Stills gruff tones. Down By the River ends their pleasant set rather peacefully. As the Rolling Stones appear on stage Sam Cutler politely asks the Hell’s Angel’s to get off the stage; Cutler introduces the band followed by Mick Jagger saying “It’s so good to see you all” to the massive audience; Jumping Jack Flash opens with a rather sluggish beginning; the band picks it up with Carol & Sympathy for the Devil showcasing the newest Stone, Mick Taylor who had replaced the departed Brian Jones.

Jagger imploring the crowd as the band stops during Sympathy for the Devil as the acid fused crowd and the Hell’s Angels, ripped out of their gourds continue to scuffle; they resume finishing sympathy and the sun is shining begins with more mayhem in the crowd; a very pleasant Stray Cat Blues follows with love in vain next with Mick Taylor playing some very nice chops. Under my thumb is reportedly where the young black man Meredith Hunter is killed and the band stops during under my thumb;Jagger unable to control the crowd looking more comical than menacing in his “Devil outfit” Cape and all ; Keith and an angel about to come to blows,as the Angels seem to be so acid fueled they work several people in the crowd over with pool cues. Brown Sugar is next; with what i believe is it’s debut, pleasant good rgyth between Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts; Midnight Rambler follows which Jagger introduces as “A new one; which we hope yoi will dig” Some superb bass lines between Keith & Mick Taylor’s guitar interplay.Disc two ends with highly charged rockers Live With Me and Gimme Shelter.

Disc three starts with some more Jagger chat as to everyone needs to chill prior to the old Chuck Berry rocker Little Queenie.Satisfaction,Honkey Tonk Women and Street Fighting Man end the show on an ominous note as the Stones escape into the chilled California night. The bonus tracks are from a taper that was put on the radio with various tracks from the Stones, Santana, Flying Burrito Brothers to conclude disc three.

The DVDR subtitled in Japanese is a commentary of an Englishman narrating his journey into the United States to see the beach boys & the blonde haired babes on California beaches; following is a commentary with photos of the event and a description of the mayhem that transpired on this eventful day; the closing of the sixties on a note far from the peace & love generation with still photos as the various artists Santana, CSN&Y, Stones, Jefferson Airplane music is played. A rather mediocre DVDR as it is; although the summary of that day’s events is accurate.

All in all the sound is superb for the Stones show, with the Airplane.Santana,Flying Burrito Brothers having superb sound as well. Recommended for the historian as well as those who dig these particular bands.