The Band - Jericho (1993)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

The Band broke up back in 1977, with Robbie Robertson's The Last Waltz film and triple-LP soundtrack being their magnificent swan song. Robertson went on to work on as a producer, film score composer and even actor (through his friendship with Martin Scorsese). Garth Hudson was much in demand as a studio musician, but the three members who had the best chance of starting solo careers due to their great voices (Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel) struggled to really make it by themselves. So it was that in 1983 the whole band minus Robertson got back together and resumed touring. They were helped by various other musicians to fill out the lineup, and in 1985 Jim Weider joined as their new full-time guitarist. However tragedy struck in 1986 when Richard Manuel committed suicide, aged 42.

They continued touring throughout the 80s, but they were now playing much smaller venues than they had in their heyday. In the early 90s they finally began recording again, with their old producer Joe Simon back on board. By this time the lineup had been extended to also feature pianist Richard Bell and drummer Randy Ciarlante, and many other musicians featured on the new recordings, though the core of the group was still the trio of Levon Helm (vocals & drums), Rick Danko (vocals & bass) and Garth Hudson (keyboards).

1993 saw the release of Jericho, their first studio album in 16 years. The absence of Robbie Roberson meant it relied heavily on cover material and songs from outside sources, though there were some good new originals as well. Two covers in particular were highlights of the album - Bob Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell" and Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City". Though it was received coolly by many fans and critics (who were perhaps wary of the fact that they only had three original members and not much new original material), it's really a brilliant album, some very tasteful roots-rock. It also featured one very special song - "Country Boy", recorded back in 1985, was one of Richard Manuel's final recordings, and among his very best.

The Last Waltz (1978) <|> High On The Hog (1996)

More from The Band

Download

The Band - The Last Waltz (1978)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

In 1976 The Band retired from touring, but not before giving a magnificent farewell concert on Thanksgiving Day at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Joining them on stage was an all-star cast of musical guests - Ronnie Hawkins, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Dr John, Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Bobby Charles, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Wood and Ringo Starr. They were also augmented by a large horn section arranged by Allen Toussaint. The concert was filmed by Martin Scorsese, with plans to turn it into a feature-length film. Meanwhile, they had to fulfil their contract with Capitol Records, quickly putting together their last original studio album Islands in 1977.

Scorsese's film was released in 1978 as The Last Waltz, and has been hailed as the greatest rock concert film of all time. It combined the concert footage with interviews, plus two new soundstage performances - one with guest Emmylou Harris, and the other a great new version of "The Weight" featuring The Staple Singers. The soundtrack to the film was released as a triple LP set, which also featured a few new studio recordings which were combined with the soundstage recordings on the last side of the album as 'The Last Waltz Suite'. 

The result was a fantastic live album, vast and sprawling, with the high profile guests getting their own moments to shine (and many of them benefiting greatly from The Band's support), but none of them ever stealing the limelight from the true stars - The Band themselves. It was the perfect way to go out on a high, for The Band were indeed saying goodbye. Though a new incarnation of the group (minus Robbie Robertson) would reunite and resume touring in the 80s, The Last Waltz marked the end of the road for the original and best-loved incarnation of the The Band, ten years after their remarkable debut album and subsequent success.

Islands (1977) <|> Jericho (1993)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Islands (1977)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

By 1976 The Band were weary of touring. Guitarist Robbie Robertson urged them to retire from the stage, and concieved of a grand farewell concert. The Last Waltz was held on Thanksgiving Day 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, and saw The Band joined by a host of high-profile guests, most important among them the two who had been key figures in the band's early years - Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. The event was filmed by Robertson's friend Martin Scorsese, with plans to make it into a film.

The Band wanted the film and its accompanying soundtrack to be released on the Warner Bros label, but they still owed one more album to their exsisting label Capitol. Thus a final studio album was quickly pieced together from both recent songs and old outtakes dating back as far as 1972. Islands was released in 1977, and considering the circumstances of its compilation and release it wasn't a bad album at all, with a surprisingly consistent sound throughout. However it is definitely fair to say it's one of the weaker releases in The Band's canon, and thus the one which is most often passed over. It actually ended up being the last ever studio album to feature the full original lineup of The Band.

It was notable for one splendid highlight - a superb cover of Hoagy Carmichael's classic "Georgia On My Mind", which saw Richard Manuel turn in one of his finest vocal performances.

