The Band - The Band
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Free Music Notes for The Band
Free Music Review: If you could only have one . . . .
Hit: 5 Stars
If you could only own one Band album (which I hope never happens to you), this is probably the one. Actually, if you could only own one album by anybody, this one is pretty much up there too. For a band with three other essential albums (Music from Big Pink, Stage Fright, and Northern Lights - Southern Cross), The Band had to work pretty hard to earn it's place as the group's top recording. If you don't own this record, all I can say is "buy it as fast as you can." It's a classic, influential work of songwriting, playing, singing, and production genius as well as a portal from mainstream rock to the rockabilly, country, gospel, folk and blues that it synthesizes.
There's not one weak cut on this album--from the soulful, uptempo openers to the classic anthem "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down," the back-porch "Rockin' Chair" and the heavenly funky "King Harvest," the album flows seamlessly from start to finish like some sort of time travel experiment in which somebody took a time machine to 1865 and brought rock and roll along with them. Guitarist Robbie Robertson's songwriting was never as consistently good--the songs range from narrative stories like "Dixie," and "Rockin' Chair," to more humorous stream-of-consciousness lyrics like "Across the Great Divide" and "Rag Mama Rag," as well as more oblique numbers like "Unfaithful Servant." Drummer Levon Helm and pianist Richard Manuel contribute as well on several numbers, notably "Jemima Surrender" (Helm) and the heartwrenching, soulful, "Whispering Pines" (Manuel).
What makes this album so classic is the combination of great songwriting with an unmatched blend of musical virtuosity and variety. Robbie Robertson's guitar is biting and original, full of between-vocal fills and pinched harmonics as well as some really resonant acoustic work. He's a master at understatement, usually eschewing solos for lead that supports the song as well as the vocalist while at the same time remaining oh-so wicked ("King Harvest" anybody?). Levon Helm's drumming is so fat it sounds like he's in the room with you, and his combination of heavy funk with the mostly folky music accounts for a large portion of this album's unique sound. Rick Danko has always been an underrated bassist, backing up Helm's funky drums with an equally funky bass bottom that grooves and gets deep at all the right moments. Richard Manuel's piano is solid, though he's easily outshone when Garth Hudson tears across the keys on songs like "Rag Mama Rag" and "Jemima Surrender." Hudson represents a one man musical army, unmatched in virtuosity--his unmistakable, agile Lowrey organ lines typified the Band's sound for their entire career, but he was also adept at playing pretty much any instrument he got his hands on, including melodica, clavinette, some of the raunchiest saxophone ever laid down on a rock record, trumpet and accordion. Most bands would have killed to get a musician like Hudson into their group, and his talents aren't wasted here, bringing class and jaw-dropping keyboard lines to the aforementioned tunes as well as "Look Out Cleveland."
The final ingredient to the other-worldly magic that makes up this album is the fact that The Band had three of the best vocalists of the early rock era, using them each as lead vocalists as well as backing singers in gorgeous harmony combinations that showcase each singer's unique vocal timbre. Levon Helm (lead on "Up On Cripple Creek"), the group's only American member, contributes the Southern flavor, soulfully croaking out lead vocals that evoke good times, the anguish of Confederate soldiers and some irreverent debauchery. Rick Danko's country-inflected vocals (lead on "Unfaithful Servant") crack with palpable emotion and provide the sugar-sweet, high-range harmonies on many of the tracks. Last and most impressively, Richard Manuel (lead on "Whispering Pines") possessed a truly priceless set of vocal chords, capable of deep, resonant power ("Jawbone"), unbelievable texture ("King Harvest") and a heavenly, bellowing falsetto that still makes my hair stand on end ("Whispering Pines"). These voices are the stuff dreams are made of, and they rotate back and forth, showcasing each singer's talents and deftly matching each singer with the song he sings.
I also have to mention John Simon's production--this record feels and sounds so organic, like everything is happening live in a small room. The texture is so clear and rich, and the record's woody, thick low-end still rocks and grooves just as hard as the Band wanted it to when they originally recorded this gem.
The bonus tracks on this album aren't truly essential, except maybe the studio take of "Get Up Jake," a live favorite. Instead, they mostly help prolong the magic, providing slightly different alternate takes that reveal different vocal nuances and less polished products along with a window into the Band's creative process.
