Release
The soundtrack to Taking Woodstock was released through Rhino Entertainment on August 21, 2009. [1] [2] The album featured a new recording of "Freedom" by Richie Havens, 1960s songs performed by the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Love and Crosby, Stills & Nash and live performances or songs from the Woodstock in 1969, which includes performances from Grateful Dead, Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe McDonald, Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, Melanie and Band. [3] Three score cues from Danny Elfman's score was also featured in the soundtrack album, while a separate album for the score was released on the same date by La-La Land Records. [1] A deluxe edition featuring both the songs and score was also released. [3]
The physical CD release of the soundtrack was priced at $18.98. The digital version which featured the soundtrack and score as separate albums were priced at $11.99 each, while the iTunes exclusive deluxe version was priced for $19.99. [2]
Reception
Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote "In sum, this is an enjoyable collection of songs that reflects the era more than the festival itself, but then it's a soundtrack. It also feels like a solid memento from the film." [4] Joanne Kaufman of The Wall Street Journal wrote "the songs by Melanie, Richie Havens, Ravi Shankar and the Grateful Dead that make up the soundtrack place the movie in the '60s without particularly placing it at ground zero." [5]
Filmtracks wrote "you have to admire Elfman's take on Taking Woodstock, even if it doesn't make for a particularly attractive 30-minute listening experience on album." [6] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic stated, "This is not one of Elfman's major scoring efforts, but it is appropriate to the material at hand." [7]
Richard von Brusack of Metro Silicon Valley wrote "The soundtrack by Danny Elfman doesn't frog-march the viewer down Memory Lane—a few familiar songs, like "Wooden Ships" and "Going Up the Country," appear, but they're lesser-known psychedelia." [8] Jamie Darlow of Collider said that, "The film itself contains hardly any of his original score and the balancing act of original music and the music of the era depicted tips considerably in favor of the latter. However, despite it not being one of his most well-known pieces, there is a lot of joy to be had when listening to the score separately, and you can feel how satisfying it must have felt to record the psychedelic guitar work. This is a great example of listening to his work separate from watching the movie, as the sound conveys emotion just as powerfully (if not even more so) than the image." [9]
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