As I mentioned in my review of the recently reissued Rolling Stones Let It Bleed and The Beatles’ Abbey Road, 1969 was a golden year for both jazz and rock releases, in fact being arguably the first year they joined forces together to create what became known as “fusion”.
Unknown at the time was the release of the second album by The Band which essentially started the genre of what today is known as “roots music”, meaning sounds and attitudes of traditional Americana. The obvious irony in all this is that the team of Garth Hudson/key-p, Levon H elm/dr-, Richard Manuel/key-voc, Rick Danko/b-fid and Robbie Robertson are mostly a collection of Canadians, having honed their skills as the backup band for Ronnie Hawkins and a guy named Bob Dylan. This was their second album, after their debut Music From Big Pink, and it has stood the test of time of being one of the most important albums of the latter 20th Century.
Why? In a time of plugging in and tuning out, The Band mixed dress, sounds, songs and themes that hit to the heart of Americana. The classic “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is a story of the last days of the Civil War from a Southern perspective, “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” is the tale of a poor farmer who has to join a union,and whoever wrote a song about an old retired sailor, as in “Rockin’ Chair”? Homespun tunes about women include “Rag Mama Rag” and the wonderful campfire singalong “Up On Cripple Creek”. The album is timeless in style during an era when going forward was the cliché of the day.
The two disc set includes their eleven song concert at Woodstock, with most of the tunes from their debut album, including a take of The Four Tops’ “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever” and a wonderful take of “The Weight”. The mood is like a balm from Gilead as the gents create a serene climate change from acid rock takes of the “National Anthem” and mind bending solos. It feels like there’s an adult in the room.
Also included are alternate and rehearsal takes of many of the songs, most notably a slowed down take of “ Rag Mama Rag” with some nice piano instead of the fiddle
There are also Blu-ray, vinyl and digital configurations available, but the 2 disc set is good enough to make you remember what a great year 1969 was, and the great wake that The Band created.