Rock of Ages | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | August 15, 1972 | |||
Recorded | December 28–31, 1971 | |||
Venue | Academy of Music, New York City | |||
Genre | Roots rock | |||
Length | 78:19 | |||
Label | Capitol SABB 11045 | |||
Producer | The Band | |||
The Band chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B [2] |
DownBeat | [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | A [4] |
MusicHound | 5/5 [5] |
Q | [6] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
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. [8] 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 Band booked a residency at the Academy of Music for the last week of 1971, culminating in a New Year's Eve performance. Four nights were recorded, December 28 through 31. [9]
Robbie Robertson had commissioned New Orleans songwriter and arranger Allen Toussaint to compose horn charts for their recent single "Life Is a Carnival" from the album Cahoots , and decided to have Toussaint write special charts for a five-man horn section to augment the group at the upcoming concerts. [10] The initial charts written by Toussaint in New Orleans were in luggage lost at the airport, and a new set was composed in a cabin near Robertson's house in Woodstock. [11] Robertson selected eleven songs to receive horn charts (all of the original Rock of Ages album except for "Get Up Jake", "Stage Fright", "This Wheel's on Fire", "The Weight", "The Shape I'm In", and "The Genetic Method."). [12]
The repertoire consisted of material from all four of the Band's studio albums up to that point, plus one new original song, "Get Up Jake", and three covers. The group played the 1964 Motown hit single "Baby Don't You Do It" by Marvin Gaye, another Motown song, the 1966 hit single "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" by the Four Tops, and "(I Don't Want To) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes", the b-side of Chuck Willis' final single. [13]
Bob Dylan, their old employer, made a surprise visit on the New Year's Eve show, playing the final four songs with the group in the early morning hours of January 1, 1972. [14] The horn section added spontaneous flourishes to "Down in the Flood" and "Rolling Stone".
These recordings have been released many times, with significant changes to the track list, running order, and mix. Originally released in 1972 as a double album, it was reissued in 1980 as two separate LPs, titled Rock of Ages, Vol. 1 and Rock of Ages, Vol. 2. The first edition for compact disc in 1987 was released as an "abridged version"; "The Genetic Method" (Garth Hudson's instrumental solo/introduction to "Chest Fever") was omitted, but later re-instated on the unedited two-disc version released in 1990. A budget re-release on CD was also issued in 1990 named The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down: The Best of the Band Live in Concert . On May 8, 2001, an expanded and remastered two-disc edition appeared, with the original album on one disc, and an additional ten tracks on a bonus disc, including the four songs with Bob Dylan from his guest appearance on the final night.
The 2005 retrospective box set A Musical History contains nine tracks from these concerts, newly remixed from the multitrack tapes, including a previously unreleased performance of the song "Smoke Signal" from the December 28 show. A hybrid SACD reissue of the original album was released on the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab label in 2010. [15]
In 2013, Capitol released Live at the Academy of Music 1971: The Rock of Ages Concerts, as both a two-CD set, and as a box set that contains a new stereo mix of all previously released material from the concerts with a new running order, plus the previously unreleased performance of "Strawberry Wine" from the December 28 show. The box set includes the same two discs, plus two discs containing the complete December 31 show in its entirety (11 tracks are duplicates of the first two discs, but the rest were previously unreleased), and a DVD containing most of the first two discs of audio in 5.1 surround mixes and video of "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show." [16]
The song "Chest Fever" from this album is available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band .
All tracks are written by Robbie Robertson except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Introduction by Robertson" | 1:22 | ||
2. | "Don't Do It" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland Jr. | December 29 | 5:00 |
3. | "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" | December 31 | 4:04 | |
4. | "Caledonia Mission" | December 30 | 3:38 | |
5. | "Get Up Jake" | December 30 | 3:33 | |
6. | "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" | December 31 | 3:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Stage Fright" | December 31 | 4:38 | |
2. | "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" | December 29 | 4:34 | |
3. | "Across the Great Divide" | December 30 | 3:59 | |
4. | "This Wheel's on Fire" | Rick Danko, Bob Dylan | December 29 | 4:07 |
5. | "Rag Mama Rag" | December 31 | 4:33 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Weight" | December 30 | 5:32 | |
2. | "The Shape I'm In" | December 31 | 4:14 | |
3. | "The Unfaithful Servant" | December 31 | 4:48 | |
4. | "Life Is a Carnival" | Levon Helm, Robertson, Danko | December 30 | 4:17 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Genetic Method" | Garth Hudson | December 31 | 7:48 |
2. | "Chest Fever" | December 28 | 5:24 | |
3. | "(I Don't Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes" | Chuck Willis | December 29 | 4:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" | Stevie Wonder, Ivy Jo Hunter | December 29 | 3:28 |
2. | "I Shall Be Released" | Dylan | December 30 | 4:03 |
3. | "Up on Cripple Creek" | December 30 | 4:38 | |
4. | "The Rumor" | December 30 | 5:02 | |
5. | "Rockin' Chair" | December 29 | 4:06 | |
6. | "Time to Kill" | December 28 | 4:07 | |
