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A Musical History | ||||
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Box set by | ||||
Released | September 27, 2005 | |||
Recorded | September 1961 – May 1977 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 422:49 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Henry Glover, Jan Haust, Bob Johnson, Cheryl Pawelski, Robbie Robertson, Andrew Sandoval, John Simon, Peter J. Moore | |||
The Band chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | link |
Rolling Stone | link |
A Musical History is the second box set to anthologize Canadian-American rock group the Band. Released by Capitol Records on September 27, 2005, it features 111 tracks spread over five compact discs and one DVD. Roughly spanning the group's journey from 1961 to 1977, from their days behind Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan through the departure of Robbie Robertson and the first disbanding of the group. The set includes highlights from each of the group's first seven studio albums and both major live recordings and nearly forty rare or previously unreleased performances. [1]
Capitol released a single CD+DVD abridged version titled The Best of A Musical History in 2007. It included a selection of what the compilers felt were the best tracks of the five CDs, as well as a shorter version of the DVD. [2]
The first disc focuses on the period from 1961 through 1968, giving the first legitimate release on compact disc to four of five single sides the group recorded in 1965, the fifth previously released on 1994's Across the Great Divide . Opening with two tracks featuring an early incarnation of the group featuring Danko, Robertson and Helm (with Manuel on one track) backing Ronnie Hawkins, the disc goes into the first recordings of the group without Hawkins, with Helm assuming lead vocal duties. From there come the earliest tracks featuring the classic line-up, mostly 12-bar blues material, including the group's single sides, the earlier sides recorded as the Canadian Squires, the later sides as Levon and the Hawks. Sessions with Bob Dylan (mostly without Helm) and demo recordings close the disc. These recordings constitute one part of a larger set that will be released as From Bacon Fat to Judgement Day, chronicling the group's journey from 1957 to 1967.
Disc two focuses on 1968, featuring all but one track either in its original or in an alternate or extended version from the group's debut album, as well as several outtakes, a few of which are new to the set. A number with Dylan recorded at a Woody Guthrie tribute concert (where the group performed as "the Crackers") and a few of the group's tracks from The Basement Tapes round out the disc.
The third CD focuses on 1969 to 1971. Eight of twelve tracks from the group's eponymous second album and an early version of a ninth constitute the first part of the disc, with five of ten (with an early version of a sixth) from the third album, a handful of live numbers and a run-through of one track that would appear on the group's fourth album finish the disc.
Disc four focuses on 1971 to 1973, opening with an additional four tracks from the group's fourth album. From there, nine tracks recorded during the shows that made up the group's fifth album, the live Rock of Ages , one of them previously unreleased. The disc closes with three tracks from various sessions in 1972 and 1973, two previously unreleased, and one track from the group's homage to early rock and roll, Moondog Matinee .
The final audio disc focuses on 1973 to 1976, opening with a further three tracks and an outtake from Moondog Matinee. Three further tracks with Dylan follow, two of which were previously released on Planet Waves and Before the Flood . Three of eight tracks from the group's seventh album make up the middle of the disc. The group's last studio sessions, some of which was released on their final album for Capitol, as well as one previously unreleased live track follow. The disc closes with a handful of tracks from the live/studio hybrid The Last Waltz , recorded in 1976 and 1977 and released in 1978.
The sixth disc, a DVD, features various performances between 1970 and 1976. Among these are three of four performances the group did on their 1976 appearance on Saturday Night Live , two performances from Wembley Stadium, one performance from the sessions that produced their Rock of Ages album, two from the 1970 Festival Express tour and one from a rarely seen promotional video. All tracks are either previously unreleased in full or in total.
All songs are written by Robbie Robertson, except where noted.
n.b. a separate release featuring material from the set was issued as a 'Best of ...'
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of Canadians Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and American Levon Helm. The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, influencing musicians such as George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.