This record is so good I can't recommend it enough, truth be told. It influenced so many other artists and still sounds so fresh and unique today that it really is a must-own album that belongs in your collection to be heard, reheard, and treasured for years and years to come.
Free Music Review: 40 years on
Hit: 5 Stars
Probably not a great deal has been mentioned about 2009 being the 40th anniversary of the Band's second and finest album. This is not surprising given that they were often overshadowed by more image-oriented, commercially accesible, and generally less interesting bands at the time. I myself recently noted 2009 being the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's first two albums, but this was more of a tongue in cheek gesture as opposed to the adulatory yelps of sycophantic fandom that the Zeppelin review page is replete with. When I accurately criticized Zep as being derivative of blues music, a fanatical type commented underneath quipping that everything in music is derivative of everything. I think it's important to distinguish the difference between influences and derivation as that commentator was unable to do. He was a little overwhelmed by what I had said in my review and clearly out of his depth.
Back to the point, The Band had literally an incalcuable array of styles they incorporated into their performance during their ten years or so of existence. That a single group could perform such a wide variety of music, from elements of country, folk, rockabilly, occasionally even soul and hard rock, is perhaps most attributable to the individual members that made up the Band, their own disparate interests, and the fact that they all were multi-instrumentalists (save Robertson). This then is the first thing that makes the Band special. It is not that any one of their myriad musical influences originated with them, but rather the several different parts (extraordinarily wide by rock standards) combined to create a truly innovative and unique sound. Certainly unlike anything else going on in the late 60's. This was a group interested in making quality music as opposed to following behind whatever banner of any of the sundry collections of fad rock going on at the time.
The second key ingredient here is the voices. Three lead singers, all unlike each other and pretty much unlike any other voice in rock music at the time. A lot of bands struggle to produce a single interesting vocalist, this group had three. The rough, raspy, southern drawl of Levon Helm complemented the songs he sang in a way that no one else would have been able to ("Dixie" being the supreme example). Rick Danko, somewhat higher than the others, but capable of producing at times an incredibly impassioned delivery (the live version of "It Makes No Difference" off of the Last Waltz). I don't know whether it's coincidental or not, but many newer singers, particularly of the folk/rock sort of persuasion sound to me very reminiscent of Danko. Thirdly, my personal favorite, Richard Manuel. I don't think there's another singer with a wider range than Manuel in the rock/pop genre. Deep and soulful, sometimes deep and menacing. Sometimes high and soulful, sometimes high and menacing. Sometimes everything in between. Many of my favorite songs from the Band owe as much to Manuel's vocals as anything else.
Thirdly, the songwriting. Unique for the time to be sure, but it remains if not singularly unique, at least still warrants praise for its unusual quality and high degree of intelligence. Robertson's songs are historical/literary in nature, but the emphasis is usually on the historical. "The Night They Drive Old Dixie Down", a reaction to the end of the Civil War from the loser's perspective is probably the greatest example. "King Harvest" which deals with the formation of unions in response to labor abuses and more specifically in this case, the smothering of small farmers. Elsewhere, "Across The Great Divide" and "The Unfaithful Servant", although probably not as well known as "Dixie", are nonetheless two of Robertson's finest historical narrative songs in my opinion. Conversely, some tracks place the emphasis on a literary quality, that is a character based lyric. The outstanding example of this, "Rockin' Chair". It is not often that a songwriter of 25, as Robertson was at the time, speculates on old age and a bygone era by virtue of creating a lyric and character in a music performance. Ray Davies of the Kinks is one of the few that I can think of. Also of note is a track that doesn't really fit any of the above descriptions of Robertson's songwriting and that may be because it was co-written by Richard Manuel. The haunting, piano lead "Whispering Pines" is one of the finest and most overlooked Band songs. That's the importance of this album which can't be stressed enough. A compilation won't cover it. You may get the best known ones, but you'll miss out some real gems; "Whispering Pines", "Rockin' Chair", "When You Awake", etc.
