The Band

Nowhere ManNowhere Man Posts: 345
edited September 2011 in Other Music
I just saw "The Last Waltz" for the first time, I've always heard to The Band and a few songs by them but was blown away by the movie. It sparked my interest in them and how heavily respected they were by other well known musicians. Anyone have some other songs or album they might recommend, or just some other info on the Band.
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • Well, for information I would suggest reading one of the several books about them, or at the very least their Wikipedia page, but for album suggestions...

    Music From Big Pink - their best known and most universally respected album

    Before The Flood - it's Bob Dylan and The Band. Some of the songs are them together, some are The Band or Bob Dylan by themselves, and it's a mixture of both of their catalogs. So it's double awesome, and usually considered one of the best live albums ever.
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • Typed in wrong thread. Er, yes. The Band. Very good. *Goes to right thread*
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,144
    I just saw "The Last Waltz" for the first time, I've always heard to The Band and a few songs by them but was blown away by the movie. It sparked my interest in them and how heavily respected they were by other well known musicians. Anyone have some other songs or album they might recommend, or just some other info on the Band.
    Truly an amazing band, and as you can see in the Last Waltz, a band to be appreciated live. If you go and sign up for Wolfgang's Vault (it's free) or search on the net, you can find quite a few great bootlegs of shows.. Rick Danko and Richard Manuel are my two favourites; such talent and incredible voices, and sadly, the ones who are gone :(
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • benjs wrote:
    I just saw "The Last Waltz" for the first time, I've always heard to The Band and a few songs by them but was blown away by the movie. It sparked my interest in them and how heavily respected they were by other well known musicians. Anyone have some other songs or album they might recommend, or just some other info on the Band.
    Truly an amazing band, and as you can see in the Last Waltz, a band to be appreciated live. If you go and sign up for Wolfgang's Vault (it's free) or search on the net, you can find quite a few great bootlegs of shows.. Rick Danko and Richard Manuel are my two favourites; such talent and incredible voices, and sadly, the ones who are gone :(

    Thanks for the info, I will check it out for sure.
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    I just saw "The Last Waltz" for the first time, I've always heard to The Band and a few songs by them but was blown away by the movie. It sparked my interest in them and how heavily respected they were by other well known musicians. Anyone have some other songs or album they might recommend, or just some other info on the Band.

    the last waltz was how i got into the band as well. i was up late one night back in the dark ages... way past my bedtime and it came on the telly.

    if youre willing to make the investment i would suggest getting ahold of the band: a musical history. it comes in a hard bound book with 5 CDs and 1 DVD. it starts with ronnie hawkins and the hawks, goes through the dylan stufff and finishes with some last waltz. theres unreleased stuff and a written history so you know where they came from and some awesome pics as well. def worth whatever you pay for it.

    apart from that my preference is for the band over big pink. thats where rag mamma rag, dixie and cripple creek live. along with tears of rage and i shall be released theyre probably my fave band songs... but it changes depending on my mood and what year it is. though i also love love love the organ at the beginning of chest fever
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • benjsbenjs Posts: 9,144
    I just saw "The Last Waltz" for the first time, I've always heard to The Band and a few songs by them but was blown away by the movie. It sparked my interest in them and how heavily respected they were by other well known musicians. Anyone have some other songs or album they might recommend, or just some other info on the Band.

    the last waltz was how i got into the band as well. i was up late one night back in the dark ages... way past my bedtime and it came on the telly.

    if youre willing to make the investment i would suggest getting ahold of the band: a musical history. it comes in a hard bound book with 5 CDs and 1 DVD. it starts with ronnie hawkins and the hawks, goes through the dylan stufff and finishes with some last waltz. theres unreleased stuff and a written history so you know where they came from and some awesome pics as well. def worth whatever you pay for it.