Northern Lights - Southern Cross (1975) <|> The Last Waltz (1978)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Northern Lights - Southern Cross (1975)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

The Band reunited with Bob Dylan in late 1973, and backed him on his Planet Waves album. They then joined him for a US tour in 1974, which resulted in the live album Before The Flood. They had by then relocated to California, and started building their own studio, which they dubbed Shangri-La.
The first product from Shangri-La was the studio album Northern Lights - Southern Cross, which was their first album of entirely new material sing 1971's Cahoots, something their fans had been awaiting for a long time. Though the sales figures were perhaps disappointing, it turned out to be an absolutely fantastic album, one of their best, and has since been highly praised by fans, critics, and the band themselves. The eight songs were all written solely by Robbie Robertson, who was by now truly in charge of the group's creative direction. It is also notable for the contributions from Garth Hudson, who had recently expanded his arsenal of keyboards to feature lots of new synthesizers and gadgets, which combined with the studio's 24-track console enabled him to build up rich tapestries of unique keyboard sounds.
The most important song on the album was "Acadian Driftwood", with a lyrical narrative that portrayed the Expulsion of the Acadians of 1755-1763. It's often considered both one of Robertson's finest compositions and one of The Band's best performances, with the lead vocals traded between Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm. It's also notable for being one of the few Band songs featuring a guest musician, with fiddle from Byron Berline.
It turned out to be The Band's last great album, as behind the scenes things were starting to deteriorate, and it wouldn't be long before they were bidding farewell at The Last Waltz.

Moondog Matinee (1973) <|> Islands (1978)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Moondog Matinee (1973)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

The Band's output of quality songs had slowed somewhat as the 70s advanced, with 1971's Cahoots receiving mixed reviews and 1972's Rock Of Ages being a live album of mostly familiar tunes. However they were still occasionaly performing to great acclaim, and in 1973 performed at the legendary Summer Jam At Watkins Glen (along with The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band). But fans still wanting another Music From Big Pink or Stage Fright were left waiting, as their 1973 release, Moondog Matinee, was a covers album.
The idea behind it was to replicate the band's mid-60s club setlists, when they were performing as The Hawks. Therefore it featured mostly R&B covers, including Chuck Berry's "The Promised Land", Clarence Henry's "Ain't Got No Home", Allen Toussaint's "Holy Cow", Buck Ram's "The Great Pretender" and Junior Parker's "Mystery Train". However only one of theses songs they had actually performed in the 60s. The album ended with a heart-wrenching version of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" sung by Rick Danko, and there was one conspiciously non-R&B song - the theme from the film The Third Man.
Though perhaps the fans would have preferred some new original material at the time, Moondog Matinee can be looked back on as a fine album, with some excellent interpretations of some great songs.

Rock Of Ages (1972) <|> Northern Lights - Southern Cross (1975)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Rock Of Ages (1972)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

Rock Of Ages was the first live album from The Band, recorded late December 1971 in New York City and released the next year. They recruited New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint (who had arranged the horns on their recent single "Life Is A Carnival") to organise for them a five-man horn section, which added a fantastic new dimension to their sound for these concerts. A double album was culled from the performances, which featured material from across their four studio albums. It also included a new song, "Get Up Jake", and two fantastic covers which bookended the set - Marvin Gaye's "Baby Don't You Do It" and Chuck Willis' "(I Don't Want To Hang Up) My Rock And Roll Shoes". "Don't Do It" was released as a single, and got to #34 on the pop charts. The album itself was a great success, showing the wide scope of the group's sound at their musical best. It got to #6 on the album charts.

Cahoots (1971) <|> Moondog Matinee (1973)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Cahoots (1971)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

The Band's fourth album, Cahoots, came out in 1971. Generally it is seen as one of their weaker releases, with Robbie Robertson's songwriting not quite turning out as much quality as it had on their first three albums. Overall, the sound was a bit more harsh and difficult, though of course even the slightest weaknesses were going to be amplified when seen alongside the fantastic albums that preceded it. But Cahoots was not without a few gems, most notably the funky "Life Is A Carnival" (with horns arranged by Allen Toussaint), and a slendid cover of Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (which actually pre-dated Dylan's own version by two months). Van Morrison also made a guest appearances, singing on "4% Pantomime", which he co-wrote with Robertson.

