The Band has an album called “The Band” and it is considered to be one of the greatest albums ever to exist. There’s a few other songs on the album that you should give a listen to for example, The Night That Drove Old Dixie Down, Across The Great Divide, Look out Cleveland, When You’re Awake and a few others but once you listen to it you will understand why it’s considered to be one of the greatest albums ever made.
The "weight" is the load that we shoulder when we take on responsibility or when we try to do good. But it's also the heaviness that presses down on us when we fall into "sin" or wrestle with "temptation." It's a song about a universally human dilemma.
Load of fanny is referring to taking a book off Fannie's store Shelf it was a woman that sold books I forget in what town but when he says the Cannonball that was the train that brought him back to that place where the bookstore was if you look the story up about what it's really about it is quite interesting very deep song
“The Band” is a Canadian band with one American member, Levon Helm (drummer) from Arkansas, beautiful voice. R.I.P. Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel. You should hear this version when it’s done with The Staples singers, from the movie “The Last Waltz”. ,
His daughter Amy played with Phil Lesh last year and we got the weight, ophelia, and Atlantic City in one night. And a ton of sick Grateful Dead licks 😎🤙
Ya'll should check out the movie/documentary by martin scorcese "The Last Waltz", it's about their last concert- pretty badass, lots of other great musicians play with them
Lex is one of the best music critics EVER! She knows it when she hears it! Some of her descriptions and interpretations of the music sound crazy at first. But strangely spot on when you think about them!
There was a debate during the livestream when they did this song, whether to do to the Staples version or this one. This version won (and is the one I preferred, too).
"It Makes No Difference": from The Last Waltz is a great song by The Band. Bassist Rick Danko really delivers on vocals. Pretty much everyone in The Band took a turn on vocals at one time or another. Great group.
@@winstonsmith8441 nope. Levon, Rick and Richard swapped vocal duties and Richard was considered their lead singer. Robbie provided back-up only. Garth zero vocals.
My fave song from the Band, had a huge crush on Rick Danko back in the day. You can feel his pain throughout the song, done brilliantly. Best guy break up song ever!
The Band was a collection of very talented musicians and singers that made great music that didn't belong to any genre. Levon Helm, the drummer, sings most of the hits. But Richard Manual(piano), Rick Danko(bass), could also sing anything. Robbie Robertson(guitar) was the songwriter. Garth Hudson played organ, clavinet, Sax, and pretty much anything he wanted to play. Check out "It makes no difference" from The Last Waltz to hear Danko at his best. "Whispering Pines" to hear Richard Manual touch your soul. "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down", "Cripple Creek", to hear more of Helms great voice.
@@fewwiggle yes sir they were very genre fluid. They could play anything. They backed up Dylan when he went electric. They covered songs from artists like Little Richard. They played pure Rock with artists like Ronnie Hawkins. They seem right at home with artists like the Staples, playing gospel music. Not many bands could pull off what they could do. Their career is very diverse and filled with a lot o great music.
It’s called “Americana”. When this came out it shocked the music world. And when Eric Clapton heard the album he quit Cream and started his deep explorations into Americana-like music.
They were part of that post Beatles/Elvis wave that tried to return to a more traditional sound influenced by folk and country. In the South at the same time, groups like Allman Bros were forming the southern rock sound that had similar traditional influence.
@@ericholdsworth6611 I'll agree with that! One of the greatest albums of all time in my book! Wish they could have held it together! Are you familiar with Bobby Whitlock's You Tube channel?? He tells some great stories about his times with Eric, in and out of The Dominos.
Bob Dylan was the most successful folk musician in the world. To evolve his music from the acoustic folk he was known for, he went electric in 1966. The change shocked many of his fans but ultimately gained him a bigger audience & even more influence. To go electric Dylan needed a band and teamed up with a group from Canada that had been the band for rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins. Dylan and the band had a hugely successful tour in 1966. The next year they parted from Dylan and continued on known as "The Band". The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing subsequent musicians such as the Eagles, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, and Eric Clapton.
