"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".


 

I am very fortunate in having heard this amazing song performed live by The Band on their tour in support of the s/t "brown" album. The only other live music experience I’ve had that equals it was hearing Little Village perform John Hiatt’s "Lipstick Traces" on a soundstage in Burbank in ’92. The Little Village album was not so hot, but they sure were!

The Beatles? Saw them in ’65. Hendrix? Saw him in ’68 and ’69. Cream? Saw them in ’67 and ’68. The Who? Saw them in ’68 and ’69. Who else ya wanna name? Sorry, hearing The Band live spoiled me for just about EVERYONE else. Not Iris DeMent, whom I just saw this past Thursday. Stunningly great!

 

Here’s J.R. Robertson, Eric Levon Helm, and some other guy talking about the song and its’ creation:

 

https://youtu.be/nVYBW_zCvOg?t=1

 

 

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Going way back I saw Jimi Hendrix on the David Frost TV show (Summer of ’69?). This was at my high school friend's house where we watched on a black-and-white TV, along with his father. That same July I was there watching along with my friend and his dad as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon! Kids today have no idea what they missed!

I saw Miles Davis on David Sanborn's TV show Sunday Night Music on NBC. This was near the end of Miles's life. The backing band was The Red Hot Chili Peppers! I kid you not! How the mighty have fallen!

Criticism is an attempt to just find another invented issue to signal your virtue over.  Insincere statements of foregiveness for your musical tastes are just the second level of gaslighting.

Jerry

@bdp24 

As you can see from what I said, I have no problem with anyone's opinions or taste in music.

@thecarpathian  *1

Perhaps I haven't delved into their repertoire deep enough, but I never understood all the hub bub and accolades for The Band. Really don't get what's so special about their songs.

@bdp24 

The Brown Album is a top 10 favorite of mine and "Lipstick Sunset" one of my favorite tracks off "Bring the Family". It's too bad that same group didn't click when they went into the studio to record "Slow Turning". Can you imagine how Cooder and company might've handled the likes of "Icy Blue Heart", "Paper Thin" or "Feels Like Rain" ?  

We diverge a bit when it come to TNTDODD. I've simply heard that song over the airwaves too many times to enjoy it, now. In fact, Classic Rock radio has ruined quite a few songs for me, but I digress. TNTDODD seems to be the one song that people who know nothing about the Band recognize --  the equivalent to R. Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning".

At this point, I could happily live without ever hearing either song again but this is a minor quibble. 

Oops, "Lipstick Sunset".

@roxy54: Absolutely, you’ll get no argument from me on that point. When I said The Band spoiled me for just about everyone else, the "me" was intentional. I don’t think one should assume that statement implies I think everyone should feel the same. Is it alright if I state that opinion? Is it alright if one listener says he prefers a Wilson speaker over a Vandersteen, or visa versa? Everything a person says is a personal opinion.

What’s interesting is that of the musicians I’ve known or just met, the "better" he or she is (again, a subjective determination), the more he or she loves The Band. Coincidence? No, it’s mutual tastes in music. Lots of people like the music of Mozart, yet Glenn Gould famously did not. J.S. Bach spoiled him for just about all other composers.😉 For I as well.

The old phrase "The best is the enemy of the good" comes to mind.

@bdp24 

Different strokes... We all feel passionate about different types of music, and that’s part of the beauty of it all.