The Last Waltz (2002 album)

The Last Waltz
Soundtrack album & box set by The Band
Released	April 16, 2002
Recorded	November 25, 1976 (Winterland Arena, San Francisco) Late 1976–mid-1977 (Studio overdubs)
Genre	Rock
Length	246:18
Label	Warner Bros./Rhino
Producer	Robbie Robertson
The Band chronology
Greatest Hits (2000) The Last Waltz (2002) A Musical History (2005)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Last Waltz is a 2002 four-disc box set re-release of the 1978 album The Last Waltz documenting the concert The Last Waltz , the last concert by the Band with its classic line up. A full forty tracks are taken from the show in addition to rehearsal outtakes. Twenty-four tracks are previously unreleased.

Among the tracks added are a version of Louis Jordan's "Caldonia" featuring Muddy Waters and Pinetop Perkins trading off the vocal, a reworked version of "Rag Mama Rag", Neil Young and Joni Mitchell joining the Band on "Acadian Driftwood", "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show", excerpts from a pair of instrumental jams involving several of the concert's guest performers, and the concert closer "Don't Do It". In addition, several edits made on the original 1978 set have been done away with; certain songs (such as "Forever Young" with Bob Dylan) are now presented in their unedited versions.

Songs still missing from the concert are a version of "Georgia on My Mind", the full versions of the two jams presented, the full version of "Chest Fever", and the concert takes of "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and "Evangeline". While the album still has overdubbing, re-sequencing, and editing, it does give a more accurate representation of the event itself than the earlier album or film do, according to collectors who have made comparisons with bootleg recordings of the concert. ^[2]

On November 11, 2016, this set was reissued as part of a 40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set edition that includes the 1978 Scorsese film on a separate Blu-ray disc. It is not indicated whether or not new mastering was done to the audio discs over and above that from the 2002 reissue.

Track listing

All songs were written by Robbie Robertson, except where noted.

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest performer(s)	Length
1.	"Theme from the Last Waltz**"		The Orchestra	3:52
2.	"Up on Cripple Creek**"			5:31
3.	"The Shape I'm In"			4:10
4.	"It Makes No Difference"			6:51
5.	"Who Do You Love?**"	Ellas McDaniel	Ronnie Hawkins	4:51
6.	"Life Is a Carnival"	Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson		4:25
7.	"Such a Night**"	Mac Rebennack	Dr. John	4:41
8.	"The Weight*"			4:50
9.	"Down South in New Orleans"	Jack Anglin, Jim Anglin, Johnnie Wright	Bobby Charles, Dr. John	3:11
10.	"This Wheel's on Fire*"	Rick Danko, Bob Dylan		3:54
11.	"Mystery Train"	Junior Parker, Sam Phillips	Paul Butterfield	5:03
12.	"Caldonia*"	Louis Jordan	Muddy Waters, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin	6:08
13.	"Mannish Boy"	Mel London, Ellas McDaniel, McKinley Morganfield	Muddy Waters	6:40
14.	"Stage Fright"			4:31

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest performer(s)	Length
1.	"Rag Mama Rag*"			4:34
2.	"All Our Past Times*"	Eric Clapton, Rick Danko	Eric Clapton	5:01
3.	"Further on Up the Road**"	Don Robey, Joe Medwick	Eric Clapton	5:30
4.	"Ophelia"			3:45
5.	"Helpless" (Mitchell uncredited on track listing)	Neil Young	Neil Young, Joni Mitchell	5:53
6.	"Four Strong Winds*"	Ian Tyson	Neil Young	4:37
7.	"Coyote"	Joni Mitchell	Joni Mitchell	5:28
8.	"Shadows and Light*"	Joni Mitchell	Joni Mitchell	5:45
9.	"Furry Sings the Blues*"	Joni Mitchell	Joni Mitchell, Neil Young	5:09
10.	"Acadian Driftwood*" (Mitchell and Young uncredited on track listing)		Joni Mitchell, Neil Young	7:07
11.	"Dry Your Eyes**"	Neil Diamond, Robbie Robertson	Neil Diamond	4:16
12.	"The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show*"			3:39
13.	"Tura Lura Lural (That's an Irish Lullaby)"	James Royce Shannon	Van Morrison	4:10
14.	"Caravan**"	Van Morrison	Van Morrison	6:12

