Stephen Stills : Woodstock (30 septembre 1969)

Dans la perspective du coffret à venir de Stephen Stills, les producteurs ont certainement écouté attentivement la session du 30 septembre 1969 qui s'est déroulée au Record Plant. C'est en fait la première session de Hendrix produite par Alan Douglas. La jam qu'on retrouve sur le disque de Timothy Leary provient de cette session, où Hendrix tenait la basse. Il a des prises chantées de "Woodstock", mais aussi d'une chanson intitulée "One More Day/$20 Fine" (avec Mitch à la batterie sur celle-là).
Il y a aussi une jam... "One More Day/$20 Fine" et la jam ne circulent pas.

Le personnel est le suivant :
Stephen Stills - orgue, chant
Jimi Hendrix - basse
Buddy Miles - batterie

Titres :
1. Woodstock Jam
2. Woodstock
3. Woodstock

La première plage est instrumentale. Elle sert de répétition aux trois hommes. Hendrix joue une ligne de basse proche de celle de "Message To Love" avant de s'attarder sur celle de ce qui deviendra "Live And Let Live" (le titre de Timothy Leary monté après coup par Alan Douglas). Un cut s'entend distinctement : peut-être est-ce toute de même la même jam ?

Les deux suivantes sont des prises chantées de la composition de Jony Mitchell, que Stills finalisera sur "Déjà vu", le premier album de Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Le résultat est brut, loin d'être abouti.

Pour les amateurs de Hendrix, ces trois plages n'ont rien d'essentiel. Il officie plus comme sideman qu'autre chose... à la basse qui plus est.

On retrouve les 3 plages sur les pirates suivants :
- Fall 1969 Record Plant
- "Tiptoes In The Foam"
- With Record Plant
- Bob's DATS
- Studio '69 (15 CD)


Transcrïption de la session (source : JimiPassItOn)

WOODSTOCK 1 (Joni Mitchell)

[instrumental]

…

Stills: Let’s do it again.
Jimi : Play a little more bass when you get going… [Softer?]
Stills: A-a little less drums too [this request appears to be ignored]
Jimi : More voice, could you?


WOODSTOCK 2 (Joni Mitchell)

Well, I came upon a child of man
He was walkin’ along the ro-oad, and
I asked him: “Where are you goin’?”
This he to-o-old me:
“Well, I’m goin’ down to Yasgur’s farm,
Gonna join in a rock-and-roll ba-and
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free”

We are sta-a-ar-dust we are go-olden
We’ve got to get ourselves back to the ga-a-arden

Yes, well, then can I walk beside you?
I have come to lose the smo-og
And I feel myself a cog in somethin’ tur-urnin’
Well, now maybe it’s the time of year
But, then, maybe it’s the time of man
And I don’t know who I am
Life is for lea-earnin’

We are sta-a-ar-dust, we are go-o-olden
We’ve got to get ourselves back to the ga-a-arden”

Jimi: When?
Desk: Okay. Can I have the voice and the back-up more?
Stills: Yeah, if I could hear just a litte less drums, then we’d find it easier to stay in pitch
Jimi: Then just give me a, a harness
Desk: That harness is fucked
Desk: Woodstock, one
Jimi: Huh?
? : Would kill me, yeah-ha-ha-ha [cough]
Jimi: Hey, can you turn those, those-ah lights out.
? : Lights
? : Excuse me
Jimi: [Tuning…] Okay
Buddy: [drum roll]
Jimi: [Plays the riff from ‘Day Tripper’]
? : I mean this is a terrible one
Jimi: Humph
Stills: Okay… [clap], two, [clap]. One, two, three…

WOODSTOCK 3 (Joni Mitchell)

Well, I came apon a child of God
He was walkin’ along the road, and
I asked him: “Where was he goin’?”
This he to-o-old me-e:
“Well, I’m goin’ down to Yasgur’s farm,
Gonna join in a rock-and-roll band
Got to get back to the land and set my so-oul free”

We are sta-a-ar-dust we are go-olden
And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the ga-a-arden

Won’t you tell me ‘bout it
Well

Well, now can I walk beside you?
I have come to lose the smo-og
And I feel myself a cog in somethin’ tur-urnin’
Well, now maybe it’s the time of year
And maybe it’s the time of man
And I don’t know who I am
But life is for lea-ea-earrnin’

We are sta-a-ar-dust, we are go-o-olden
And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the ga-a-arden
…

We are sta-a-ar-dust, we are go-o-olde-en
And we’ve got to get ourselves ba-ack to the ga-a-arden

By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million stro-ong
And everywhere was a song and a celebra-a-a-ation
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
Turning into butterflies above our na-ation

We are sta-a-ar-dust, we are go-o-olde-en
And we’ve got to get ourselves ba-ack to the ga-a-arden
All right, now
Oh, back to the garde-en
Awe, now
Comin’ back, comin’ back
Goin’ on back to the garden
Ah-a-a-arden