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Music : The Band
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Rating: 
- A genuine classic that should occupy a space in every collection
There are albums that should be included in everybody's collection. Now by this i don,t mean albums that are purely subjective(Though you could say all albums are) . By that i mean the obscure things like Fra Lippo Lippi,s "Songs" or Downy Mildews debut album. Then there are albums like The Bands eponymous second album. True classics ( 45th on Rolling Stones list of the best 500 albums of all time though there are some right clinkers in amongst that lot) universally accepted as great albums by all and sundry.
Released in September 1969 the album saw Robbie Robertson take over the mantle as the groups principle song-writer. For the debut album "Music From The Big Pink" song writing duties had been shared between Robertson and Richard Manuel but there are only three shared song-writing credits -the gorgeous ballad "Whispering Pines", "Jawbone" and "When You Awake". Actually that's not strictly true as "Jemima Surrender" is penned by Levon Helm and Robertson.
This album is viewed by some as concept album about old America- it,s traditions , people and places features suitable instrumentation. Rick Danko plays bass, fiddle and trombone while Levon Helm plays drums, mandolin and rhythm guitar. Garth Hudson , a true multi instrumentalist, though it,s fair to say Danko and helm are too, contributes organ ,clavinet, piano, accordion, saxophones, trumpet and bass pedals. The playing and singing by the three vocalists Robertson, Helm and Danko-especially the harmonies is exemplary and helps makes this album such an enriching musical experience.
Of course it helps that the level of song writing is so extraordinarily good. There is a wealth of traditional and (For then) contemporary styles absorbed into these songs. Indeed The Band is possibly the finest Americana album ever released , many years before Americana became a justifiable musical tag , thanks to music magazines like Uncut. Songs like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "When You Awake", "Across The Great Divide" and "King Harvest(Has Surely Come)" resonate with empathy and ravaged emotion . The vocal performances are simply stunning with on Levon Helms rougher edged tones on "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Whispering Pines" being especially outstanding .
Some reviewers of this album have been sniffy about other supposed classics as a way of heaping ever more fulsome praise on The Band which seems a rather disingenuous method of lauding it. By any criteria this is a tremendous album, and fully desrves the most lavish fulminations anyone can heap upon it. It should be, as is stated earlier in any discerning music fans collection. There is however, no need to slag of other bands to prove the point .The Band more than eloquently speaks for itself.
Rating: - Inventors of Americana
The Band did something quite new (and quite old) with there early albums (and this is the best of them). They took traditional forms of folk music and gave them a modern edge.
In doing so they more or less invented the form now referred to as Americana. They differed from others who were influenced by old time American music in that they stamped their own personalities all over the form and thus became amongst the most influential musicians of their era.
This influence persists to this day. Just look at the Americana selections in any music outlet
Rating: - Crème de la crème
Although the sound on this album is not as good & groovy as on some later Band albums, song-wise this is easily their masterpiece. 12 songs and not a single clunker among them.
Enough said. Get it now.
Rating: - Even I like it and I'm not a fan
The first time I heard The Band was when my sister bought their single, 'Rag Mama Rag'. As a short-trousered nipper used to The Beatles, I found it a bit dour, but these days when I hear the fiddle-riffing at the beginning, I have a chuckle. I confess to being unimpressed by their supposedly-classic 'Big Pink' debut which sounds not dry so much as dehydrated. But I can't resist this album. It's got every imaginable style that comes under the banner of Americana and as The Band seem to be able to play every instrument imaginable that's not surprising.
In terms of songwriting, it's almost Robbie Robertson's album and the material is first-rate throughout. Vivid and melodic, you're taken on a ride through the roots of American music. 'The Band' has that hallmark of most classic albums, the feel of being in its own world, one that can never be replicated. There are numerous instances of uniqueness within the songs too: has there ever been a harmony vocal arrangement as endearing as the one that opens 'Jawbone', for instance? Then there's the emphatic, deeply satisfying album closer, 'King Harvest'.
'The Band' is a marvellous blend of memorable tunes, great stories and observations, served up in an appetising array of styles. I'll be surprised if they've done anything better.
Rating: - If you find me in a gloom, or catch me in a dream............
Whatever my state of mind, the music from this outstanding album is always with me. I've always been a rock fan and a blues fan and had always somewhat looked down on country music. Now, this isn't country music - it encapsulates elements of blues, rock and roll, folk, bluegrass and country - but it provides me with an appreciation of country music that I've never had before. I will never stop listening to this music, it means so much to me. Richard Manuel seems to open his heart to you. You can really feel the emotion in "Whispering Pines" and the desperation in "King Harvest". Rick Danko shines through on "Unfaithful Servant" with Levon Helm at his funky best on "Up On Cripple Creek" and at his womanising greatest on "Jemima Surrender". The difference between the three voices really determines the feel of the songs. There's no way that you could take Helm seriously if he were singing "Whispering Pines" and, likewise, Manuel would be unconvincing if singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Finally a word about Garth Hudson - simply the most creative and diverse musician in modern music.
