big pink v. s/t
mallard
452 Posts
i discovered big pink around the beginning of summer and it was just what i needed. i can't stop listening to it, just been walking around watching my breath to it recently. so i decided maybe it was time to check out their next endeavor, and upon the first couple listens, i just don't get that same initial excitement i had when i first heard big pink.i think it may be one of those problems where i identify with one album so much that nothing else measures up in my mind, but that just wouldnt be fair to levon and gang! i was just wondering how the strut thought these 2 albums compared.
Comments
"Kingdom Come," "Tears of Rage," "The Weight," and "I shall be Released," are facemelt, and all on one album? that whole era, w/ the Basement Tapes, and their copious outtakes, are some of my favorite music ever made.
totally true...isn't levon the only american in the band? from arkansas, i believe. either way, i stand by my statment, knowing the inconsistency inherent within it.
THANK you!
Well, you are correct Levon is from Arkansas and the rest are from Canada. IMHO "Stage Fright" more closely resembles the sound of "Big Pink" and it has my favorite Band song "Daniel and the Sacred Harp". If you like "big Pink" you'll like "Stage Fright". I got into the band when I was about 12 or 13 and only had S/T on tape. Years later I come to find out the tape was missing one of the best songs from the album, "King's Harvest". I really never understood why a major like Capitol would put out tapes without some original songs just so there was no blank space on one side. BOOOOOOOO!
PS. Karen Dalton's version of "In a Station" is better thatn Richard Manuels's.
P.P.S. Richard and Levon's call-n-response vocal stylings on "Daniel and The Sacred Harp" make me tear up/ get goosebumps.
I LOVE THE BAND!!!!!!!!!!
Stage Fright is good stuff too.
I love the history of The Band, what they represent and how soulful their music is. The Last Waltz was one of my first favorite music films although it is comical now to look back and watch Robbie Robertson all but fake vocals through most of it.
Has anyone heard the full 5 discs of Basement Tapes material? At times i enjoy it and at times i am glad there is a condensed two disc version. How about some of the live side project stuff that's floating around Danko, Manual, & Paul Butterfield shows float around a lot and the Richard Manuel import is amazing.
The Basement Tapes outtakes is some of my favorite music ever made, but it is a tough listen to be sure. But, when it is hittin', nothin' swings like that. The version of "people get ready," is :facemelt.:
you can't listen to it straight through, but I'm glad it happened, and it exists. that music is really important to me.
no shame in arguing s/t is a favorite...this is one of those great debates between filet/lobster, gold/platinum, etc. no losers in this one.
While the first 2 LPs are unbelievable, 'It Makes No Difference' is the single most heart-breaking song the Band ever did.
I saw 'The Last Waltz' in the theatres with my brother when it was releases, musta been 78 or 79, and I have loved the Band (and Dylan) ever since, really getting into them heavy in high school and college. I think that the alt-country movement really springs directly from that well (both good and bad) and so much American music is influenced profoundly by them.
I envy people just getting into them.....it's a rich, rich vein of satisfying music.
Total genius exploitation marketing, calling
them "his BAND" so they actually get the name
in there legally, and use an illustration showing late 60's
Ronnie with late 60's The Band behind him - of course,
these recordings were from the early 60's (and even
late 50's?) when members of The Band were Ronnie's
backing outfit The Hawks. Funny thing is, the record
does have appeal, both as a collection of some killer
rockabilly sides from the golden age, and as a relic
of the early years of The Band...at least on the tracks
they play on, which is not every one on the album.
Exactly.
I think my expectations were too high for this, probably due in part to the lineup, but i like the early Levon (Levon & The Hawks stuff) a little better. It's just a more raw sound. But 'You Got Me Spinnin'' is a big favorite for me.
This is good, i will definitely be going back to Big Pink, it has been a little while. Speaking of heartbreaking (It Makes No Difference), the vocals of Rick Danko and Richard Manuel are just completely great for this music. Levon does his thing but the emotional value of Dank and Manuel are so huge for me.