Free Music Review: Essential listening - a perfect album in every way
Hit: 5 Stars
N.B. The official review above is somewhat misleading as it is written as if Joan Baez composed "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" from this album; she did not. Robbie Robertson, guitarist of the band is the composer for anyone who didn't already know. Anyway, now to the important stuff...Having had this album for a couple of months I find myself in a far more settled place in which to write a review that I know I can stand by for good. This band is absolutely essential, in the way that the Beatles, Elvis, Cash, Springsteen, the Stones, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye etc. etc. are essential. They captured in its purest form a method of storytelling that still has as much potency and passion now as it ever did back in the late 1960's. This, in my estimations (as well as many, many other musicians and music-lovers) forcefully eclipses any of the "classic" albums at the time (St. Peppers and Pet Sounds being the most acclaimed) in every single way.
From the stunning sway of "Across the Great Divide", right through to the undeniable anguish of "King Harvest", each song tells a vivid and engaging story, sung with such passion and played with such amazing talent, that this is simply the most artistically important album of the 20th century (in my eyes at the very least; I know at least some people agree).
If nobody knows the members of the Band, prepare to be engaged in the kind of enthralling empathy that no other band I have come across has yet instilled in me...
The Band consists of three vocalists; Richard Manuel (Pianist), Rick Danko (bassist) and Levon Helm (drummer), of which Richard was most definitely the lead. His voice is truly inspiring, breathtaking, and (once you know his fate) absolutely heartbreaking. Listen to "Whispering Pines" or "Rockin' Chair" off this album and you will know what I mean... indeed, buy the "Classic Albums" dvd of this to see just what sort of impact Richard had on the music and people involved with the Band. For those of you who do not know the Band, Richard committed suicide back in 1986 while touring with the reunited (ex-Robertson) band.
Let's not forget the force of the other vocalists and musicians within however, because each made a massive impact upon the music that came out of the "Big Pink" and "Band" sessions. The most impressive songs on this album are, without doubt "Across The Great Divide", "...Dixie...", "Unfaithful Servant", "Whispering Pines", "Rockin' Chair" and "When You Awake", all bona-fide classics. The other songs are just as impressive once you know the Band's music, but are a little more dense in scope and may take a few listens to fully appreciate.
Helm, a superb drummer, singer, and mandolin player, sings "Dixie" with the kind of passion nobody from out of the South of the US could. It's undeniable and frighteningly haunting. Similarly, Danko (also deceased) puts in superb vocal performances on "When You Awake" and "Unfaithful Servant".
All the musicians (except Robertson, who wrote nearly all the songs) are exceptional multi-instrumentalists who exhibit the kind of genius (and that includes Robertsons' guitar playing and songwriting) that maybe just one part of every classic band has; the disturbing thing is that every member of this band has it in spades.
The music itself is breathtaking in scope, not because of its component parts (although they too are magical), but because of the force and complexity of the textures that these musicians created... created, may I add, in the midst of post "St. Peppers" flimsy and whimsical psychedelia, and not scarred in any way by it (as much of the late 60's, early 70's music was). The underbelly of the songs is based upon Helm's substantial drumming, Danko's persistent and beautiful bass and Garth Hudson's complex textures of hammond and Clavinette.
This is timeless music for timeless troubles, music we can all grasp something from, whether it is hope, empathy, sadness, (envy!), or simple inspiration and respect.
Once of the very few "perfect" rock albums, in my opinion far greater than any album that came out of the '60's or 70's and simply one of the most awe-inspiring examples of songwriting, storytelling and musicianship that you will ever bear witness to.
Timeless and essential.
Free Music Review: The Best non-British Rock Record Ever Made
Hit: 5 Stars
I wasn't born in this country. Although I've lived here most of my life, there are still times when I feel like an outsider, as when someone tries to tell me that American football is a better game than soccer. Whenever I get hit with such an absurdity, there's always one route through which I can reconnect with this country, and start to understand it.
The Band's self-titled second album encapsules everything you need to know about America. No one has ever described the American psyche more perfectly. No roots or Americana act of the past decade comes close to approaching its cohesiveness or down home feel. It's undoubtedly the best non-British rock album ever made; it may be the best one by anyone other than the Beatles. Few records have ever worked on so many levels - musically, lyrically, and most importantly, the ambience.
Quick history lesson: By the time the Band released their first album in 1968, they had spent many years as a backup act, most notably for Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. All that time on the road gave them an almost telepathic ability to interact, and though they were a rock band, they integrated American music in all of its forms, from Dixieland to folk. With three lead vocalists, and the ability to play a multitude of instruments, they had an arsenal of weapons from which to choose. They were four-fifths Canadian, a fact which makes their ability to nail American culture so perfectly even more amazing.
