What a great decade from the mid-60s to the mid-70s. Backing Dylan when he went electric, working on the Basement Tapes, then those brilliant first two albums Music From Big Pink and The Band, that Dylan live album Before The Flood, capped by one of the great swan songs of them all, the classic concert film The Last Waltz. I'll look forward to his score for Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon but that decade is sensational.
Awoke in the middle of the night (old man problems) and read the news today, oh boy. Hit me hard. I know he was not a "good" guy, but his music was the soundtrack to my teens. It somehow made the cultural minefield of the South a little more understandable. To add a little levity, I went to see The Last Waltz, the day it premered in NO, and the earliest showing. Theatre was mostly empty, except for several other stoner types. Right before the film starts, these 2 proverbial little old ladies walk in and sit down. The rest of us look at each other and just shrug our shoulders. About 10 minutes into the film, right after Robertsom makes the comment about pussy and Sinatra, the 2 ladies get up and start to walk out - one of them turns to the other and says, "well, that certainly is not about dancing."
Simply timeless music. I'll just add an endorsement for Robertson's later solo albums, especially the eponymous first one and "Storyville." If these works aren't remembered much it's likely because the man set such an impossibly high bar with his early songs and they're missing only the particular magic stew that was The Band. But excellent records in their own right.
I hope Robbie and Levon can patch things up now and hit the heavenly roadhouses...
Took my dad to see The Band back when there was much family discussion about letting me take the LIRR into the city to see rock concerts. "Come with me," I said, "so you can see what it's like." It was early '70s, The Band was on tour with a brass ensemble of older Southern Black musicians backing them up. If I remember correctly, it was at a place in Brooklyn called the Capitol Theater. How was it, I asked my dad afterwards. "It was good, just very loud." Which was true.
12 comments:
Shit.
That news is depressing the hell out of me. The Band is and will continue to be my favorite musical group. Rest in Peace Robbie.
What a great decade from the mid-60s to the mid-70s. Backing Dylan when he went electric, working on the Basement Tapes, then those brilliant first two albums Music From Big Pink and The Band, that Dylan live album Before The Flood, capped by one of the great swan songs of them all, the classic concert film The Last Waltz. I'll look forward to his score for Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon but that decade is sensational.
Very sad, one of the true giants. RIP.
Nooooo. RIP Robbie
"Catch the blue train
Places never been before
Look for me
Somewhere down the crazy river"
Awoke in the middle of the night (old man problems) and read the news today, oh boy. Hit me hard. I know he was not a "good" guy, but his music was the soundtrack to my teens. It somehow made the cultural minefield of the South a little more understandable.
To add a little levity, I went to see The Last Waltz, the day it premered in NO, and the earliest showing. Theatre was mostly empty, except for several other stoner types. Right before the film starts, these 2 proverbial little old ladies walk in and sit down. The rest of us look at each other and just shrug our shoulders. About 10 minutes into the film, right after Robertsom makes the comment about pussy and Sinatra, the 2 ladies get up and start to walk out - one of them turns to the other and says, "well, that certainly is not about dancing."
Simply timeless music.
I'll just add an endorsement for Robertson's later solo albums, especially the eponymous first one and "Storyville." If these works aren't remembered much it's likely because the man set such an impossibly high bar with his early songs and they're missing only the particular magic stew that was The Band. But excellent records in their own right.
I hope Robbie and Levon can patch things up now and hit the heavenly roadhouses...
PMAC, that's very funny!
This is a hard one. Just an exceptional talent.
RIP Robbie.
Another great one gone. The Band's first three albums didn't sound like anything that preceded it. RIP
Took my dad to see The Band back when there was much family discussion about letting me take the LIRR into the city to see rock concerts. "Come with me," I said, "so you can see what it's like."
It was early '70s, The Band was on tour with a brass ensemble of older Southern Black musicians backing them up. If I remember correctly, it was at a place in Brooklyn called the Capitol Theater.
How was it, I asked my dad afterwards.
"It was good, just very loud." Which was true.
He ripped off helm and danko
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