The Woodstock Experience:
Sly and Family Stone
Jefferson Airplane
Johnny Winter
Janis Joplin
Santana
Sony BMG Legacy

Woodstock turns 40 in August, if you forgot. Younger generations are probably sick of hearing about it, and one can’t blame ‘em; there are probably more people out there now who claim they were there than ever attended. But one can’t deny the performances, and Sony BMG Legacy has released special packages containing the concert appearances combined with era studio albums from select Woodstock artists.

Listening to Sly and the Family Stone, you can hear one of the touchstones from Prince and many other artists who’d follow in the ’70s and ’80s, even up to today. The blend of soul, rock, pop and early funk is pure celebration, with affirmations like “You Can Make It if You Try” and “Everyday People.” You’ll find some of the original versions on the album Stand! also included here, such as the title and “I Want To Take You Higher.”

The Jefferson Airplane collection features the band’s spacey and also rabble-rousing encouragement, with Marty Balin and Grace Slick up front. You get “Somebody To Love” live, “Plastic Fantastic Lover” (they don’t title ‘em like they used to, do they?) and “Wooden Ships,” as well as “Volunteers” and, yeah, “White Rabbit” (go ask Alice and all that). The studio offering here is the Volunteers album, with some great songs that weren’t played at Woodstock, such as “We Can Be Together” and “Good Shepherd.”

Johnny Winter was a young, up-and-coming guitar hotshot out of Texas at the time, and he burns through a set that includes three killer numbers with brother Edgar Winter — “I Can’t Stand It,” “Tobacco Road” and “Tell the Truth” — plus Edgar’s gut-bucket take on “Johnny B. Goode.” His self-titled debut may not have been his best, but it’s still solid and features “Mean Mistreater,” a version of “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” and “I’ll Drown in My Own Tears” among the tracks.

Ah, Janis. The Kosmik Blues Mama, now legendary. She kicks off with “Raise Your Hand,” smolders on “Summertime,” blasts through “Can’t Turn You Loose,” and wraps it up with a double shot of “Piece of My Heart” and “Ball and Chain.” The studio album here is in facet “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama,” featuring the title song, “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” and “Work Me, Lord,” all of which appear in the live set.

Woodstock truly put Santana on the map, as the Latin rock band from the Bay area blew away the crowd. There’s “Waiting,” “Evil Ways,” “Soul Sacifice,” “Jingo” and more — ways of rhythm and that distinctive guitar that’s still with us four decades later. The debut album Santana is also included here, and what a debut it was, also featuring “Shades of Time” and “Persuasion.”

For more about the Woodstock anniversary and a new social networking site dedicated to the legendary festival, visit www.woodstock.com.

The Jayhawks
Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology
Sony Legacy

Formed in Minneapolis in 1985, singer-songwriter Mark Olson and Gary Louris, the Jayhawks were American before the term was even coined, releasing such wonderful and now classic albums such as Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass. While Olson left the band, Louris continued injecting the same blend of country, rock, folk and pop on albums like Smile and Rainy Day Music. While this anthology comes in a couple of editions, the best one features two CDs and a DVD. In addition to material culled from six studio albums, such as “Waiting For the Sun,” “Blue,” “I’d Run Away,” “I’m Going to Make You Love Me” and “Tailspin,” the set also offers up B-sides, rarities, and previously unreleased material.  One might quibble: where the heck is the band’s great cover of “Bad Time?” There’s another limited edition out there with a fourth disc of rarities — an EP with five tracks comprised of live recordings and outtakes. As is, everything was assembled under the aegis of Louris, so suffice it to say it’s mighty authorized…and mighty fine too.