    apart from that my preference is for the band over big pink. thats where rag mamma rag, dixie and cripple creek live. along with tears of rage and i shall be released theyre probably my fave band songs... but it changes depending on my mood and what year it is. though i also love love love the organ at the beginning of chest fever
    Stage Fright, Ophelia and It Makes No Difference also make my list. For Stage Fright, just skip the album version, go right to a bootleg.... Such high energy live.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    Get their self titled now ....It's their Ten or IV or Night at the Opera or whatever universally
    respected album u wanna list
  • DewieCox wrote:
    Get their self titled now ....It's their Ten or IV or Night at the Opera or whatever universally
    respected album u wanna list

    Yup, the second album (The Band) is their best. Followed by Big Pink, Northern Lights-Southern Cross, Stage Fright, Cahoots and Islands. If you can also, get Moondog Matinee, their record full of fabulous covers of lesser-known rock & roll hits.

    For the live stuff, a MUST GET is Rock Of Ages, most of the versions here are superior to their studio counterparts, especially The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down!
  • voidofmanvoidofman Posts: 4,009
    The Basement Tapes is another great album that was a bootleg for a very long time.

    And even though the Band hadn't formed for another couple years Robbie and Rick played a few songs on Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, some of you might know that one.

    Robbie is pretty accomplished after the Band as well, he put out albums celebrating his Native roots, Contact From The Underworld of Redboy is an incredible album. He played a few songs at the opening ceremonies for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002.
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    I forgot when I posted earlier, but there's a "Classic Albums" of the S/T album. Not sure if you're familiar but it's basically an hour long doc where they talk about the album and tunes and get into some basic "making of" type stuff.
  • DewieCox wrote:
    I forgot when I posted earlier, but there's a "Classic Albums" of the S/T album. Not sure if you're familiar but it's basically an hour long doc where they talk about the album and tunes and get into some basic "making of" type stuff.

    Some of those are good, some not so good. I've never seen The Band one, but I'll check it out. Some of them are almost entirely made up of footage of some dude (often a producer or engineer) farting around with a recording console, isolating various parts of songs. I guess some people find that interesting, but after a while I get bored with it. The one for The Doors debut album was fantastic though, and a few others I saw were really good.

    Unfortunately Netflix doesn't have this one yet.
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    DewieCox wrote:
    I forgot when I posted earlier, but there's a "Classic Albums" of the S/T album. Not sure if you're familiar but it's basically an hour long doc where they talk about the album and tunes and get into some basic "making of" type stuff.

    Some of those are good, some not so good. I've never seen The Band one, but I'll check it out. Some of them are almost entirely made up of footage of some dude (often a producer or engineer) farting around with a recording console, isolating various parts of songs. I guess some people find that interesting, but after a while I get bored with it. The one for The Doors debut album was fantastic though, and a few others I saw were really good.

    Unfortunately Netflix doesn't have this one yet.

    I haven't seen the Doors one and not a huge fan, but I'll have to check that one out. I thought The Band one was cool. DSOTM and Night At the Opera are my favorites. I wasn't impressed with Nevermind for the reason you listed. Bat Out of Hell was pretty well the same and I actually thought it could be cool b/c of how over the top the album is, but it was a bore.

    I dig them b/c they help show the depth of musical knowledge most of these guys have.
  • DewieCox wrote:

    I haven't seen the Doors one and not a huge fan, but I'll have to check that one out. I thought The Band one was cool. DSOTM and Night At the Opera are my favorites. I wasn't impressed with Nevermind for the reason you listed. Bat Out of Hell was pretty well the same and I actually thought it could be cool b/c of how over the top the album is, but it was a bore.

    I dig them b/c they help show the depth of musical knowledge most of these guys have.

