The Band A Musical History

The Band’s history is an incredible journey through the terrain of rock ‘n’ roll.  There isn’t a valley that the band hasn’t been in, a mountain it hasn’t already climbed.  With a story as rich as theirs and a send-off as memorable, this band of tried and true musicians known individually as Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, with the late Richard Manuel and Rick Danko, and collectively as the one and only The Band, there is not a thing that can be any more appropriate than a box set to effectively capture the shadows that The Band cast throughout their all too brief career.

Each member brought a mix of heart and passion into the music that they created.  And when they gracefully exited during the Last Waltz, they equally took a share of our hearts and passions with them.  They exited when they felt that the weight of what they had become was too much for them to carry any longer without exacting a toll too pricey to pay.  Sadly, the departure also took the lives of several members.

One of the beautiful things of The Band was their ability to contribute effectively to their growing body of compositions.  Today, nothing is more haunting than the Richard Manual version of Dylan’s pleading “I Shall Be Released.”  Today, “The Weight” still resonates even as a soundtrack to a vehicle commercial.  Today, The Band’s farewell, The Last Waltz, is still the only party ever afforded a band that can still be watched in awe some 30 years after the demise of the band.

A Musical History, the 5CD/1DVD box, supervised by The Band mainstay, Robbie Robertson, has been in production for the better part of two years as material was gathered, remastered, thoughtfully and representatively sequenced, and assembled with all the historical aspects that make this set more than a memorable celebration, it becomes a phenomena.  Just as The Last Waltz chronicled their willingly laid down instruments, A Musical History chronicles their varied travels to get to The Last Waltz.

Each disc houses a massive store of tunes, numbering 102 in all. With a satisfying selection of previously unissued tracks, some of them demos, early versions, song sketches, and live material, there is a well-rounded look at The Band from its infancy to its voluntary departure.  There is also an included DVD of performances that include 3 Saturday Night Live pieces, a few selections from the famed Festival Express Train Tour with The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, some London shows pieces and a studio video, circa 1970.

Disc One begins the review with selections from their start as the back-up for Screamin’ Ronnie Hawkins, whose timeless “Who Do You Love” effectively kicks off the collection.  Eventually, they became known as Levon & The Hawks.  That incarnation is represented here with 6 tunes, 3 of them previously unreleased.  As the discs number upward, the material found on them represent the time-spaces occupied at the song’s release.  You’ll also find Dylan tunes played by The Band and the extraordinary The Staples assist in The Last Waltz’s “The Weight” as some of the tracks on this set.

By the time we get to disc 5 and the twilight of The Band’s recording career with the grossly underrated Islands, you’ll find the very good Danko tune, “The Saga of Pepote Rouge” along with an unreleased song sketch of “Twilight;” “Christmas Must Be Tonight;” and “Livin’ In a Dream.”  I’m a little disappointed that the Robertson tune, “Right As Rain” didn’t make this collection as I’ve always felt that the song contained the defining words for The Band in “He spent a lifetime trying to move beyond that rainbow.”  One of the many unreleased tunes is “Home Cookin’,” a song from the Islands sessions that is not a bad song at all.  It’s the inclusion of songs like these that give us a deeper look into the sessions that surround the album and the wide choice that they played with while paring the album down to fit within the time limitations of 2 sides of vinyl.

Between discs 1 and 5, the excellent (Stage Fright, Northern Lights), the good (Cahoots), and the so-so (Moondog Matinee), plus selections from their live works Rock of Ages and The Last Waltz, take shape and are amply represented.  The Band, beginning, middle, and end. The set is completed with an excellent 100+ page book that is housed, with the discs, within a hauntingly beautiful book-style casing, making the whole deal a very difficult box to pass on if you’re a fan of The Band.

As The Band moved from back-up musicians to top-tier talent, they became more than the sum of their parts.  They became a highly respected unit, capable of releasing songs that can be heard forever.  Great bands do that.  A Musical History, with its collection of songs that trace the footpaths of The Band, we are now in possession of a timeless document worthy of their contributions to the legacy of music.  It’s indispensable.