polano-1 i was there, 20 years old, with 2 other Italian friends (on a blue 500 fiat car), sleeping in 2 Canadian tents: Italians were a lot, anyway, and we met a few of them in Amsterdam - desolation row was full of french people, and many people were just taking' hard drugs, not even trying' to move from their sleeping' bags- i've recognized myself, thanks to you-tube excerpt, in the movie (that i'm gonna by via amazon tonight), and after 37 yrs i remember the camera that was shooting' me (sayin' then to my friends: i'm sure they will cut me out) - i remember also running' all the time to find a place, and a feeling' of tiredness, because of our long traveling' from Italy, via Yugoslavia, and then Holland, and then england (taking' with us coffee, pasta and Italian food, you know ;-) - real problem was the WC (don't talk about) - i bought in advance the tickets by mail, but we're the few, and the day people broke the fence was scary, really - the atmosphere, to be true, was more like a busy busy mess as a bee kingdom, and the weather not bad - the final night was like apocalypse now, in a way: i got fever and stomach illness :-( while Hendrix playing i went back late, tons of soda cans like Egyptian pyramids, fires everywhere, and fish&chips stands selling' for nearly nothing' all that remained - so we're finally eating' like wolves - OK, folks, that's all, for the moment - i have few b/w pix too (anyone interested?)Sp, proud-i-was-therePS any site of people who were there?

MisterWhiplash For fans of the musical acts that performed at this one of a kind concert, Isle of Wight is a must-see look. The interview sections are not of the high quality of those of Woodstock where you might have taken away something from what was being said. Here it's mostly a lot of ultra-hippie types (one who apparently gave his 3 year old son acid and pot), as well as some British fellows who run the concert. These interviews are OK enough on their own, and maybe the biggest liability from Lerner on this end as well as the music is in the editing. It's only a 2 hour film, which regrettably (like Monterrey Pop) is way too short in viewing such a monumental moment (and fleeting one like Altamont) in such a short running time. Still, almost every musical act is worth checking out in their limited time frame, and a little extra sadness comes along in seeing that a few of these people didn't live long after the concert ended. Some of the memorable acts include the Doors (all too brief of course), Jimi Hendrix (ditto), the Who, Miles Davis (in different form from his 50's days), Ten Years After, the Moody Blues, and Free.

jmcm01 Rory Gallagher & Taste - raw energy and talent - stole the Isle of Wight festival. They had 3 or 4 encores. Fusion of jazz and blues. Rory mixed all genres of blues - from acoustic, Mississippi Delta, Chicago.He combined a guitar style with his singing - that made the guitar sound like an extension of his voice. Wailing away.Eric Clapton was like a sheep in comparison to this Celtic tiger.Some songs include: Bullfrog blues, Used to be, Cant believe its true. For the last time. Sinnerboy. Messin with the kid, What in the world.Hes played with the greats - including Jack Bruce in Rockpalast concerts. Playing with Muddy Waters in London was the highlight of his career.

Brian Washington This is a good rockumentary. It pretty much captured the events surrounding the last great pop festival of the 1960 era (even though it took place in 1970). It pretty much showed how greed and a more commercial element began to creep in on the rock and roll and how it was beginning to lose its innocence, much like it did at Altamont the previous December. He even shows how many artists were beginning to suffer burn out, as was the case with Jimi Hendrix, who unknown to everyone was making his last major concert appearance in England. Unfortunately, a few weeks later he would die from barbituate intoxication. However, the only complaint I have about the film is that Murray Lerner tended to not to show all the songs as they were performed in their entirety. For example, only the last three minutes of Ten Years After's performance of the song "I Can't Keep From Crying" is shown. On the compact disc of the festival, the song is featured in it's full-length. Another, example is how he seemed to cut the Free classic "All Right Now" to ribbons. This is very annoying for a person who was a huge fan of the song. This also can be seen with Emerson, Lake and Palmer's performance of "Rondo". But even with all its flaws it is a good film.