    I bet you'd find The Doors one interesting, even if you're not a huge fan. One of the best things about it is that unlike some of those where the band sort of bask in their own genius, The Doors are very open about their influences, admit to copying some things from them and giving credit where it is due, and most importantly they don't blow sunshine up Jim Morrison's ass. John Densmore gives a message to anybody watching that self-destruction and creativity don't go hand in hand, and points out that Picasso lived to be 90. And there isn't a whole lot of that recording console stuff (I think there is some though) and there is quite a bit of interesting information given.
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    To add to the coolness of the film, it was directed by Marty Scorsese. :thumbup: :D
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    dcfaithful wrote:
    To add to the coolness of the film, it was directed by Marty Scorsese. :thumbup: :D

    i find scorsese annnoying. fantastic director though.
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    dcfaithful wrote:
    To add to the coolness of the film, it was directed by Marty Scorsese. :thumbup: :D

    i find scorsese annnoying. fantastic director though.

    In an interview, the way he speaks, I can see that... he's incredibly fast paced, and seems to often have a hard time finishing a thought.

    I attribute it to his heavy use of cocaine back in the day.

    An interesting bit of info regarding The Last Waltz and the drug use related to it:

    Scorsese has admitted that during this period, he was using cocaine heavily. Drugs were present in large quantities during the concert. Backstage, a room was painted white and decorated with noses from plastic masks while an audio tape of sniffing noises played in the background. A large blob of cocaine hanging from Neil Young's nose was edited out in post-production through rotoscoping.

    But yes, he is a fantastic director. Raging Bull is one of the greatest movies ever made.
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    Listening to "Caravan" from The Last Waltz as we speak.... man, everyone involved just kills this song on this version.

    Van The Man!!
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • The other day I spent about an hour writing a long post about my love for the Band, and the reasons why. Then when I hit submit, it said I had to log in first. I thought I was logged in already, but anyway, the entire post was lost, and I won't spend another hour rewriting it. I will say that it focused on "Tears of Rage," the first track off "Music from Big Pink," and how that album, and that track in particular, flew in the face of everything that was "hip" in 1968. They were true nonconformists at a time when "hip" musicians were expected to conform to the "nonconformist" hippie ideaology and music of the day. Ok, I think I just blew my own mind. Long story short: The Band was awesome!
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    Even though I've only gotten into them recently it makes me happy when I come to Other Music and "The Band" is right at the top of the page.
  • Came upon this on Twitter. I thought maybe some on here could assist in sending Garth a kind word. EV and the boys have mentioned the The Last Waltz on occasion and most recently covered Don’t Do it. 
    I love these guys and it saddens me a member feels forgotten. Let’s send some love from the PJ community. 
  • toolietoolie Posts: 391
    I also saw that his wife Maud passed away. I just heard about it yesterday, not sure when it happened but still sad news. As a Canadian and a Canadian music fan, The Band has held a special place in my heart forever. I will definitely send Garth a note and let him know he appreciated and his music is still played (LOUDLY) from my stereo :)
  • 1ThoughtKnown1ThoughtKnown Posts: 6,155
    edited May 2022
    RIP Ronnie Hawkins… Grew up in Arkansas and toured Canada in 1958 on the advice of Conway Twitty and became an instant hit. Moved to Canada and became a permanent resident in ‘64. 
    If you don’t know how Hawkins ties in with the Band… his back up band was the Hawks. Five of those guys tapped out and became the Band, after backing up Bob Dylan before recording their own albums.  

    Hawkins was invited to play on The Last Waltz. Not sure if Hawkins is well known in his native US, but he did play Bob Dylan in the universally panned 1975 movie Renaldo and Clara. Dylan himself cast him in the role. Pretty tough movie to watch as Dylan shelved it and it’s never been released in any format after a short run in theatres. 

    Born two days after Elvis, he really was key to the establishment of a rock n roll scene in Canada. He discovered and help mentor many musicians. 
    Post edited by 1ThoughtKnown on
  • onejourney...onejourney... Posts: 252
    Not exactly the band, but Ed and the guys did their version of this. Gotta love the respect. 

    here for the music...
  • 1ThoughtKnown1ThoughtKnown Posts: 6,155
    Not exactly the band, but Ed and the guys did their version of this. Gotta love the respect. 

    I was there! Awesome clip. 
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