Catch the now 70-year-old Havens talking of Woodstock and you'll see the moment has lost none of its significance for him. Whether it be due to his joy at a generation finding its voice "above ground", as he has described it, or his gratitude that the festival shone a global spotlight on his work, Havens has continued to embody the spirit of brotherhood Woodstock represented.
Havens' major-label debut Mixed Bag (1967), released two years before his Woodstock set, shows his conviction was firmly held long before that memorable performance. From the overt antiwar sentiments of Handsome Johnny to the subtle personal politics of Three Day Eternity, the depth of Havens' beliefs add richness to his chalky baritone and sagacity to his timing and delivery.
But it is as an interpreter of songs that Havens best demonstrates his understanding of meaning. All but three of the 11 tracks here are covers, thoroughly road-tested by a graduate of the Greenwich Village coffee houses who had earned his opportunity to sing a song the way it should be sung.
Both Bob Dylan's Just Like A Woman and the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby are expertly mined for their spirit, while Billy Edd Wheeler's High Flyin' Bird magically integrates joy and desperation into one unnameable emotion.
Gordon Lightfoot's I Can't Make It Anymore and Jesse Fuller's San Francisco Bay Blues are similarly evocative.
It's an aptly titled release, and not without its lesser tracks, but Mixed Bag is filled mostly with timeless acoustic-soul delights.
