California Classic Rock

Talk about your California dreaming: in the summer of 1986, San Bernadino, CA hosted a classic rock festival that featured Canned Heat, War, Spirit, Eric Burdon, the Chambers Brothers, and Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits fame, among others. Unfortunately, what's captured on this 14-song, hour-shy program barely qualifies as a mere sampler (half of the nine artists perform one song each; John Sebastian with N.R.B.Q. is listed on the jacket as performing "N.R.B.Q. Jam," but this is an excerpt that lasts about 90 seconds) and the sound is subpar (Noone's voice almost seems to be on a track by itself, since the instrumentation is so faint). Buffalo Springfield (Revisited) performs "Mr. Soul" (incorrectly listed as "Hello Mr. Soul" on the jacket) and "For What It's Worth," but are minus founding members Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay, making them more of a tribute band. On the plus side, Burdon's two-song set ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "Don't Bring Me Down") is a little more hi-fi than the others, though Burdon himself sounds like a train wreck. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo (virtually indistinguishable, as both are awful), this is not recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)