The Band (album)
| The Band | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 22, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | late 1968/1969 | |||
| Studio | Pool House, 8850 Evanview Drive, Los Angeles, CA[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:50 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | John Simon | |||
| The Band chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Band | ||||
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The Band is the second studio album by the Band, released on September 22, 1969. It is also known as The Brown Album. According to Rob Bowman's liner notes for the 2000 reissue, The Band has been viewed as a concept album, with the songs focusing on people, places and traditions associated with an older version of Americana.[2] Thus, the songs on this album draw from historic themes for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and "Jawbone" (which was composed in the unusual 6/4 time signature.)
Recording
After unsuccessfully attempting sessions at a studio in New York, the Band set up shop in the pool house of a home rented by the group in the Hollywood Hills. Located at 8850 Evanview Drive in Los Angeles, California, the home was once owned by Judy Garland, Wally Cox and, at the time the group worked there, Sammy Davis, Jr.[1] According to Robbie Robertson, the location was chosen to give the songs a Basement Tapes–like feel in what was termed "a clubhouse concept."[3]
Release
The album was originally released as an LP on September 22, 1969. After a number of reissues on vinyl, cassette tape, and compact disc, it was remastered and rereleased, with bonus tracks, in 2000, in a process overseen by Robbie Robertson. (The 2000 re-release has also been packaged as a double CD with the Band's debut album, Music from Big Pink.)
The album was also reissued in 2009 by Audio Fidelity as a limited edition gold CD. The reissue included a single b-side "Get Up Jake" as a bonus track. "Get Up Jake", which also appears on the 2000 reissue, was slated for inclusion in the original album but was dropped from the lineup at the last minute, either because the band felt it was too similar to another track on the album or because there physically was not enough room on the album.[4][5]
A 1980 "Capitol 16000 Series" budget vinyl reissue of the album omitted "When You Awake" and "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)."
The original LP back cover quotes the opening lines from Shelton Brooks's 1917 composition "Darktown Strutters' Ball".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [6] |
| Robert Christgau | A+[7] |
| Down Beat |  [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[8] |
| MusicHound | 5/5[9] |
| Q | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 10/10 |
The album includes many of the Band's best-known and critically acclaimed songs, including "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", which Rolling Stone named the 245th greatest song of all time (in the updated version,[12] it was the 249th greatest song of all time). In 2003, the album was ranked number 45 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1998 Q magazine readers voted The Band the 76th greatest album of all time. Time magazine included it in their unranked 2006 list of the 100 greatest albums. Robert Christgau, having been disappointed with the Band's debut, had expected to dislike the record and even planned a column for the Village Voice to "castigate" their follow-up. Upon hearing the record, however, he declared it better than Abbey Road, which had been released four days following, writing that the Band's LP is an "A-plus record if I've ever rated one."[7] He ranked it as the fourth best album of the year in his ballot for Jazz & Pop magazine's annual critics poll.[13]
The Band peaked at #9 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. In 2000, it charted on Billboard's Internet Albums chart, peaking at #10. The singles "Rag Mama Rag" and "Up on Cripple Creek" peaked on the Pop Singles chart at #57 and #25 respectively. The "Rag Mama Rag" single performed better in the UK, where it reached #16.[14]
Album - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pop Albums | 9 |
| 2000 | Top Internet Albums | 10 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "Rag Mama Rag" | Pop Singles | 57 |
| 1970 | "Up on Cripple Creek" | Pop Singles | 25 |
In 2009, the album was preserved into the National Recording Registry because the album was "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or informs or reflects life in the United States." The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[15]
At the 2017 Polaris Music Prize, the album won the jury vote for the Heritage Prize in the 1960-1975 category.[16]
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Across the Great Divide" | Robbie Robertson | Manuel | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Rag Mama Rag" | Robertson | Helm | 3:04 |
| 3. | "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" | Robertson | Helm | 3:33 |
| 4. | "When You Awake" |
| Danko | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Up on Cripple Creek" | Robertson | Helm | 4:34 |
| 6. | "Whispering Pines" |
| Manuel, Helm | 3:58 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jemima Surrender" |
| Helm | 3:31 |
| 2. | "Rockin' Chair" | Robertson | Manuel | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Look Out Cleveland" | Robertson | Danko | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Jawbone" |
| Manuel | 4:20 |
| 5. | "The Unfaithful Servant" | Robertson | Danko | 4:17 |
| 6. | "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" | Robertson | Manuel | 3:39 |
2000 reissue bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Get Up Jake (Outtake; stereo mix)" | Robertson | Helm and Danko | 2:17 |
| 14. | "Rag Mama Rag (Alternate vocal take; rough mix)" | Robertson | Helm | 3:05 |
| 15. | "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Alternate mix)" | Robertson | Helm | 4:16 |
| 16. | "Up on Cripple Creek (Alternate take)" | Robertson | Helm | 4:51 |
| 17. | "Whispering Pines (Alternate take)" |
| Manuel | 5:09 |
| 18. | "Jemima Surrender (Alternate take)" |
| Helm | 3:49 |
| 19. | "King Harvest (Has Surely Come) (Alternate performance)" | Robertson | Manuel and Helm | 4:28 |
Personnel
The Band
- Rick Danko – bass guitar, fiddle, trombone, vocals
- Levon Helm – drums, mandolin, rhythm guitar, vocals
- Garth Hudson – organ, clavinet, piano, accordion, melodica, soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, slide trumpet, bass pedals
- Richard Manuel – piano, drums, baritone saxophone, harmonica, vocals
- Robbie Robertson – electric and acoustic guitars, engineer
Additional personnel
- John Simon – producer, tuba, electric piano, baritone horn, tenor saxophone, "high school and peck horns", engineer
- Tony May – engineer
- Joe Zagarino – engineer
- Elliot Landy – photography
- Bob Cato – album design
See also
References
- ^ a b "CLASSIC TRACKS: The Band 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down'". Soundonsound.com. 1941-08-11. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ Bowman, Rob. (liner notes) The Band, (remastered edition), 2000
- ^ Jackson, Blair (2002-10-01). "Classic Tracks: The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"". Mixonline.com. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ Bowman, Rob. (liner notes) Capitol expanded edition of "The Band", 2000
- ^ John Simon, quoted in This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band, p. 195
- ^ William Ruhlmann (1969-09-22). "The Band - The Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ a b "In Memory of the Dave Clark Five". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
- ^ a b c "The Band – The Band CD Album". CD Universe/Muze. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 72. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help) - ^ Gleason, Ralph J. (18 October 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone (44). San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.: 44–45. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan, with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside. p. 42. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2010)
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1969). "Robert Christgau's 1969 Jazz & Pop Ballot". Jazz & Pop. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Band". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
- ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- ^ "Tragically Hip album makes Polaris Heritage Prize list". Toronto Star, October 25, 2017.
Sources
- Landy, Elliott (2015). The Band Photographs 1968-1969. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4950-2251-7.