When The Complete Monterey Pop Festival was issued on DVD and Blu-ray in 2009, it seemed like fans of the granddaddy of rock festivals had finally seen all there was to see. Well, guess again.
On December 12th, a three-Blu-ray Special Edition is being issued. It will have as one of its many features "every available complete performance filmed by [director D.A.] Pennebaker and his crew."
This edition's features include:
- New 16-bit 4K digital restoration of the original Monterey Pop movie, supervised by Pennebaker
- Restored HD digital transfers of the subsequent Jimi Plays Monterey and Shake! Otis at Monterey films
- Alternate soundtracks for all three films, featuring 5.1 mixes by legendary recording engineer Eddie Kramer
- The Outtake Performances: Two hours of music not included in Monterey Pop, from The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Blues Project, The Byrds, Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, Jefferson Airplane, Al Kooper, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Simon and Garfunkel, Tiny Tim, and The Who.
- Audio commentary by Pennebaker, festival producer Lou Adler and music critics Charles Shaar Murray and Peter Guralnick.
- Chiefs (1968), a short film by cameraman Richard Leacock, which played alongside Monterey Pop during its inaugural theatrical run.
- Interviews from 2002 with Adler and Pennebaker and Otis Redding's manager, Phil Walden.