Cahoots (album)

Last updated
Cahoots
Cahoots (The Band album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 15, 1971
RecordedEarly 1971
StudioBearsville Sound Studio, Bearsville, New York
Genre Roots rock, folk rock, country rock, Americana
Length46:41
Label Capitol
Producer The Band
The Band chronology
Stage Fright
(1970)
Cahoots
(1971)
Rock of Ages
(1972)
Singles from Cahoots
  1. "Life Is a Carnival" / "The Moon Struck One"
    Released: 1971
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [2]
Entertainment Weekly B− [3]
MusicHound 3/5 [4]
Pitchfork (website) 5.8/10 [5]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Cahoots is the fourth studio album by Canadian/American rock group the Band. It was released in 1971 to mixed reviews, and was their last album of original material for four years. The album's front cover was painted by New York artist/illustrator Gilbert Stone, while the back cover features a photograph portrait of the group by Richard Avedon. The album features guest vocals from Van Morrison. Libby Titus, the partner of drummer Levon Helm and mother of their daughter Amy Helm, also contributed uncredited backing vocals to "The River Hymn", the first time a woman appeared on a Band album. [9] [10]

Contents

Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau described the mood of the album as being "filled with a 'tinge of extinction.'" [11]

In 2021, a "50th Anniversary" edition of the album was released containing a remix of the original tracks plus outtakes and a partial concert recording from the Olympia Theatre, Paris in May 1971. [12]

Track listing

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."Life Is a Carnival" Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko Danko and Helm3:55
2."When I Paint My Masterpiece" Bob Dylan Helm4:21
3."Last of the Blacksmiths"Robertson Richard Manuel 3:41
4."Where Do We Go from Here?"RobertsonDanko, Helm3:47
5."4% Pantomime"Robertson, Van Morrison Manuel, Morrison4:32

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."Shoot Out in Chinatown"RobertsonManuel, Danko, Helm2:51
2."The Moon Struck One"RobertsonManuel4:09
3."Thinkin' Out Loud"RobertsonDanko3:19
4."Smoke Signal"RobertsonHelm5:11
5."Volcano"RobertsonDanko3:05
6."The River Hymn"RobertsonHelm4:40

2000 reissue bonus tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Endless Highway" (Early studio take)Robertson3:46
13."When I Paint My Masterpiece" (Alternate take)Dylan3:57
14."Bessie Smith" (Outtake)Danko, Robertson4:17
15."Don't Do It" (Outtake – Studio version) Holland-Dozier-Holland 3:54
16."Radio Commercial" 1:04

Personnel

The Band [13] [14] [15]

Additional personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Band</span> Canadian-American rock band

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, and R&B, influencing musicians such as George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.

<i>Music from Big Pink</i> 1968 studio album by the Band

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Danko</span> Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician (1943–1999)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Manuel</span> Canadian musician (1943–1986)

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.

<i>Stage Fright</i> (album) 1970 studio album by the Band

Stage Fright is the third studio album by Canadian–American group the Band, released in 1970. It featured two of the group's best known songs, "The Shape I'm In" and "Stage Fright", both of which showcased inspired lead vocal performances and became staples in the group's live shows.

<i>Rock of Ages</i> (The Band album) 1972 live album by the Band

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.

<i>Moondog Matinee</i> 1973 studio album by the Band

Moondog Matinee is the fifth studio album by Canadian/American rock group the Band, released in 1973. It consists entirely of cover material reflecting the group's love of R&B and blues music, with one exception in their interpretation of the theme from the film The Third Man.

<i>Northern Lights – Southern Cross</i> 1975 studio album by The Band

Northern Lights – Southern Cross is the sixth studio album by Canadian-American rock group the Band, released in 1975. It was the first album to be recorded at their new California studio, Shangri-La, and the first album of all new material since 1971's Cahoots. It was recorded using a 24-track tape recorder, which allowed Garth Hudson to include multiple layers of keyboards on several tracks, and it is the only Band album where all songs are credited as compositions of guitarist Robbie Robertson.

<i>The Last Waltz</i> (soundtrack) 1978 soundtrack album by the Band

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.

<i>Jericho</i> (The Band album) 1993 studio album by the Band

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.

<i>Jubilation</i> (The Band album) 1998 studio album by the Band

Jubilation is the tenth and final studio album by Canadian/American rock group the Band. Recorded in the spring of 1998 in Levon Helm's home studio in Woodstock, New York, it was released on September 15, 1998. For the first time since the group reformed without guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson, there were more originals than covers. Songs include "Last Train to Memphis", featuring guest guitarist Eric Clapton, Garth Hudson's solo instrumental closer "French Girls", Rick Danko's "High Cotton" and the ode to Ronnie Hawkins, "White Cadillac".

