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| Band - Band Band: Band Tracks: - Across The Great Divide - Rag Mama Rag - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - When You Awake - Up On Cripple Creek - Whispering Pines - Jemima Surrender - Rockin' Chair - Look Out Cleveland - Jawbone - The Unfaithful Servant - King Harvestt (Has Surely Come) - Get Up Jake (Outtake-Stereo Remix) - Rag Mama Rag (Alternate Vocal Take-Rough Mix) - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Alternate Mix) - Up On Cripple Creek (Alternate Take) - Whispering Pines (Alternate Take) - Jemima Surrender (Alternate Take) - King Harvest (Has Surely Come) (Alternate Performance) a perfect autumn Soundtrack There are 3 albums that, when I hear them, instantly put me in the frame of mind for the season of fall. Those albums are "Astral Weeks," "Rubber Soul," and "The Band." That doesn't mean that I only listen to those records during the fall. But I first heard each of them in late October and something about their music conjures up an autumn frame of mind for me. The first band album, "Music From Big Pink," contained new songs written by Bob Dylan, during a time when Dylan -- recuperating from his "motorcycle accident" -- hadn't released anything for some time. That selling point got The Band in the door, but "The Band" proved that had plenty of their own musical ammunition to unload. Robbie Robertson wrote or co-wrote all twelve songs and there really isn't a bad one in the bunch. And the musicianship is excellent here. The Mesh of Rick Danko's vocals and the horns on "Unfaithful Servent" are moving in ways that only the best pop music can be; and Richard Manuel's soft but Strong tenor, coupled with Levon Helm's harmonies on "Whispering Pines," is literally capable of twisting something inside my gut. The role of producer and engineer John Simon shouldn't be downplayed, either. Though he wasn't an official member of the Band, he also played tuba, horn, keyboards and the peck horn and had a lot to do with the sound of the music. This is an finely-tuned album created by road-seasoned professionals, but there's also a looseness and a feeling of a pick-up game. That kind of duality flows through the whole thing: it has songs about the Civil War, unions, sailors, flat-footing, slaves, crops... and yet it was recorded primarily in the cabana by the pool at a Beverly Hills mansion once owned by Sammy Davis, Jr. What it all adds up to is the perfect music for a drive through the country, an afternoon of leaf raking, or a really festive pre-Thanksgiving party. It's a true classic. An American Tale I hadn't thought about The Band in years. My main music passion is, if you can believe it, late 70's and early 80's British Punk. But the Band, what about the Band? I grew up listening to them. My Dad was a huge fan. I then read "Mystery Train" by Greil Marcus and his essay on The Band intriuged me. Then, I heard about the re-releases. I picked up this album, mainly because it's the one I had heard the most in my youth. I can say it Truly is the masterpiece everyone says it is. It is amazing...a piece of pure Americana. It encompasses so many styles, discussed in reviews throughout this page. I feel it's centerpiece is the haunting "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". And for me to say that, it really means something. See, I'm an Irish Catholic kid from Illinois. I have quite a few Southern friends of whom I make fun of, good-naturedly, quite a bit. I poke at their southern pride and the "South Will Rise Again" attitudes. I saw the South as villans during the Civil War and would argue until the end that Southerners were backwards and misguided. Greil Marcus wrote something to the effect that he couldn't fathom a Northerner listening to "Dixie" without being changed in some way. He was right. Virgil Kane's sad tale, sung beautifully by Helm, made me realize what my freiends had spoke about. These were proud people, and their story isn't so much different from ours. They fought for what they believed in, too. It's a sad song, but Virgil Kane simply presents it as it is...this is what happened, this is my story. He attempts to judge no one, but the war has changed everyone. I still don't subscribe to the politics of the Old South, but I understand them better, all because of this song. For any rock-n-roll fan, this album is Truly worth owning. Still unsurpassed after all these years I doubt that any single album has so many great songs played so well. I've come back to this album time and again over the last XX years and it's never disappointed me. At a time when most popular music was permutating the basic guitar-bass-drums line-up, The Band were blending those instruments with reeds, horns and keyboards. Using a tuba as the bass on Rag Mama Rag, no less The sound is simultaneously rough yet sophisticated. The singing blends sweetness and hard edge. Rural but definitely not country. For music lovers born in the 50s and 60s (and maybe earlier) this album is an absolute sure-fire must-have. For those born later, I wonder whether it sounds as compelling - years of multi-track recording and studio wizardry have raised the taste for smoothness so this one might be a tad too grainy for them. The version I have is the unremastered CD. I wonder about the additional tracks on this one - more can sometimes diminish the perfect integrity of a great album. If record companies want to give the fans a little extra, bless them, then I personally would prefer them on a 2nd CD. Buy Band Band at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
