Memories from the 1970 Holland Pop Festival, the Dutch Woodstock

The Dutch Woodstock (Gonzo GZO102CD, 2013)

The Dutch Woodstock 3 CD/DVD set is available at a low price, which makes it very accessible. The collection features live audio recordings and film made at the Holland Pop Festival in Rotterdam. The artists featured are some of the biggest names in the early 1970s American and UK rock scenes, including progressive bands like Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, as well as rock and American roots acts such as Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Country Joe, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Dr John, Family, The Byrds and many more. Several of the artists were at the very beginning of their careers.

The so called Dutch Woodstock was Europe’s answer to the celebrated American rock festival held a year earlier. The enthusiastic organizers, Toosje Knap, Berry Visser and Georges Knap, aimed to emulate the spirit and atmosphere of Woodstock. Figures provided in the liner notes indicate that around 100,000 music fans attended the festival.

The source material is from 1970. Live recording technology wasn’t very advanced or widely available then so the quality of the music CDs is poor. You can hear the vocals relatively well, but the musical instruments are all blended in. The collection has historical value and will appeal to collectors and completionists.

The DVD footage is much more interesting. The filmmaker shows us fascinating images of the hippy festivalgoers as well as the performing artists and even the Dutch countryside. The package is well worth it just for the DVD.

Disc 1 , DVD

1. Santana – Gumbo , 2. Al Stewart – Zero She Flies , 3. Canned Heat – Human Condition , 4. The World’s in Tango/So Sad , 5. Quintessence – Giants , 6. Jefferson Airplane – Won’t You Try Saturday Afternoon , 7. It’s A Beautiful Day – Bulgaria , 8. T.Rex – By The Light of the Magical Moon , 9. The Byrds – Old Blue , 10. The Flock – Big Bird , 11. Soft Machine – Esther’s Nose Job , 12. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit/The Ballad of You and Me and Pooniel , 13. Santana – Savor/Jingo , 14. Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets ,

Disc 2, CD

1. Cuby & The Blizzards – Dust My Blues , 2. Canned Heat – Human Condition/So Sad , 3. Livin’ Blues – Big Road Blues , 4. Al Stewart – Zero She Flies , 5. Quintessence – Giants , 6. East of Eden – The Sun of East/Irish Theme , 7. Country Joe – Freedom , 8. Dr John – Mardis Gras Day , 9. Family – Drowned in Wine

Disc 3, CD

1. Santana – Gumbo/Savor/Jingo , 2. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit , 3. Jefferson Airplance – The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil , 4. It’s a Beautiful Day – Wasted Union Blues/Bulgaria , 5. T.Rex – By The Light of the Magical Moon, 6. The Byrds – Old Blue , 7. The Flock – Big Bird , 8. Soft Machine – Esther’s Nose Job , 9. Pink Floyd – Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun, 10. Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets.

Buy The Dutch Woodstock in North America

Buy The Dutch Woodstock in Europe