Stage Fright (1970) <|> Rock Of Ages (1972)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Stage Fright (1970)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

After the massive critical success of their first two albums, The Band went on their first tour as a headlining act, and appeared on the cover of Time magazine. However the resultant anxiety from fame and fortune led to a new direction in lead songwriter Robbie Robertson’s lyrics, taking on darker themes of fear and alienation, most notable in the title song of their next album, Stage Fright, recorded and released in 1970. In comparison to Music From Big Pink and The Band, Stage Fright was where the group’s unity began to fray. Not musically, where they were as tight and creative as ever, but rather emotionally… Drugs, alcohol and money had become distractions. Richard Manuel, who in their early days was sharing the song writing with Robertson, only got himself two co-writing credits, and when he sang “The Shape I’m In” it was clear that the lyric was more than a little auto-biographical (though it was actually written for him by Robertson). Their unique vocal harmonies that had been a highlight of the first two records were curiously absent, as Manuel, Levon Helm and Rick Danko mostly sang their lead vocal spots solo (with the notable exceptions of the vocal teamwork on “Daniel And The Sacred Harp” and “The Rumor”).
But despite these subtle cracks beginning to appear, Stage Fright was certainly a very strong album, almost as good as its predecessors. It covered their broad Americana pallette, overall moving in a slightly more rock-oriented direction. The instrument-switching they had become known for was present, with every member playing at least two different instruments each. In particular on three songs Helm gave up the drum seat to Manuel, and himself contributed second rhythm guitar parts. There was a bit more focus on electric instruments, no doubt due to their recent experiences playing on the road.
Overall, Stage Fright was a different sort of album to the two classics that came before it… but it was nevertheless a fine record, featuring some of their greatest songs, and is today considered one of their strongest works. On its release, it actually became their highest charting, making it to #5.

The Band (1969) <|> Cahoots (1971)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Early Years (As The Hawks) (1964-1968)

Compilation
The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

Before The Band were The Band, they were The Hawks. They came together between 1958 and 1963 as the backing group for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, and toured Canada with him to great acclaim. Under Hawkins' tutelage they became a finely honed unit, so that when they split with him in 1964 they were ready to go off on their own. It wouldn't be until 1968 that they would record their debut album, and this compilation covers their early years between '64 and '68. It is taken from the 2005 box-set A Musical History (it is pretty much the first disc of the box set minus a few tracks).
During this period they recorded as The Hawks, Levon & The Hawks, and The Canadian Squires. They released a few singles that went nowhere, which are included here alongside b-sides, outtakes and demos. Most of their material at this point was rooted in rhythm & blues, so they sound quite a bit different than they would a few years later. It was in late 1965 that they got together with Bob Dylan to back him on his infamous first 'electric' tour. Dylan obviously proved a huge influence on them, as can be seen by the single "The Stones I Throw (Will Free All Men)", recorded during the same period. This song marks a drastic turn from their R&B roots, and paves the way for what they would later do with Music From Big Pink. In fact, it is an incredible song, a true lost 60s classic that should have gone somewhere but for some reason never did.
After their touring with Dylan came to an end in the summer of '66, they briefly returned to playing their old bar circuits. However they were invited by Dylan to join him in Woodstock in 1967, where they recorded the infamous Basement Tapes (not released until 1975), and then began work on their own debut album, which was released in 1968. After almost 10 years playing together, they had finally become The Band. This compilation documents the journey they took to get there.
Note - this doesn't include the songs recorded with Hawkins or Dylan.

|> Music From Big Pink (1968)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - The Band (1969)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

Coming out just over a year after their brilliant debut Music From Big Pink, The Band's self-titled second album confirmed their place as stars of the late-60s roots revival. Music From Big Pink had been notable for avoiding the popular psychedelic aesthetics of its time, but The Band took this even further - with its stripped-down arrangements and dry, rustic vibe, it made its predecessor sound positively psychedelic in comparison! Alot of this was down to producer John Simon, who helped The Band create a sound even more further removed from what their contemporaries were doing.
There are many notable developments that took place between the two albums. First of all, guitarist Robbie Robertson rose to become the band's lead songwriter. Whilst on the first album he had shared the songwriting with Richard Manuel (writing four to Manuel's three, alonside three Dylan songs and a cover), he wrote all twelve songs on The Band (four in co-operation with Manuel or Helm). The historical and rural themes in his lyrics paint a picture of a bygone America. The fact that four out of five of the members were Canadian made this quite extraordinary, but Robertson's scholarly passion for all things old America made for a truly convincing semi-concept album. They did make the right decision when they chose the only true southerner in the band (drummer Levon Helm) to sing the civil-war anthem "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" - that one wouldn't have quite sounded right sung by a Canadian.
Another thing which made The Band unique, and which was showcased best on the second album, was their multi-instrumental abilities. Robertson stuck to the guitar throughout, but the other four members were all multi-instrumentalists and frequently switched around. The fact that most of The Band was recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs made this even more interesting. Pianist Richard Manuel also played drums, sax and harmonica, bassist Rick Danko played trombone and fiddle, drummer Levon Helm played rhythm guitar and mandolin, and organist Garth Hudson also contributed clavinet, piano, accordion, melodica, sax and slide trumpet. Producer John Simon also contributed tuba, sax and electric piano. The instrument-swtiching is best demonstrated on "Rag Mama Rag" - on this song Levon Helm sings lead and plays mandolin, Hudson plays piano, Robertson plays guitar, Danko plays fiddle, Manuel plays drums and Simon lays down the bass-line on tuba. This ability to adapt and switch instruments gave the album plenty of diversity in its arrangements and sounds, despite the fact that it was mostly recorded without overdubs. The use of three vocalists (Helm, Manuel and Danko) added to the variety.
Stylistically, the album touches on all sorts of roots music forms, but never actually settles on any one genre. It is often referred to as 'country-rock', if only for its connection with rural America, but the truth is that no one stylistic label can be comfortably attached to it, apart from perhaps the purposefully vague term 'roots-rock'.
This album became The Band's best-loved work, and they arguably never bettered it throughout their career.

