Richard Thompson and the rest of Fairport Convention were another totally floored by Big Pink when they first heard it, and also their 2nd LP. It was The Band’s music that lead Fairport to dig deeper into their own English folk music roots and mix it with rock. Just as The Band did with various American roots music. Fairport may have never became what they did without that influence.
Springsteen and Clapton on their favorite, heh, band.
I went and saw Once Were Brothers; Robbie Robertson And The Band in a theater early last year, and now tonight on a DVD at home. It is alternately both thrilling and irritating, but that’s not the point of this thread. If you don’t already know how very, very special The Band were, and the deep impact they made on Rock ’n’ Roll, here is what Bruce and Eric had to say about them in the film:
- Springsteen: "I think I was in a little coffee shop in Redbank, New Jersey. I kid came in with Music From Big Pink, put it on the sound system. And suddenly this music comes on, and everything changes."
- Clapton: "When I heard Big Pink, it was like someone had nailed me through my chest onto the wall. I was immediately converted. I thought ’This is what I want to do’. It changed my life."
Mine too.
- Springsteen: "I think I was in a little coffee shop in Redbank, New Jersey. I kid came in with Music From Big Pink, put it on the sound system. And suddenly this music comes on, and everything changes."
- Clapton: "When I heard Big Pink, it was like someone had nailed me through my chest onto the wall. I was immediately converted. I thought ’This is what I want to do’. It changed my life."
Mine too.