1-0 Reviews
The Band
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Albums: |
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Links:
The Band
Very informative fan site |
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Albums: |
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Links:
The Band
Very informative fan site |
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The story of The Band is almost as folkloric as the studies in Americana of their music. In the early Sixties, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel comprised classic rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins' tooring band. They played hundreds of shows backing Hawkins, and eventually took on the name of The Hawks. After a few years, The Hawks abandoned Hawkins, and bacame an entity unto themselves. They played mostly old R&B and rock-n-roll in a Sun City vein. At one of their gigs, they were noticed by Bob Dylan, who promptly hired them as his backing band.
The Hawks began backing Dylan in 1965, though didn't actually record with him until 1966, and more extensively on The Basement Tapes (1967), by which time they had changed their name to, simply, The Band. Actually, Helm had left by that point due to constant negative reaction on tour from the folk-purist Dylan audiences, but was coaxed back into the fold when The Band was recording at a house called Big Pink, in Woodstock, with Dylan, and preparing for a record of their own. After Tapes, in 1968, The Band went into the studio as a self-contained unit for the first time, and the rest is history. |
Music from Big Pink1968
Robbie Robertson:
Rick Danko:
Levon Helm:
Garth Hudson:
Richard Manuel: |
Debut album from the legendary roots-rock ensemble.
The music The Band made changed the face of rock in the Sixties and thereafter. Where most artists at the time were immersed in either psychedelia or "message music", The Band made a bee-line for the traditional. Be it from folk, country, gospel, or just good old rock-n-roll, everything about their sound flew in the face of trends, and didn't go unnoticed by many music critcs, or the group's peers. It's tempting to give them credit for the whole "back to basics" shift post-Sgt. Pepper and Tommy taken by bands such as The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and The Rolling Stones, but to say the least, they have certainly cemented their place in rock history as one of the most influential and distinct acts to ever record.
Representative tracksTears of Rage: Manuel and Bob Dylan penned this tune during the Basement Tapes period, and the group gives it its definiteve reading here. Manuel may have been their most expressive singer, and perfectly captures the feeling of grief and loss of the parents in the song. Leading the album off with an emotional, bluesy catharsis like this was completely out of the ordinary, and set the tone for the everything to come. The Weight: Robertson's classic ode to the peril of accepting responsibility for other people. Helm takes the lead, and the "Take a load off Fanny" refrain is arguably the group's most well known. This tune exudes that old-time feel which characterized The Band for most people, though Robertson claims that it was inspired by the surrealism of Luis Buñuel's films. Chest Fever: There weren't any real guitar solos on the album (another oddity for the time), but the group did kick out a few jams. This tune became a concert staple -- music for the band to stretch out and just have fun. The opening keyboard exhibition (which later evolved into a separate piece called "The Genetic Method" in concert) gives way to a simple riff, with Helm's snare firmly establishing the backbeat. Then, Danko comes in with a funky bassline, and they're off. The lyrics don't really mean too much, and the whole thing sounds like a small party. |
The Band1969
Robbie Robertson:
Rick Danko:
Levon Helm:
Garth Hudson:
Richard Manuel:
with |
After Big Pink, The Band were thrust into the spotlight via admiration from artists such as Eric Clapton and George Harrison, not to mention rock critics everywhere. For their second album, they decided to expand on the rootsy, almost old-time feel of some of the music on the first album, making a kind of timeless American folk music. They relocated to Los Angeles, holed up in an old mansion, and recorded by most accounts their best work.
John Simon produced, and could be said to have been the sixth member of The Band. Never before had a group of five men made such a wide variety of sounds, and Simon's arrangement skills, as well as his proficiency on various instruments (check out the rollicking tuba on "Rag Mama Rag") greatly expanded the palet of sounds at their disposal. For the music, not much can be said other than it is some of the finest roots rock ever recorded, and should stand as one of the best records of the 60s.
Representative tracksAcross the Great Divide: The album starts off with a bang on this rather euphoric tune. It's immediately apparent that Robertson's songwriting and melodicism had taken off since the debut, and the group sounds ultra-tight. Up tempo shuffle, tasty horn licks, classic Fats Domino piano figures, and it actually adds up to more than the sum of its stellar parts. The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down: Helm takes the lead on this paen to the broken, post-Civil War South. If ever pop music is timeless, this is it. The tune seems to drag by its ankles, Helm's mournful wail is perfect -- Robertson's ability to match the singer to the song was a gift -- and the sheer epic reach of the song is almost overwhelming. A masterpiece, perhaps. King Harvest: Funky, uplifting song is a tribute to the struggling worker's faith in the union. If that sounds a little on the folkish side, don't despair; the groove takes over whatever preachiness the lyric might exude. However, it's not preachy, it's just good story telling. Also, be on the lookout for one of Robertson's better guitar solos at the fadeout. |
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