Music From Big Pink (1968) <|> Stage Fright (1970)
More from The Band

Download

The Band - Music From Big Pink (1968)

The Band were an influential and highly acclaimed rock band formed in the 1960s.

The Band already had years of experience behind them before their first album came out, and their story starts back in the early 60s. They came together originally as the backing group for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, who was playing in Canada where he was very popular at the time. One by one the future members of The Band joined his group, leading up to the lineup of Robbie Robertson (guitar), Rick Danko (bass), Richard Manuel (piano), Garth Hudson (organ) and Levon Helm (drums). Helm was a southener from Arkansas, whilst the other four were all Canadians. They played with Hawkins for years (known then as The Hawks), but by 1964 had split with him, and they began touring by themselves. In 1965 Bob Dylan invited them to play with him, and they backed him on his legendary '65/'66 tour which saw him transform from folkie to rock star (though Helm dropped out three months in and was replaced by Mickey Jones). However in July '66 Dylan was injured in a motorcycle accident, and retired to semi-reclusion in Woodstock. He invited the Hawks to join him, where they recorded a much-bootlegged series of demos which were years later officially released as The Basement Tapes, and the seeds of their debut album were sown.
Without Dylan, and re-united with Helm, they began writing their own songs, and in 1968 their debut album Music From Big Pink was released, credited only to 'The Band' and produced by John Simon. It was unlike anything ever heard in rock music at the time. The fact that it was released at the height of the psychedelic rock craze made it even more extraordinary. Spurning all current trends, they re-connected with the roots of their music - folk, country, rhythm & blues and gospel, and forged a unique new sound. It fell in with what other American bands were doing at the time with country-rock, and is often referred to as a pioneering album in that genre, but the stylistic hot-pot of Music From Big Pink is much more than just a fusion of rock and country. This sound has retrospectively been labelled Americana or 'roots rock', but at the time it defied all classification and simply represented the sound of The Band.
Instrumentally, The Band were at the top of their league. Robbie Robertson was a highly talented guitarist, but on Music From Big Pink he reigned in the fire of his work with Hawkins and Dylan and instead played subtle, understated lines which supported the arrangements rather than dominated them. The musical virtuosity of the group undoubtedly came from Garth Hudson, who played a Lowry organ (instead of the Hammond usually found in rock music) and a variety of other keyboard instruments with a creativity which effectively re-invented the idea of what a rock keyboardist could sound like. The use of a pianist and an organist together was highly unusual for rock music, the fact that the guitar was usually playing a supporting role to the keyboards even more so. Both bassist Danko and drummer Helm had unique approaches to their instruments, giving the group a fantastic rhythm section to build on. Vocally they were also unique - they were used to backing frontmen, but Manuel, Helm and Danko all had brilliant and distinctive voices which complemented eachother perfectly. The result was that they had three lead vocalists to call on, or more often than not, three voices to join together in loose, almost chaotic harmonies.
The material on the album was mostly written by Robertson, Manuel and Dylan. The three Dylan compositions date back to the basement sessions, one co-written with Manuel and another with Danko. They also included a cover of the old country classic "Long Black Veil". Defying trends further still, they opened the album with the slow, stately "Tears Of Rage", which went against all percieved rules of album sequencing.
The most famous song on the album is Robertson's "The Weight". Though it only reached a modest #63 in the US, it has managed to become one of the most well-known and beloved songs of the American counter-culture, helped no doubt by its inclusion in the film Easy Rider.
Music From Big Pink was widely acclaimed upon its release, and is generally considered a highly influential and pivotal album in the history of rock music. The elements that made it so unique at its time are by themselves small and seemingly minor, but when they were all fused together, it was clear The Band were something special.

Early Years (As The Hawks) (1964-68) <|> The Band (1969)
More from The Band

Download