Called the Kralingen Music Festival, Holland Pop Festival, Stamping Ground, or simply as the Dutch Woodstock, this 3-day event that took place in August 1970 at Kralingse Bos in Rotterdam was a year after Woodstock and a few months before the third Isle of Wight festival in the UK. The total attendance of this festival varies based on what you read (estimated at somewhere between 90,000-120,000 fans), but the line-up is an eclectic mix of psychedelic rock, blues, progressive rock, jazz, and folk acts that were popular on the scene at the time. Other than Pink Floyd, who headlined the festival, there really weren't any other 'massive' groups on the bill like there was at Woodstock, Altamond, or Isle of Wight, but with Santana, Jefferson Airplane, T-Rex, Canned Heat, and The Byrds, star power was certainly not lacking.
Plenty of acts that were a part of the late '60s/early '70s psychedelic/prog scene, such as Quintessence, Family, Soft Machine, East of Eden, and The Flock, make successful appearances here. Quintessence rampage through their Doors influenced track "Giants", and the intriguing jazz/blues/prog/psych/rock hybrid that acts such as The Flock (with a pre-Mahavishnu Orchestra Jerry Goodman on violin), It's A Beautiful Day, and East of Eden performed really made a statement, mixing violin with traditional rock instrumentation. Of course, Pink Floyd are at their psychedelic best here as they tear into "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and Soft Machine delivered a sizzling jazz/prog romp with "Esther's Nose Job", but as at Woodstock Santana nearly steals the show with a scorching Latino stew of "Gumbo/Savor/Jingo". Folkies will love the few tunes from Al Stewart, Country Joe, and The Byrds, and Canned Heat churn out two tracks of weed soaked bluesy boogie, with the band themselves even smoking joints right in front of the camera on the movie portion of this set.
Speaking of the DVD, it's roughly just over 90-minutes and gives a good overview of the festival, with band footage interspersed among plenty of film of the crowd. As with the Woodstock film, don't expect the best camera work or sound, but it does the trick. Plenty of nudity (the festival took place near a river, so you get to see lots of fans swimming) and pot smoking to be seen throughout, but in the end you'll just wish there was more footage of the bands. Great to see some early live Family, with singer Roger Chapman screeching up a storm, and the late Marc Bolan of T-Rex churns out some really wild lead guitar on "By the Light of the Magical Moon". And, Grace Slick is just mesmerizing leading a supercharged "White Rabbit" and "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" by the Jefferson Airplane.
Overall, this is a fun document of an important music festival from the early '70s that barely ever gets mentioned. Plenty of classic performances are included here, but you'll just wish they were in their entirety and that there were more of them.
Track Listing
DVD
Santana, "Gumbo"
Al Stewart, "Zero She Flies"
Canned Heat, "Human Condition"
Canned Heat, "The World's in a Tango"/"So Sad"
Quintessence, "Giants"
Jefferson Airplane, "Won't You Try Saturday Afternoon"
It's a Beautiful Day, "Wasted Union Blues"
Pink Floyd, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
Country Joe, "Oh Freedom"
Dr. John and the Night Trippers, "Mardi Gras Day"
Family, "Drowned in Wine"
It's a Beautiful Day, "Bulgaria"
T. Rex, "By the Light of the Magical Moon"
The Byrds, "Old Blue"
The Flock, "Big Bird"
Soft Machine, "Esther's Nose Job"
Jefferson Airplane, "White Rabbit"/"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooniel"
Santana, "Savor"/"Jingo"
Pink Floyd, "A Saucerful of Secrets"
CD 1
Cuby and the Blizzards, "Dust My Blues"
Canned Heat, "Human Condition"/"So Sad"
Livin' Blues, "Big Road Blues"
Al Stewart, "Zero She Flies"
Quintessence, "Giants"
East of Eden, "The Sun of East"/"Irish Theme"
Country Joe, "Freedom"
Dr. John and the Night Trippers, "Mardi Gras Day"
Family, "Drowned in Wine"
CD 2
Santana, "Gumbo"/"Savor"/"Jingo"
Jefferson Airplane, "White Rabbit"/"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil"
It's a Beautiful Day, "Wasted Union Blues"/"Bulgaria"
T. Rex, "By the Light of the Magical Moon"
The Byrds, "Old Blue"
The Flock, "Big Bird"
Soft Machine, "Esther's Nose Job"
Pink Floyd, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"/"A Saucerful of Secrets"
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