i have music from big pink, self titled and rock of ages all in remastered expanded form. i have the basement tapes, the last waltz 4 cd boxset, across the great divide boxset and bob dylan 1966 bootleg vol. 4 concert.

should i get the rest of the studio albums remastered or get the musical history boxset?

Stage Fright is a good album but i'd buy all Robbie Robertson solo records first.

After Stage Fright it's a case of diminishing returns, I'm afraid. They were never quite the same. The new Academy box set should be spectacular though.

Quote
Silver Dagger
After Stage Fright it's a case of diminishing returns, I'm afraid. They were never quite the same. The new Academy box set should be spectacular though.

that boxset looks pretty pointless to me

Quote
thrak
Stage Fright is a good album but i'd buy all Robbie Robertson solo records first.

i own 3 of his solo albums

I got it all on original LPs. Most from solo-albums also...I'm very fond of Danko's self-titled album...

Isn't there a Box out with everything with The Band + extras? a early one...must be reissued remastered theseadays...my advice to buy that one....

2 1 2 0

Robbie's last cd (with Clapton on a lot of it) was unreal good.

Quote
Come On
I got it all on original LPs. Most from solo-albums also...I'm very fond of Danko's self-titled album...

Isn't there a Box out with everything with The Band + extras? a early one...must be reissued remastered theseadays...my advice to buy that one....

there are 4 boxsets by the band:
-across the great divide (which i have). 3 cd set. first 2 cd's contain selections from the bands albums and cd 3 contains rare/unreleased stuff

- the last waltz (which i have)- 4 cd set with the entire concert and a disc of rehearsals and stuff.

-a musical history- 5 cd/1 dvd set. this set contains 1 disc of pre band stuff and then 4 cd's that pick songs from the bands albums and unreleased stuff and bob dylan albums they appeared on. the dvd has some live footage

- live at academy (released later this month). the set contains 4 cd's and a dvd with 5.1 mix.

Across The Great Divide reproduced an early 90s compilation, To Kingdom Come, and I felt it wasn't any great shakes: A Musical History is 100 times better, as are the individual albums, apart from Islands, which is rubbish.

As a side issue, though produced by Rick Danko, and featuring The Band sans Robbie, you should buy the Bobby Charles album from 1972, as it's great songwriting and rootsy sounds.

-across the great divide (which i have). 3 cd set. first 2 cd's contain selections from the bands albums and cd 3 contains rare/unreleased stuff


This is the one that I will buy...I listen very rarely to 'Moondog,Northern and Island'...

2 1 2 0

Quote
Come On
-across the great divide (which i have). 3 cd set. first 2 cd's contain selections from the bands albums and cd 3 contains rare/unreleased stuff


This is the one that I will buy...I listen very rarely to 'Moondog,Northern and Island'...

You can't buy it as it's now deleted.

Quote
tomcasagranda

Quote
Come On
-across the great divide (which i have). 3 cd set. first 2 cd's contain selections from the bands albums and cd 3 contains rare/unreleased stuff


This is the one that I will buy...I listen very rarely to 'Moondog,Northern and Island'...

You can't buy it as it's now deleted.

ebay

Lots of roots rock solo stuff from Levon Helm..his Chromatics albums...his last ones with Larry Campbell...

The 'musical history' box is a real good overview of The Band..

I know taste is subjective, but Moondog Matinee is a great album, with some excellent outtakes i.e. Didn't It Rain, Back to Memphis, Cryin' Heart Blues. Concerning cover albums: it knocks Bryan Ferry's These Foolish Things, John Lennon's Rock'n'Roll, Nillson's Pussy Cats, McCartney's Choba CCCP, into a tinned hat. Certainly, it's far better than Self Portrait by Dylan (1970 version, not Bootleg Vol 10).

The album "Jericho" from the early 90's sans Robbie is surprisingly strong as well. Mostly covers but the right covers. Great versions of Springsteen's "Atlantic City" and Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell", and a poignant tribute to Richard Manuel, "Too Soon Gone" by Danko. The follow up post Robbie albums are less interesting but have moments.

Ross



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-10 16:49 by Ross.

Deuce and A Quarter

The Levon Helm solo albums are damn good, too. Especially Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt.

Cahoots?