Music from Big Pink is the debut studio album by the Band. Released in 1968, it employs a distinctive blend of country, rock, folk, classical, R&B, blues, and soul. The music was composed partly in "Big Pink", a house shared by bassist/singer Rick Danko, pianist/singer Richard Manuel and organist Garth Hudson in West Saugerties, New York. The album itself was recorded in studios in New York and Los Angeles in 1968, and followed the band's backing of Bob Dylan on his 1966 tour and time spent together in upstate New York recording material that was officially released in 1975 as The Basement Tapes, also with Dylan. The cover artwork is a painting by Dylan.
Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson was a Canadian musician of Indigenous ancestry. He was lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s, guitarist and songwriter with The Band from their inception until 1978, and a solo artist.
Richard Clare Danko was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style, highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".
Richard George Manuel was a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in the Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Eric "Garth" Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a principal architect of the group's sound, described as "the most brilliant organist in the rock world" by Keyboard magazine. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in 1986, Rick Danko in 1999, Levon Helm in 2012, and Robbie Robertson in 2023, Hudson is the last living original member of the Band.
The Last Waltz was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The Last Waltz was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert appearance", and the concert had The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including their previous employers Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan, as well as Paul Butterfield, Bobby Charles, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young. The musical director for the concert was The Band's original record producer, John Simon.
Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert is a live album by the Band, released in 1972. It was compiled from recordings made during their series of shows at the Academy of Music in New York City, from December 28 through December 31, 1971. It peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified a gold record by the RIAA. An expanded release of recordings taken from the same series of shows, called Live at the Academy of Music 1971, was released in 2013.
The Last Waltz is the second live album by the Band, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1978, catalogue 3WS 3146. It is the soundtrack to the 1978 film of the same name, and the final album by the original configuration of the Band. It peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200.
Jericho is the eighth studio album by Canadian-American rock group the Band. Coming seventeen years after their "farewell concert", it was released in 1993 and was the first album to feature the latter-day configuration of the group, as well as their first release for the Rhino subsidiary Pyramid Records.
Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway is a live recording by Canadian singer Richard Manuel, chronicling two intimate live shows Manuel performed at The Getaway, a nightclub in Saugerties, New York on October 12, 1985. Released in Japan in March 2002, it is the first solo release from Manuel, who, unlike his former mates from The Band never recorded a proper solo album.
Across the Great Divide is a box set by Canadian-American rock group The Band. Released in 1994, it consists of two discs of songs from the Band's first seven albums, and a third disc of rarities taken from various studio sessions and live performances. The set is now out of print, having been replaced by the five-CD/one-DVD box set A Musical History which was released in September 2005.
"This Wheel's on Fire" is a song written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko. It was originally recorded by Dylan and the Band during their 1967 sessions, portions of which comprised the 1975 album, The Basement Tapes. The Band's own version appeared on their 1968 album, Music from Big Pink. Live versions by the Band appear on their 1972 live double album Rock of Ages, as well as the more complete four-CD-DVD version of that concert, Live at the Academy of Music 1971, and the 2002 Box Set of The Last Waltz.
"Stage Fright" is the title track of the Band's third album, Stage Fright. It features Rick Danko on lead vocals and was written by Robbie Robertson. According to author Barney Hoskyns, Robertson originally intended it to be sung by Richard Manuel but it became clear that the song was better suited to Danko's "nervous, tremulous voice."
Lonesome Suzie is a 1968 song by The Band written and sung by Richard Manuel originally appearing on their influential debut album Music From Big Pink It was also released on Across The Great Divide, a compilation box set from 1994. Drummer Levon Helm has said that "...Lonesome Suzie was Richard's failed attempt to write a hit record." It never charted and is one of the few songs on which Manuel contributed writing, but is also recognized as one of Manuel's signature pieces. In 1970 it was released as the B-side of the French single release of "Whispering Pines".
"When You Awake" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and Richard Manuel that was first released on The Band's 1969 self-titled album The Band. A live performance was included on the Bob Dylan and The Band live album Before the Flood.
So Many Roads is a 1965 studio album by John P. Hammond, backed by several musicians who would go on to form The Band.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down: The Best of the Band Live in Concert is a 1990 compilation of live recordings from American roots rock group the Band released by CEMA Special Markets.