The Bottom Line: If you haven't heard The Band, you should. If you don't want to, you should prepare yourself for the realisation that you missed out on something huge and terribly affecting.
believableblue's Full Review: Music from Big Pink [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] by T...
The Band seem to be one of those bands that only true music lovers know about. I am ashamed as I only discovered them recently through my girlfriend's uncle. Boy was I missing out. Since my recent foray into their engaging, timeless and often jaw-dropping music, I have discovered that this group of musicians are amongst the most talented ever to have graced the history of recorded music.
Given the fact that within the band there were 3 main singers (all of which have disturbingly good voices), the breadth of the work they created is simply stunning. This, their first album, is a bit of a masterpiece; generally people either claim this or their follow-up ("The Band") as their crowning glory; I tend to think they are on a par with each other. I saw a review here that said Robertson was as prolific a writer as Dylan. True. But there is one thing that was unstated; Robertson was not the absolute force behind the band.
The Band consisted of five unequivocal geniuses of their respective instruments. Levon Helm (drummer) is not only one of the best drummers of his era (I remember reading a review where someone stated he was the only drummer who could make you cry), he also has one of the most textured and engaging voices to come out of the 60's and 70's. Similarly, Richard Manuel (once acknowledged by Helm to be the real frontman) , pianist and second singer has a beautifully rich voice and a stunning capability for driving the song with his piano skills. Third, bassist Rick Danko has a sweet and emotive voice of the kind you will not have heard before. On songs such as "It Makes No Difference" from the Stage Fright album (actually best heard on "The Last Waltz", live) his voice stirs something approaching heart-breaking emotion. It is the mix of the three voices that keeps The Band's music so excessively refreshing. They don't create the perfection of Beach Boys harmonies, but their music (and harmonies) are something so much more vivid and encapsulating of what it is to be human.
They sing about real lives, they tell stories we can all identify with. At the same time when the Beatles were diverging into half-hearted psychedelia, this group of supremely talented musicians were creating the most driving, tender, emotive and stimulating music the world had ever heard.
As a start-off, "Music From Big Pink" (1969) is pretty perfect. Their most well known song, "The Weight" is an absolute masterpiece. Similarly, "The Band" provided two more masterpieces of similar scope and feel; "Across The Great Divide" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". If you don't feel a shiver down your spine when Levon Helm sings the opening lines to "Dixie" you will never "get" the Band. Other choice cuts from their extensive back catalogue include "Jawbone", "It Makes No Difference", "Unfaithful Servant", "In a Station", "When You Awake" etc etc. You get the picture.
What I am trying to say is that The Band is best experienced as a whole... as in it is best for you to buy their first two albums, Stage Fright, and the Last Waltz (their send-off gig) at one go and experience just how exceptional this group was, not only as musicians, but as songwriters and performers. The music may just engulf you for a good few weeks solid as it has with me. Robbie Robertson may have written nearly all the songs (and he is a genius), but they would not be the songs they are if it were not for the talents of the musicians mentioned above (with the addition of the amazingly revered organist, Garth Hudson; the "music teacher" of the Band).
This is timeless music. If most people claim the Beatles to be the best group ever... they haven't heard these guys. In those terms (and I love The Beatles in certain doses), the Beatles' vocals aren't as affecting, the musicians aren't as talented and the music isn't as naturally textured (see George Martin's influence in the studio for the Beatles texture) and their albums simply aren't as complete as the first two Band albums. In terms of respect, look at the cast of fellow musicians who turned up to play with the Band for the Last Waltz... Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, etc. They all recognised the overlooked institution that is "THE BAND". One may think of a reason they were called that. Because in terms of bands, they are THE quintessential version.
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