Quote
reg thorpe
Cahoots?

Cahoots has the best version of a Bob Dylan song by any group (imo): When I Paint My Masterpiece.

You can buy all their stuff, it's worth the money in anyway!
The first 4 releases are their best ones followed by their last great effort: Northern Lights Southern Cross.
Their last release Islands was just a give away for the fans with outtakes from former sessions as far as I know.
A musical history contains most of their stuff, but in my opinion you can't find that special esprit on it which every Band album owns. But that's my personal opinion.

Keep on rollin'
Gangster

Quote
Cristiano Radtke

Quote
reg thorpe
Cahoots?

Cahoots has the best version of a Bob Dylan song by any group (imo): When I Paint My Masterpiece.

I agree....also love 4% Pantomime with Van Morrison

One CD not mentioned if you like the obscure is one I have only because I was there as the song selection is weak is LIve at Watkins Glenn which had to be their largest audience I'm thinking.

Quote
Des
One CD not mentioned if you like the obscure is one I have only because I was there as the song selection is weak is LIve at Watkins Glenn which had to be their largest audience I'm thinking.

yeah dude thats not real. its about 85%-90% studio material with crowd noise overdubbed. thats why its out of print, the members of the band had it pulled when they discovered it wasn't live

Quote
reg thorpe

Quote
Cristiano Radtke

Quote
reg thorpe
Cahoots?

Cahoots has the best version of a Bob Dylan song by any group (imo): When I Paint My Masterpiece.

I agree....also love 4% Pantomime with Van Morrison

Also Moon Plus One; arrangements by an uncredited Gil Evans.

Quote
keefriffhard4life

Quote
Des
One CD not mentioned if you like the obscure is one I have only because I was there as the song selection is weak is LIve at Watkins Glenn which had to be their largest audience I'm thinking.

yeah dude thats not real. its about 85%-90% studio material with crowd noise overdubbed. thats why its out of print, the members of the band had it pulled when they discovered it wasn't live

Too Wet to Work is the only thing ever issued from Watkins.

Quote
tomcasagranda

Quote
keefriffhard4life

Quote
Des
One CD not mentioned if you like the obscure is one I have only because I was there as the song selection is weak is LIve at Watkins Glenn which had to be their largest audience I'm thinking.

yeah dude thats not real. its about 85%-90% studio material with crowd noise overdubbed. thats why its out of print, the members of the band had it pulled when they discovered it wasn't live

Too Wet to Work is the only thing ever issued from Watkins.

i thought they said 1 other song was live and the the introduction was live

The Band, Stage Fright and Cahoots are all excellent albums. Watkins Glen album is a fraud as noted by The Band on their liner notes of Moondog Matinee. I too was at Watkins Glen right in front of the stage. We got there five days before the show and watched the stage being built. It turned out to be a two day concert as all the bands did extended sound checks on Friday the day before the main show. Saturday at noon The Dead got things started. Around 2am after 14 hours of music the bands The Dead, The Band and The Allman Bros all Jammed along with Billy Graham for an hour and a half. One of the songs they covered during the jam was "Not Fade Away"!

Quote
Gangster-of-love
You can buy all their stuff, it's worth the money in anyway!
The first 4 releases are their best ones....

Agreed. The first 3 albums, especially, are as solid a body of work as anything in RnR. It is rich music on all levels. Start there and go as far as you want after that. Robbie's great muse was the rural American south and Levon's voice took you right there. There is wonderful imagery, characters, romance, humor and history in those songs. The songs were created by musicians who worked the road and lived the life. Someone wrote the songs sounded timeless on the first listen. I remember when I first heard "Big Pink." The first song was a father's lament about his child's estrangement from him. What an extraordinary off message song that was in '68! When I am in the mood to revisit those albums I am amazed that my appreciation continues to grow even after all these years. I can say that about very few bands.

In a related theme, teh first Jesse Winchester album produced by Robbie Robertson is also worthy of consideration.

Yes I was aware of the contaversy over the Watkins Glen CD. I had not heard the audience overdubs as my reserch indicated other live shows it may have been a compilation of. And the Too Wet is called BeBop to Bach on my copy which would cover that insane thunder storm that soaked us.

Like I said, obscure for what ever reason, I've got one and for the one song I lived it.