Also available in a 3-pack with SECOND WINTER and CAPTURED LIVE. Personnel: Johnny Winter (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, harp); Tommy Shannon (electric bass); "Uncle" John Turner (percussion). Liner Note Authors: Tomoyuki Yamazaki; Kuni Takeuchi. Recording information: Nashville (02/1969); San Francisco (02/1969); The Woodstock Music & Art Fair (02/1969); Nashville (03/05/1969); San Francisco (03/05/1969); The Woodstock Music & Art Fair (03/05/1969); Nashville (08/18/1969); San Francisco (08/18/1969); The Woodstock Music & Art Fair (08/18/1969). Photographers: Eddie Kramer; Sandy Speiser. Among white blues singers of the 1960s, there were some who studied the music so intently they amazed even the genre's creators with their technical mastery. A select few, however, seemed to be born oozing authenticity, sounding just as soulful as the greatest black bluesmen while forging a completely new sound. Johnny Winter belonged in the second category. A long-haired hippie albino, he astounded initially skeptical listeners with his Howlin' Wolf-like vocals and wild Johnny Guitar Watson-esque guitar stylings. THE WOODSTOCK EXPERIENCE showcases Winter's first taste of national exposure, first with his 1969 self-titled debut album, and then with his set at the Woodstock festival later the same year. The latter recording is the revelation here--a tornado of raging slide guitar and shouted vocals that sounds as if a late night Lone Star State roadhouse gig has been magically transported to the upstate New York farm. With several tracks clocking in at over 10 minutes ("Mean Town Blues," a hellacious Edgar Winter-led jam on "Tobacco Road"), the album showcases Johnny at his freest and most explosive.

• Genre: Rock and Pop
• Released: 1/1/1980
• Format: CD