If you want to go back to a time when popular music was truly universal, just give a listen to this wonderful 4 cd & dvd of the Band in concert, which includes their end of the year gigs as well as the complete New Year’s Eve show from 1971. Not only do you have the team of Rick Danko/voc-b, Levon Helm/dr-voc, Garth Hudson/key/sax, Richard Manuel/key-dr and Robbie Robertson/g-voc going through their sets at the height of their powers, but they had a jazz all star team in the horn section. What would you give to hear Snooky Young/tp, Howard Johnson/bs-tuba, Joe Farrell/ts-ss, Earl McIntyre/tb and JD Parron/as together again with Allen Toussaint doing the horn arranging?
The Band was at the apex of its career, and tunes like “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight” and “Rag Mama Rag” sound like American Gothics. Material such as “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” feel like anthems. And, while we’re on the topic of Mr. Zimmerman, he joins up for the NYE gig and lays down some amazing takes of “Down In the Flood” and a show stopping “Like A Rolling Stone.” Hey, maybe they should do some stuff together-they sure do have a chemistry that mixes well!!! Nothing major, maybe just some casual jams, like in a basement or something…
Ume Records