Disc three

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest performer(s)	Length
1.	"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down**"			4:35
2.	"The Genetic Method/Chest Fever*" (incomplete)	Garth Hudson/Robbie Robertson		2:41
3.	"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down"	Reverend Gary Davis	Bob Dylan	2:55
4.	"Hazel*"	Bob Dylan	Bob Dylan	3:41
5.	"I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)"	Bob Dylan	Bob Dylan	3:29
6.	"Forever Young**"	Bob Dylan	Bob Dylan	5:51
7.	"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (reprise)**"	Gary Davis	Bob Dylan	2:58
8.	"I Shall Be Released**" (finale)	Bob Dylan	Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton; Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Pinetop Perkins	4:49
9.	"Jam #1*" (Danko, Helm, Hudson and Robertson from the Band)		Neil Young, Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Ringo Starr	5:32
10.	"Jam #2*" (Helm and Hudson from the Band)		Neil Young, Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, Carl Radle	9:10
11.	"Don't Do It*"	B. Holland-L. Dozier-E. Holland		6:19
12.	"Greensleeves*"	traditional		1:37

Disc four

"The Last Waltz Suite"

No.	Title	Guest performer(s)	Length
1.	"The Well"		3:32
2.	"Evangeline"	Emmylou Harris	3:10
3.	"Out of the Blue**"		3:20
4.	"The Weight" (Mavis Staples and Pops Staples take lead vocals respectively on the second and third verses)	The Staples	4:35
5.	"The Last Waltz Refrain"		1:32
6.	"Theme from the Last Waltz"		3:26

Concert rehearsal

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest performer(s)	Length
7.	"King Harvest (Has Surely Come)*"			3:52
8.	"Tura Lura Lural (That's an Irish Lullaby)*"	James Royce Shannon	Van Morrison	3:52
9.	"Caravan*"	Van Morrison	Van Morrison	6:30
10.	"Such a Night*"	Mac Rebennack	Dr. John	5:24
11.	"Rag Mama Rag*"			3:52

Studio ideas

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Mad Waltz*" (early version of "The Well")	5:30
13.	"The Last Waltz Refrain*" (early instrumental version)	0:50
14.	"The Last Waltz Theme*" (sketch track)	3:34

All of the tracks marked with * were previously unreleased.
All of the tracks marked with ** feature additional material.

Personnel

The Band

• Rick Danko – bass, fiddle, vocals
• Levon Helm – drums, mandolin, vocals
• Garth Hudson – organ, piano, accordion, synthesizers, clavinet, horns
• Richard Manuel – piano, drums, organ, clavinet, dobro, vocals
• Robbie Robertson – guitars, piano, vocals

The horn section

• Rich Cooper – trumpet, flugelhorn
• James Gordon – flute, tenor saxophone, clarinet
• Jerry Hey – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Howard Johnson – tuba, baritone saxophone, flugelhorn, bass clarinet
• Charlie Keagle – clarinet, flute, alto, tenor and soprano saxophones
• Tom Malone – trombone, euphonium, alto flute, bass trombone
• Larry Packer – electric violin
• Horns arranged by Henry Glover, Garth Hudson, Howard Johnson, Tom Malone, John Simon and Allen Toussaint

The guests

Paul Butterfield – harmonica, vocals Bobby Charles – vocals Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals Neil Diamond – guitar, vocals Dr. John – piano, guitar, congas, vocals Bob Dylan – guitar, vocals Emmylou Harris – guitar, vocals studio portion Ronnie Hawkins – vocals Bob Margolin – guitar Joni Mitchell – guitar, vocals Van Morrison – vocals Pinetop Perkins – piano, vocals

Carl Radle – bass Dennis St. John – drums John Simon – piano Cleotha Staples – harmony vocal studio portion Mavis Staples – vocals studio portion Roebuck "Pops" Staples – guitar, vocals studio portion Yvonne Staples – harmony vocal studio portion Ringo Starr – drums Stephen Stills – guitar Muddy Waters – vocals Ronnie Wood – guitar Neil Young – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Production

• Robbie Robertson – producer
• John Simon and Rob Fraboni – co-producers
• Ed Anderson – recording and mixing engineer
• Terry Becker, Neil Brody, Tim Kramer, Elliot Mazer and Wayne Neuendorf – recording engineers
• Baker Bigsby, Tony Bustos and Jeremy Zatkin – mixing engineers

Other credits

• Bill Graham – concert production
• John Simon – string arrangements

References

1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2002-04-16). "The Last Waltz [Box Set] - The Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-07-28.
2. Katz, John; Warschawski, Dror. "The 4 audio versions of The Last Waltz". Theband.hiof.no. Retrieved 2007-01-07.