The Band - The Band
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Free Music Notes for The Band
Free Music Review: Classic Album
Hit: 5 Stars
I do not know what the previous review is talking about. This is one of the best albums ever recorded. It is one of the few where you can put it on and listen all the way through without a single bad song. The unreleased songs available on this cd are worth the price itself, and this album should be picked up by anyone who knows what good music really is. The album itself has hints of country and rock in it, and when broken down it is nothing more that simple, american roots music. Great listening no matter who you are. "Rocin Chair" makes it worth the price of the cd alone.Free Music Review: The Band's finest hour
Hit: 5 Stars
The Band had been playing together for a decade, including a tenure as Bob Dylan's highly esteemed backing group, when they finally cut their debut album in 1968. The resulting "Music From Big Pink" was a remarkable album, but this one, 1969's "brown album", is even better.
The Band is a bit of acquired taste, but once you're into their sound, it doesn't get much better than this. "The Band" (the album I mean) is a singular blend of rock, folk, blues and country, and it includes some of the Canadian-American ensemble's finest songs. The dominant instrument on "Music From Big Pink" was Garth Hudson's icy and majestic organ, and while that still has a prominent place on "The Band", it now often shares centre stage with Richard Manuel's piano, and the importance of Levon Helm's superb, versatile drumming is very clear.
The Band's vocal harmonies weren't subtle and sophisticated like those of, say, the Beach Boys; rather the three singers (Manuel, Danko and Helm) traded off lines seemingly off-handedly, as if they were making up the blend of lead and harmony vocals on the spot.
Expressive tenor Richard Manuel performs excellent, soulful lead vocals on the wonderful opener "Across The Great Divide" and the underrated "When You Awake", a lyrical, swinging folk-rock ballad. And rougher-voiced drummer Levon Helm sings the two best-known songs off the album, the New Orleans-styled semi-R&B of "Up On Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", Canadian Robbie Robertson's everlasting epos about Civil War veteran Virgil Caine who served on the Danville supply train (fittingly enough, with Helm being the only Southener, and indeed the only American, in the band).
Other highlights include the gorgeous "Whispering Pines", a piano ballad with textured organ phrases from Garth Hudson, the swinging country-rock of Levon Helm's "Jemima Surrender", the rocking, up-tempo numbers "Rag Mama Rag" and "Look Out Cleveland", and the odd but fascinating "King Harvest", filled with powerful imagery.
And the remastered year 2000 reissue includes no fewer than seven bonus tracks, including alternate versions of "Rag Mama Rag", "Up On Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", as well as the outtake "Get Up Jake" which had previously been released only as a live recording.
"The Band" is The Band's (!) greatest record, a genuine masterpiece, highly personal and endlessly original. They made other excellent albums, but they never topped this one, which sparked an interest in them equalled only by the critics' fascination with Bob Dylan and The Beatles.
Free Music Review: Did The Band write better songs than Dylan and the Beatles?
Hit: 5 Stars
I think so. They absorbed Dylan's lyrical approach completely, threw away the bad parts, and made it better by adding musicianship...unlike the Beatles, they didn't dick around with psychedelic delusions, but made ordinary life wonderful instead.
This album is so good I almost can't stand it. It is literally overflowing with integrity, strength, and hope. It simply doesn't get any better than this. How dare they write songs this good.
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: Greatest Album Ever
Hit: 5 Stars
That said, I wanted to respond to the Canadian's post which contradicted the statement that The Band's music is genuinely American, stating that it is completely Canadian because 4 of the 5 members were born in Canada. Right, you can hear all their great Canadian influences like Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elvis and Bob Dylan. And when the started playing rockibilly as the Hawks that was certainly born out of the old tent shows of Ontario, not brought up from Arkansas by Ronnie Hawkins and Levon. Regardless of where these fellas may have been born, there is no music is more truly American than theirs, especially their stuff on this particular album.