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THE HOLLYWOOD FESTIVAL.
Madeley, Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Staffordshire,
May 23rd and 24th 1970.

Jose Feliciano.


Music Now report.

 

  Jose Feliciano was superb, the ultimate entertainer. He was backed by bass and drums and naturally his own guitar . 
He just sat there in a light suit , polo neck jumper , wearing a pair of shades and looking happy and relaxed. His personality and ability linked him with the unseen audience. He specialized in funny corny jokes like " its hard to play with these cold fingers, at least it shows the place is cool " These drew good humoured groans from the thousands. 
He moved smoothly through High Heeled Sneakers, Windmills Of Your Mind , Muleskinner Blues and Day Tripper. All of these were well known but his treatment of them  showed how his distinctive style can make a familiar song his own . There was real soul in his voice , in his music. After all the high volume intricacies that had gone before it was great to hear such simple , yet excellent music . He forged a link with his audience and held them entranced by his warm spell. I forgot all the discomfort of squatting on the rock hard , rutted earth.

Such thoughts were melted away by the goodness of his music . It was beautiful, emotional, soulful. This was stunning example of how one man can entertain thousands. "Sunny "drew yells of enthusiasm  as did "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying ". His interpretation of "Theme From Romeo and Juliet," played on acoustic guitar , was luxuriously soothing and lyrical . The vast crowd sat hushed and wide eyed. They were soon bouncing again though as Jose drove his way through "Cotton Fields. " He took an incredible guitar solo and had everyone singing along with him.

As if to emphasize his versatility Jose switched to electric guitar for a couple of numbers. He did a slow "Kansas City "and a bluesy "Born Under A Bad Sign ." Both songs gave him the opportunity to play the electric Blues guitar. Of course he did it very well and it was good to hear him in this  different style but I was pleased to see him go back to the acoustic guitar.

 
  Next he went through a very funny routine about Coke ads. He did impersonations of how people like the Bee Gees,Dylan and Tiny Tim might sing the praises of the famous drink. Very amusing indeed , it went down very well. Then he got back to the music with California dreaming , hey Jude and a very poplar encore "Light My Fire".
  The applause rang out hard and long and he came back with his own version of the "Flight Of The Bumble Bee "incorporating some unbelievable gymnastics on guitar. More excitement .  More applause . This was night of triumph for Jose Feliciano entertainer.

NME Report

     And so to Jose Feliciano, what can you say about this man, ? His praises have been sung the world over countless times and he proved Sunday night  that he really deserved every superlative that has ever been used to describe him. His style is essentially one of simplicity. He plays his guitar up front and he has a drummer and bassist accompanying his music and words. He rocks and sways to the songs and makes the occasional little jokes that everyone laughs at.  His sense of timing is natural  and the songs are balanced and very enjoyable.
High Heel Sneakers, Windmills of Your Mind ,Cotton Fields , I Started A Joke , Hey Jude and Light My Fire. All these and many more and all of them tres bon  . He played in the early hours for I don't know how long , but everyone stayed to watch him . A brilliant artist. 

Disc and Music Echo

    Then it was time for Feliciano Ñthe Festival's Special Guest. It must have been hard for him to come on after such an ebullient mood had been set. and by this time it was dark with campfires lit all over the hillside looking just like an army camped before a battle. But Feliciano captivated everyone. From the beginning of "High Heeled Sneakers" he soared through a lovely repertoire ranging from the Beatles' "Day Tripper" and "Hey Jude" to "Born Under A Bad Sign," a blues version of "Kansas City" and some excellent imitations of Tiny Tim , Dylan, Robin Gibb, and would-ya-believe, Donald Duck. These, plus more, plus his hits Ñ"California Dreaming" and "Light My Fire"Ñaud beautifully backed by bass and drnms~made Feliciano's act the smoothest, and most enoyable entertainment. He seemed happy to be there, and everyone seemed even happier that he was.

Set list
High Heeled Sneakers,
Windmills Of Your Mind ,
Muleskinner Blues
Day Tripper.
Sunny
Cotton Fields.
Donut Let The Sun Catch You Crying
I Started A Joke
Theme From Romeo and Juliet,
Kansas City
Born Under A Bad Sign
Coca Cola Rap.
California dreaming
Hey Jude
Flight Of The Bumble Bee
Encore : Light My Fire

Hollywood festival menu

Many thanks go to Garry Marsh for his fantastic archival material which has enabled us to construct most of the site. Also to Martin Williams for his oral history and colour photo of the stage and site ,Simon Phillips for all the Grateful Dead archival material and Bob Colover for the film footage .

    We have been endeavoring to collect audience or sbd tapes of the performances at this festival , so we can effectively review the performances, provide set lists and band line-ups. The intention is to also display as many personal histories of the festival as possible.

  If you can contribute in any way, with tapes, reviews from the music press, photos or personal histories, please Contact email

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