Although not a concept album, the songs that guitarist Robbie Robertson wrote for 1969's "The Band" seem to take place mostly in the American South and West, sometime between the Civil War and the Great Depression - the time of Pax Americana, when the nation was struggling to find its identity. The characters in the songs - retired sailors sitting on their front porch, defeated Confederate soldiers, farm workers, petty thieves - all seem to be part of events over which they have no control. If this is history, it's history told by those who lived through it, not by those who made the decisions.
The best-known song here, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," illustrates the point. The song is told in the voice of a Confederate soldier involved in a little-known, but historically accurate, action. A series of riveting images, it conveys as much in three-and-a-half minutes as Ken Burns' entire PBS mini-series. Significantly, it's sung by Levon Helm, the Band's only American member, and a Southerner to boot.
If "Dixie" is the heart of "The Band", the last two songs take the album to another level. "The Unfaithful Servant" may be the saddest song I've ever heard. Intentionally ambiguous, (the time, place, and exact offense are never specified), it's the story of a once-trusted servant dismissed from his job. Rick Danko enunciates each lyric as if his life depends on it, wringing emotion from every line. Garth Hudson's saxophone solo is appropriately mournful, and Robertson picks his strings like a buzzard attacking a carcass.
"King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" closes the record, Richard Manuel's vocal relating tales of desperate farmers trapped in the Great Depression. It's full of stunning images ("I'm glad to pay those union dues - just don't judge me by my shoes"), and when Hudson's organ illustrates the line "Listen to the rice when the wind blows 'cross the water," you honestly hear it. The song ends with one of Robertson's most expressive electric guitar solos, a masterpiece of restraint that suddenly explodes.
"The Band" may have more packed into it than most history theses, but it's hardly bland. There's a playful sexuality running through many of the songs that somehow comes across as naive, not lewd. Consciously or not, the back cover photo makes the Band look like they're from 1929, not 1969. The record is that timeless.
Free Music Review: One of the Best Albums EVER
Hit: 5 Stars
When the Band recorded this in 1969 the Band had already recorded a masterpiece, Music From Big Pink. This album takes the Americana concept a step further. The album is overflowing with music drenched in Americana and rock. And the lyrics in this album are absolutely amazing. They are up to par with the master, Bob Dylan. They are all about people, places and different times. The album is about the average man. It is a concept album lyrically and musically. Following is a song by song review.
1. Across the Great Divide - 9 out of 10. This song is a great song to start the album. Very Happy and fun lyrics.
2. Rag Mama Rag - 10 out of 10. This song is fantastic. The way the mandolin and the fiddle are used in this song. This is a great example of the Band not being afraid to use different instruments in a rock song.
3. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - 10 out of 10. This is one of the best songs on the record. The drumming and piano parts are powerful and the lyrics on the civil war are some of the best Robbie Robertson ever wrote.
4. When you awake - 9 out of 10. This song is one of my favorites and I think the guitar really holds this song together. This song has a great chorus and hook filled verses.
5. Up On Cripple Creek - 10 out of 10. This is one of the Bands best known songs. Absolutely awesome chorus and it is a classic.
6. Whispering Pines - 5 out of 10. This is the only song on the record that I don't like. It has no hook and has uninteresting lyrics.
7. Jeminia Surrender - 10 out of 10. This song is just a rocker fun lyrics. Who doesn't like that?
8. Rockin' Chair - 9 out of 10. This song has really great lyrics and really cool instrumentation. When a song this great isn't the best song on the album you know it's a really great album.
9. Look out Clevland - 10 out of 10. Another really cool rocker. Robertson's guitar and Danko's bass really hold down this song down.
10. Jawbone - 9 out of 10. This song has a couple of musical shifts in it. It is one of the only ones written by Richard Manuel on the whole album. It is also very cool lyrically.
11. Unfaithful Servant - 9 out of 10. This slow tune if filled with great lyrics and a really cool horn section. The guitar part by Robertson is also really great.
12. King Harvest (Has Surely Come) - 10 out of 10. This song is one of the highlights of the record. The lyrics are great and the instruments really bring this song together. The vocals are also great. This song is a great end to the great album.
This album is one of the great albums of the greatest musical decade ever. And if you want a treat you should try and find the take of "Get Up Jake" that the Band recorded for this album.