7. | "Down in the Flood" | Dylan | December 31 | 5:25 |
8. | "When I Paint My Masterpiece" | Dylan | December 31 | 4:17 |
9. | "Don't Ya Tell Henry" | Dylan | December 31 | 4:38 |
10. | "Like A Rolling Stone" | Dylan | December 31 | 5:24 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" | December 31 | 3:50 | |
2. | "The Shape I'm In" | December 31 | 3:49 | |
3. | "Caledonia Mission" | December 30 | 3:20 | |
4. | "Don't Do It" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland Jr. | December 29 | 4:28 |
5. | "Stage Fright" | December 31 | 4:22 | |
6. | "I Shall Be Released" | Bob Dylan | December 30 | 4:01 |
7. | "Up on Cripple Creek" | December 30 | 4:40 | |
8. | "This Wheel's on Fire" | Rick Danko, Bob Dylan | December 29 | 3:48 |
9. | "Strawberry Wine" | Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm | December 28 | 3:31 |
10. | "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" | December 31 | 3:58 | |
11. | "Time to Kill" | December 28 | 4:09 | |
12. | "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" | December 29 | 4:41 | |
13. | "Across the Great Divide" | December 30 | 3:28 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Life Is a Carnival" | Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko | December 30 | 4:04 |
2. | "Get Up Jake" | December 30 | 3:17 | |
3. | "Rag Mama Rag" | December 31 | 4:04 | |
4. | "The Unfaithful Servant" | December 31 | 4:30 | |
5. | "The Weight" | December 30 | 5:16 | |
6. | "Rockin' Chair" | December 29 | 4:04 | |
7. | "Smoke Signal" | December 28 | 5:20 | |
8. | "The Rumor" | December 30 | 5:04 | |
9. | "The Genetic Method" | Garth Hudson | December 31 | 7:31 |
10. | "Chest Fever" | December 28 | 5:08 | |
11. | "(I Don't Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes" | Chuck Willis | December 29 | 4:36 |
12. | "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" | Stevie Wonder, Ivy Jo Hunter | December 29 | 3:31 |
13. | "Down in the Flood" | Dylan | December 31 | 5:11 |
14. | "When I Paint My Masterpiece" | Dylan | December 31 | 4:57 |
15. | "Don't Ya Tell Henry" | Dylan | December 31 | 3:55 |
16. | "Like A Rolling Stone" | Dylan | December 31 | 5:26 |
The Band
Additional musicians
Production
Chart (1972) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [17] | 3 |
US Billboard 200 [18] | 6 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [8] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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.
The Band is the second studio album by the Canadian-American rock band 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. Thus, the songs on this album draw on historic themes for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "King Harvest " and "Jawbone".
Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson was a Canadian musician. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the Canadian-American rock group the Band. It was released in 2000 on Capitol Records. The album was released in conjunction with remastered versions of the group's first four albums. It draws very heavily from these records, with thirteen of the eighteen tracks selected from Music from Big Pink, The Band, Stage Fright and Cahoots.
To Kingdom Come: The Definitive Collection is an anthology by Canadian-American rock band the Band, released in 1989. The thirty-one tracks were mostly taken from the group's eight albums on Capitol Records. The group's better-known songs, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", "Chest Fever", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "The Shape I'm In", "Life Is a Carnival" and "It Makes No Difference", are all present. Rarities such as "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever", "Get Up Jake" and "Back to Memphis" are also present.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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".
"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.
"It Makes No Difference" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and sung by Rick Danko that was first released by The Band on their 1975 album Northern Lights – Southern Cross. It has also appeared on live and compilation albums, including the soundtrack to the film The Last Waltz. Among the artists that have covered the song are Solomon Burke, My Morning Jacket, The Icicle Works, Trey Anastasio, Over the Rhine and Eric Clapton.
"Rag Mama Rag" is a song by The Band which was first released on their 1969 album The Band. It was also released as a single, reaching #16 on the UK Singles Chart, the highest position for any single by the group. The single was less successful in the US, reaching only #57 on the Billboard Hot 100.
30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965–1995 is a four-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains 30 songs recorded in concert—one from each of the years 1966 through 1995—plus one song recorded in a 1965 studio session. All of the tracks are selected from the 80-CD box set 30 Trips Around the Sun, which contains 30 previously unreleased complete shows. The album was released on September 18, 2015. A chronological sampling format was also used for the 5-disc set So Many Roads (1965–1995).
"The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" is a song written by Robbie Robertson that was first released on the Band's 1970 album Stage Fright. It was also frequently performed in the group's live sets and appeared on several of their live albums. Based on Levon Helm's memories of minstrel and medicine shows in Arkansas, the song has been interpreted as an allegory on the music business. Garth Hudson received particular praise for his tenor saxophone playing on the song.
"The Unfaithful Servant" or "Unfaithful Servant" is a song written by Robbie Robertson that was first released by The Band on their 1969 album The Band. It was also released as the B-side of the group's "Rag Mama Rag" single. It has also appeared on several of the Band's live and compilation albums.
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.