V.A. Celebration - The Big Sur Folk Festival 1970(AM Records - ODE 70)

V.A. Celebration - The Big Sur Folk Festival 1970(AM Records - ODE 70)

The Big Sur Poster Of 1970



Seventh Big Sur Folk Festival
Saturday, October 3, 1970
Held at Monterey County Fairgrounds
1:00pm Concert:
Beach Boys (Sloop John B, Riot in Cell Block 9, Good Vibrations)
John Phillips
Joan Baez
Merry Clayton and Love Ltd. (soul music; hour, with 25-minute instrumental set)
Kris Kristofferson (with Chris Gantry and Vince Matthews) (hour)
John Hartford (half hour)

8:00pm Concert:
Beach Boys
John Phillips
Linda Ronstadt, with Swamp Water
Mimi Fariρa & Tom Jans
Mark Spoelstra
Country Joe McDonald ("drew the strongest support of the evening show")
Tom Ghent
Joan Baez
Finale: All sing "You Ain't Going Nowhere"

Joe Cocker and Leon Russell were scheduled but not announced in order to keep audience small. Both canceled.



The Big Sur Crowd

Celebration - The Big Sur Folk Festival 1970

Recorded live at Monterey, California 1970.

Performers and tracks:

Joan Baez:The night they drove old Dixie down
Joan Baez: Let it be
Linda Ronstadt with Swampwater:The only Mama that'll walk the line
Linda Ronstadt with Swampwater: Lovesick blues
Merry Clayton: Bridge over troubled water
Merry Clayton: The times they are a changin'
The Beach Boys: Wouldn't it be nice
Country Joe McDonald: Entertainment is my business
Country Joe McDonald: Air algiers
Kris Kristofferson: The law is for the protection of the people
Kris Kristofferson: To beat the devil


The Big Sur Poster Of 1970

Big Sur Coast
Celebration at Big Sur
Big Sur Folk Festival September '69

REVIEW
by Lindsay Planer(AMG)
REVIEWby Lindsay PlanerWhile issued as Merry Clayton's (vocals), the live set included on Celebration (1970) features a host of additional luminaries from the October 3, 1970 Big Sur Folk Festival. The LP jacket proclaims that "...the money that ordinarily goes to the artists and producer, will go to the institute for the study of non-violence, Palo Alto, California to be shared with the united farm workers and war resisters international." That in itself is a major political (if not somewhat financial) statement by those involved in both the event and this long-player. Suitably commencing the affair is Joan Baez, who is joined by Clayton and other backing vocalists for rousing readings of Baez' concurrent hit, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and a heartfelt acoustic remake of the Beatles' "Let It Be," which is both poignant and spiritually hopeful. At the time, Linda Ronstadt (vocals) was a relative newcomer to the scene. She ably pulls off a pair of C&W classics with "The Only Mama That'll Walk the Line" and "Lovesick Blues." These spirited performances recall her country/rock leanings and the authority in her pre- rock & roll days. Ronstadt was part of the tight-knit coterie of musicians who were influenced by the likes of the Flying Burrito Brothers, or the post-David Crosby Byrds. With Clayton's heady entries of "The Times They Are a Changin'" and the equally emotive "Bridge Over Troubled Water," it is easy to understand why the platter was released with Clayton at the vortex. Arguably, the rest pales in comparison, although Country Joe McDonald and Kris Kristofferson provide a balance of original material. McDonald's comedic "Entertainment Is My Business" is a well-placed parody that takes a few direct digs at a business whose adage concurs that "the show must go on." At the time, Kristofferson was undoubtedly the least-known act on the concert bill or this recording. Ironically, his songs are among the best of the lot. Both "The Law Is for the Protection of the People" and "To Beat the Devil" keep in touch with his no-nonsense political stances
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A musical documentary of the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, filmed in a chaotic style reminiscent of Woodstock. It features performances by Joan Baez, John Sebastian, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Combs Sisters.Some of the finest folk singers and musicians in the world positioned themselves on the edge of some of America's most glorious scenery for a farewell to summer and a celebration of nonviolence in mid-September. It was the sixth annual Big Sur Folk Festival.The festival, held on the tree-shaded lawns of Esalen, also differed from other recent celebrations in that here the "scene" did not eclipse the music, but merely served as a complement. According to its producers, Nancy Carlen and Paula Kates, Big Sur was designed as a "performers festival," an opportunity for artists to come together after a hectic summer on the festival circuit for some peace and solitude.Crosby Stills Nash and Young played the final set, as on Saturday, repeatedly bringing the thinning crowd to it's feet. For a finale - with the audience pushed forward around the pool, closer to the performers now - everyone at the festival reprise "Oh Happy Day".