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The Band
The Band (Remastered)
The Band:  The Band (Remastered)

$6.99
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Album Review

Released: 1969
Label: Capitol
Selection #: 136319
5 Stars! - Rolling Stone. Classic set, remastered, w/7 bonus tracks! The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Across The Great Divide, Up On Cripple Creek, King Harvest, more.
Listen RM WM
1 Across the Great Divide
2 Rag Mama Rag
3 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
4 When You Awake
5 Up on Cripple Creek
6 Whispering Pines
7 Jemima Surrender
8 Rockin' Chair
9 Look out Cleveland
10 Jawbone
11 The Unfaithful Servant
12 King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
13 Get Up Jake [Outtake-Stereo Mix][*]
14 Rag Mama Rag [Alternate Take][*][Mix]
15 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [*][Mix]
16 Up on Cripple Creek [Alternate Take][*]
17 Whispering Pines [Alternate Take][*]
18 Jemima Surrender [Alternate Take][*]
19 King Harvest (Has Surely Come) [Alternate Take][*]
  
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Album Review

The Band's first album, "Music From Big Pink", seemed to come out of nowhere, with its ramshackle musical blend and songs of rural tragedy. "The Band", the group's second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson had taken over the songwriting, writing or co-writing all 12 songs. Though a Canadian, Robertson focused on a series of American archetypes from the union worker in "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and the retired sailor in "Rockin' Chair" to, most famously, the Confederate Civil War observer Virgil Cane in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." The album effectively mixed the kind of mournful songs that had dominated "Music From Big Pink", here including "Whispering Pines" and "When You Awake" (both co-written and sung by haunting tenor Richard Manuel), with rollicking uptempo numbers like "Rag Mama Rag" and "Up On Cripple Creek" (both sung by Levon Helm and released as singles, with "Up On Cripple Creek" making the Top 40). As had been true of the first album, it was the Band's sound that stood out the most, from Helm's (and occasionally Manuel's) propulsive drumming to Robertson's distinctive guitar fills and the endlessly inventive keyboard textures of Garth Hudson, all topped by the rough, expressive singing of Manuel, Helm, and Rick Danko that mixed leads with harmonies. The arrangements were simultaneously loose and assured, giving the songs a timeless appeal, while the lyrics continued to paint portraits of 19th century rural life (especially Southern life, as references to Tennessee and Virginia made clear), its sometimes less savory aspects treated with warmth and humor. The 2000 CD reissue featured seven bonus tracks. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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Biography


Other albums by: The Band
The Band:  The Best Of A Musical History Listen Greatest Hits The Band
The Best Of A Musical History

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The Band:  Greatest Hits (Remastered) Listen Greatest Hits The Band
Greatest Hits (Remastered)

$6.99

The Band:  Across the Great Divide Listen Boxed Set The Band
Across the Great Divide

$20.97 3-CD Set

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