I met Levon once, around 2002 or so, at the groundbreaking for Bethel Woods, the outdoor concert venue that sits next to the original 1969 Woodstock site. I’ve gone to some shows at his Barn between Woodstock and Saugerties, not far from Big Pink, that his wife runs.
While I have their early LPs in my collection, I must confess that I don’t play them very often. In hindsight, it may be because I may be one of the few who was put off from the beginning by The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Odly, I actually liked the melody of the song quite a bit, but the lyrics … well, best that can be said is that you can take them in a couple of ways. I know that it was written during the height of the Vietnam War protests, and the song has more in common with Creedence Clearwater’s Fortunate Son than it does with Gone With the Wind, and that was possibly its intent, but in retrospect it turns out that I was right, good old boys from the south have treated it as a sort of anthem, Joan Baez stopped performing it even though it was her biggest hit, and Robbie’s halfhearted attempt at explaining the issues away never satisfied me.
To the extent that I still listen to them, it’s more out of nostalgia due to heavy exposure during my youth.
Robbie was also a sideman on a couple of early albums by John Hammond Jr….So Many Roads has him on lead guitar with Mike Bloomfield on piano! I met JH Jr. years later and asked him how he could pass on Bloomer as lead, and he said “At that time Robbie was the better player”(!). He also was on I Can Tell, which has him playing the signature Elmore James riff on Strat, no slide, but to devastating effect, on ‘Coming Home’. No one ever did it better.
As a songwriter, if he only wrote ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ he’d be a star. But he penned dozens of gems. R.I.P., a Native American treasure.
Yeah the Band when i first heard it ,i thought wth did i just hear .I was,into Led Zeppelin, Beatles,Stones. I was 17 back in 1969...i thought what a crazy hillbilly album.But then i heard the Bands music and RR music and they were great.i listened to all of there albums .RIP Robbie .
@szeidman2002: I wholeheartedly agree about Rock Of Ages. If you’re not anti-digital there is an expanded 4-CD/1-DVD boxset of the album, entitled Live At The Academy Of Music 1971. Also great is their live album with Dylan, Before The Flood.
I put The Band’s 1st and 2nd albums in my list of 3 albums in the current thread asking for 100 must-have LP’s. If I could have only two albums to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be them.
@nichollsr: I too didn’t initially "get" Music From Big Pink. After unsuccessfully trying to get into it in 1968, it wasn’t until after seeing Buffalo Springfield (or what remained of it, only drummer Dewey Martin remaining from the original line-up) the following year that I was ready for it. So when the s/t brown album came out I was primed & pumped, ready & waiting for it!
I have listened to those first two Band albums more than any others, by far. For a few years I listened to each every day. They are my Gold Standard for Rock ’n’ Roll songwriting, playing, and singing, and set an almost unreachable level of quality for other bands and solo artists to meet. For those who haven’t heard it, give The Houston Kid by Rodney Crowell a listen. Like MFBP and their 2nd, a perfect album. And like the brown album, The Houston Kid is a "theme" album of sorts.
All things must pass! Enjoy every day and appreciate the good people you have met along the way. Rest In Peace Robbie Robertson and thank you for Big Pink.
Rock of Ages is one of the best live rock albums ever. The horn arrangements by Allan Toussaint was an added element that put that record over the top.
R. Robertson and Robert Hunter were on parallel tracks for a good while. The Band, Stage Fright, Workingman's, A. Beauty and much of E. 72 are cut from the same cloth. Together, these comprise some of my favorite music, period.
It would be tragic if there were no young musicians to follow in their footsteps. Fortunately, that's not the case. The Americana genre attracts many of the best young players.
Whether anyone is currently writing songs of similar quality is a matter of opinion...
Big Pink was the first CD i ever bought (in '87, fresh out of school and could finally afford a player). Thinking of myself as a music historian I debated long and hard about what would be my first CD and chose that one. Listened to it, didn't like it, and put it away. A couple of years later, I read a very lengthy article on the making of the album, and the journey of the band members to get to Big Pink. I re-visited the album, and it finally made sense. The stories in the songs are real and moving, and the music is so unique. I don't listen to it often, but when i do, i listen to it fully and deeply. And, it will always be my first CD.
Seems like we are starting to lose a lot of greats! Being in my 60s myself it makes me think of my own mortality. That’s all part of life I guess, I just didn’t think I’d get to this point so fast.
There are no better albums in the pop music realm than Music from Big Pink and The Band. I am grateful to Robbie Robertson for his huge contribution to these two epic recordings and for many subsequent tracks.
Another great rock band icon gone .I saw The Band,, Roy Buchanan ,and the Greatful dead all in one venue that was over a 8 hour event in Lewiston Maine
back in. Around early 1980s. Those were the days , when you got your moneys worth a outside event very hard to equal, R.I.P Rob.
Bikeboy, thanks for the positive words about my system. Only worry is to keep it all working,, but, just like me (76 YOA), some of it's getting old.
But that's a minor worry, equipment can be repaired or replaced, however, we listeners, sometime there isn't any fix. Just keep smiling every day, as most of the time it's how I chosse it to be.
There's just me and my Dementia affected wife, but amazingly, we still manage to laugh and have fun. And it's so good to think of our kid/grandkids, too.
Well, I've got my exceptional-sounding Paul Birkeland designed and built 812 power amp all ready to go. I better go listen to it, and the stuff it's connected to.
I forgot to mention the stroke I had a couple of years ago, body right side is numb (a good bit of it anyway), but I can still walk, talk and enjoy life anyway. Attitude is everything.
@islandmandanRe: What can we do about it.,I,ll be 64 in February, only thing I can think of to do is exercise while listening to music every day, can’t think of two things better for you, diet of course, but hey we do the best we can. Love your system btw.
What a tremendous loss, a true treasure trove of talent. His self titled album has always been on my desert island list, not a bad song on it. His contributions through the years will never be matched again. He will be missed with deep sorrow.
Dang! This getting old is difficult enough without losing all these people that contributed to our enjoyment through the years.
Nothing, really, except live our lives, which you seem to understand. Life is short and a precious gift. Time is fleeting. We're all so fortunate to be here.
Yeah, but Mr. Goofyfoot, what can we do about it? I just stay home and listen to good music anytime the mood strikes, though I expect more trouble as I age, I'll do my best to keep smilng anyway. Going out being miserably unhappy is a lifestyle choice many people land on the wrong side of, unlees they just want to be miserable, I wish them good luck in their endeavor.
What a shame. I often made the argument that 'The Band' is Americas greatest rock/etc... band aside from the Grateful Dead. That probably speaks more to my age than anything else. Anyway, the 60's in general and those who appeared at Woodstock 69 are slowly passing on and I definitely don't like it.
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