<i>Live at Watkins Glen</i> 1995 live album by the Band

Live at Watkins Glen is a 1995 album by the Band, presented by Capitol Records as a live album from the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen rock festival held outside Watkins Glen, New York, on July 28, 1973, in front of 600,000 people. Garth Hudson's organ solo, "Too Wet to Work", and the plainly titled "Jam" come from the actual Watkins Glen concert, as does the introduction of the group by Bill Graham. The former track appears on the out-of-print 1994 box set Across the Great Divide, but the latter track is only present on the Watkins Glen disc. The remainder of the tracks are two studio outtakes with overdubbed crowd noise, "Back to Memphis" and "Endless Highway", plus five tracks from the Academy of Music shows in December 1971 and "Don't Ya Tell Henry" from the Woodstock festival in 1969. The two studio outtakes are available on the 2001 re-release of Moondog Matinee, without the crowd overdubs. The Academy of Music tracks are available on the 2001 two-CD re-release of Rock of Ages as "previously unavailable" tracks.

<i>Rick Danko</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Rick Danko

Rick Danko is the 1977 eponymous debut by the bassist and singer for the Band. Featuring ten tracks mainly written by Danko, mostly in conjunction with lyricists Bobby Charles and Emmett Grogan, it was the first solo album by any member of the group and was Danko's only solo studio album; the other two albums he released in his lifetime were solo live recordings and collaborative studio albums.

Elizabeth Titus is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and concert producer.

"Chest Fever" is a song recorded by the Band on its 1968 debut, Music from Big Pink. It is, according to Peter Viney, a historian of the group, the album track that has appeared on the most subsequent live albums and compilations, second only to "The Weight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life Is a Carnival</span> 1971 single by the Band

"Life is a Carnival" is the opening track of the Band's fourth album, Cahoots. Written by Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Robbie Robertson, the song features horn arrangements by New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint. The song is the only track from the Cahoots album included on the original releases of Rock of Ages and The Last Waltz. The song was featured in the Bill Murray movie Larger Than Life.

Stanley Martin Szelest was an American musician from Buffalo, New York, known for founding an influential blues band in the 1950s and 1960s, Stan and the Ravens, and later as a keyboardist with Ronnie Hawkins and, briefly, with The Band.

<i>Let It Rock</i> (Ronnie Hawkins album) 1995 live album by Ronnie Hawkins

Let It Rock is a Juno Award-nominated album that documents American-Canadian singer Ronnie Hawkins's 60th birthday celebration and concert at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario. The concert took place on January 8, 1995, and featured performances by Hawkins, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Band and Larry Gowan. Jeff Healey sat in on guitar for most, if not all, of the performances. Hawkins's band, the Hawks, or permutations of it, backed most, if not all, of the acts. All of the musicians performing that night were collectively dubbed "the Rock ‘N’ Roll Orchestra". The concert is among the last recorded of both Perkins and Rick Danko of the Band. An eponymous video of the concert was also released.

"We Can Talk" is a 1968 song by The Band that was the opener for the second side of their debut album Music From Big Pink Written by Richard Manuel, it features The Band's three main vocalists in nearly equal turns, often finishing each other's phrases. Initially a staple of their concerts, it was dropped from the set list in 1971.

"4% Pantomime" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and Van Morrison. It was first released on the Band's 1971 album Cahoots.

References

  1. "Cahoots – The Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  3. Scherman, Tony (September 1, 2000). "Music Review: 'The Band'". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  4. 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.
  5. "The Band: Cahoots (50th Anniversary Edition)". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  6. "The Band: Cahoots". Q : 139. October 2000.
  7. "The Band: Cahoots". Rolling Stone . August 31, 2000. pp. 69–73.
  8. 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.
  9. "Libby Titus". Theband.hiof.no.
  10. "The Band, "The River Hymn" (1971): Across the Great Divide". Somethingelsereviews.com. 9 October 2014.
  11. Landau, Jon (November 11, 1971). "Cahoots". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  12. "The Band – Cahoots (2021, Remixed, Expanded , CD)". Discogs.com. December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  13. "Cahoots – the Band | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic .
  14. "History of The Band: "Stage Fright" and "Cahoots"". Theband.hiof.no. 1991-07-26. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
  15. "Peter Viney: Cahoots – a Retrospective". Theband.hiof.no.
  16. "Libby Titus: Libby Titus".