- A genuine classic that should occupy a space in every collectionThere are albums that should be included in everybody's collection. Now by this i don,t mean albums that are purely subjective(Though you could say all albums are) . By that i mean the obscure things like Fra Lippo Lippi,s "Songs" or Downy Mildews debut album. Then there are albums like The Bands eponymous second album. True classics ( 45th on Rolling Stones list of the best 500 albums of all time though there are some right clinkers in amongst that lot) universally accepted as great albums by all and sundry.
Released in September 1969 the album saw Robbie Robertson take over the mantle as the groups principle song-writer. For the debut album "Music From The Big Pink" song writing duties had been shared between Robertson and Richard Manuel but there are only three shared song-writing credits -the gorgeous ballad "Whispering Pines", "Jawbone" and "When You Awake". Actually that's not strictly true as "Jemima Surrender" is penned by Levon Helm and Robertson.
This album is viewed by some as concept album about old America- it,s traditions , people and places features suitable instrumentation. Rick Danko plays bass, fiddle and trombone while Levon Helm plays drums, mandolin and rhythm guitar. Garth Hudson , a true multi instrumentalist, though it,s fair to say Danko and helm are too, contributes organ ,clavinet, piano, accordion, saxophones, trumpet and bass pedals. The playing and singing by the three vocalists Robertson, Helm and Danko-especially the harmonies is exemplary and helps makes this album such an enriching musical experience.
Of course it helps that the level of song writing is so extraordinarily good. There is a wealth of traditional and (For then) contemporary styles absorbed into these songs. Indeed The Band is possibly the finest Americana album ever released , many years before Americana became a justifiable musical tag , thanks to music magazines like Uncut. Songs like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "When You Awake", "Across The Great Divide" and "King Harvest(Has Surely Come)" resonate with empathy and ravaged emotion . The vocal performances are simply stunning with on Levon Helms rougher edged tones on "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Whispering Pines" being especially outstanding .
Some reviewers of this album have been sniffy about other supposed classics as a way of heaping ever more fulsome praise on The Band which seems a rather disingenuous method of lauding it. By any criteria this is a tremendous album, and fully desrves the most lavish fulminations anyone can heap upon it. It should be, as is stated earlier in any discerning music fans collection. There is however, no need to slag of other bands to prove the point .The Band more than eloquently speaks for itself.
Rating:
- Inventors of AmericanaThe Band did something quite new (and quite old) with there early albums (and this is the best of them). They took traditional forms of folk music and gave them a modern edge.
In doing so they more or less invented the form now referred to as Americana. They differed from others who were influenced by old time American music in that they stamped their own personalities all over the form and thus became amongst the most influential musicians of their era.
This influence persists to this day. Just look at the Americana selections in any music outlet
Rating:
- Crème de la crèmeAlthough the sound on this album is not as good & groovy as on some later Band albums, song-wise this is easily their masterpiece. 12 songs and not a single clunker among them.
Enough said. Get it now.
Rating:
- Even I like it and I'm not a fanThe first time I heard The Band was when my sister bought their single, 'Rag Mama Rag'. As a short-trousered nipper used to The Beatles, I found it a bit dour, but these days when I hear the fiddle-riffing at the beginning, I have a chuckle. I confess to being unimpressed by their supposedly-classic 'Big Pink' debut which sounds not dry so much as dehydrated. But I can't resist this album. It's got every imaginable style that comes under the banner of Americana and as The Band seem to be able to play every instrument imaginable that's not surprising.
In terms of songwriting, it's almost Robbie Robertson's album and the material is first-rate throughout. Vivid and melodic, you're taken on a ride through the roots of American music. 'The Band' has that hallmark of most classic albums, the feel of being in its own world, one that can never be replicated. There are numerous instances of uniqueness within the songs too: has there ever been a harmony vocal arrangement as endearing as the one that opens 'Jawbone', for instance? Then there's the emphatic, deeply satisfying album closer, 'King Harvest'.
'The Band' is a marvellous blend of memorable tunes, great stories and observations, served up in an appetising array of styles. I'll be surprised if they've done anything better.
Rating:
- If you find me in a gloom, or catch me in a dream............Whatever my state of mind, the music from this outstanding album is always with me. I've always been a rock fan and a blues fan and had always somewhat looked down on country music. Now, this isn't country music - it encapsulates elements of blues, rock and roll, folk, bluegrass and country - but it provides me with an appreciation of country music that I've never had before. I will never stop listening to this music, it means so much to me. Richard Manuel seems to open his heart to you. You can really feel the emotion in "Whispering Pines" and the desperation in "King Harvest". Rick Danko shines through on "Unfaithful Servant" with Levon Helm at his funky best on "Up On Cripple Creek" and at his womanising greatest on "Jemima Surrender". The difference between the three voices really determines the feel of the songs. There's no way that you could take Helm seriously if he were singing "Whispering Pines" and, likewise, Manuel would be unconvincing if singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Finally a word about Garth Hudson - simply the most creative and diverse musician in modern music.