@Ross Macintosh - fairly concise summary, but the timeline was a little longer than that description implied. The tour with Dylan was extremely volatile and controversial. Dylan was mercilessly booed when he played electric music as his fans, who cut their teeth on him as a folkie, felt betrayed. The abuse was so bad, Levon quit mid tour and left to work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. When the tour ended, they all moved to Woodstock New York, where Dylan lived. Then Dylan had his famous motorcycle accident and that put the keebosh on a planned followup tour. Meanwhile Rick, Richard and Garth found this ugly pink house in Saugerties, NY (the next town over) and moved in there. Robbie and Dylan would drop by every day and they would just record what they were doing-jamming and song fragments-and those became "The Basement Tapes" the most bootlegged album in the history of music. While this was going on, Rick went down to find Levon and convince him to rejoin the guys in NY. They picked out the best songs from the Big Pink recordings and released the album before they had even picked a name (Richard was pushing for "The Crackers") They settled on "The Band" because that's what all their neighbors called them: as in, "Oh, are you guys here to see the band?"
The Grateful Dead formed in 1965, two years before The Band, and were playing their signature brand of psychedelic Americana that blended rock, blues, bluegrass, country, jazz, etc, from the very beginning. Several members of the two bands were friends, and they shared some of the same influences and likely influenced each other to some degree. Jerry Garcia Band regularly played an outstanding cover of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" during live shows for many years, and the Grateful Dead covered "The Weight" several times later in their career before Garcia died in 1995. There is a great documentary film called "Festival Express" about a 1970 concert tour of Canada by a group of musicians that included the Grateful Dead, The Band and Janis Joplin, all of whom traveled together from one city to the next by train. There is some great and often hilarious footage of the artists playing music and partying together on the train.
Like others have already commented there are other versions worth checking out, the live version with the Staples Singers and the more recent cover by Playing For Change featuring Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr and many others.
When I think of the Band now, I think of timelessness! The music they wrote sounded like something old to begin with, so it never outdates! It was old when they wrote it. By 'old', I in no way mean that as derogatory. It's beautiful & captures a long lost piece of history. I'm getting old too, but I can remember a time when the community stood up for each other and shared the 'weight', when someone couldn't. I can remember my Dad telling me as a young boy, " Mrs. Levington lost her husband last year & her grass is getting long. Go cut her grass son & be sure to ask if there is anything she needs" or if some family was on hard times, the church would pass the hat & make sure that family had enough food to weather through those hard times! Those communities are rare today & sadly missed! This song and many others by the Band, like the 'Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' have such a period feel. Unique, trail blazing band. The BAND!
The Band were unbelievably talented and respected. Their music was movie soundtrack material, Hollywood documentary material, and when they held their farewell concert in the mid ‘70’s…EVERYONE of note wanted to participate onstage.
One of the things I love about your reaction videos is watching Lex; her little smile when she is grooving to the music just brightens my day. I hope Brad realizes what he has in her - lucky guy! The Band broke up in the late 70s. They actually made a film of their last concert. They were known for their song writing and old school sound - even back then!
This is the first time I've realized each verse is about someone leaving a "weight" with the narrator. It's weird how watching reaction videos lets me hear things I've never noticed before in songs I've heard a thousand times.
Great observation. Its why I watch reaction videos to songs I know instead of newer horizons. I'm too old to broaden my horizons LOL. I love Robbie's story of his inspiration for the song. He opend his guitar case and the liner was stamped with Martin Guitar Company, Nazareth, Pa. I pulled into Nazareth fellin 'bout half passed dead just popped into his head. Pure songwriting genius.
Levon Helm from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. Just a few miles from where I lived the first 30 years of my life. There will never be another Levon Helm. R.I.P. my friend.
When this came out in 1968, there wasn;t really a label to attach to it because it was completely different to the pop and psychedelic rock of that time. It was called "country-rock" by some people, which sort of fits, and now it's referred to in retrospect as "Americana". It drew heavily on the blues, country, folk and early rock of the American South - ironically, four of The Band were from Toronto/southern Ontario, with drummer Levon Helm as the sole American from the outskirts of Helena, Arkansas. Robbie Robertson, the guitar player who wrote most of the material, was half-Jewish half-Native, and grew up partly in Toronto and partly on the Six Nations Reserve outside of Toronto.
Remember that Canada is also part of North America. And their Nova Scotia music connections historically are part of what migrated down to New Orleans via French connections and became part of the Cajun & New Orleans Funk sounds. So Canada is very much a part of the "Americana" sound.
They were part of the post Beatles/Elvis wave where people wanted to return to more traditional country/folk influence. This led to groups like the Eagles. At the same time in the South, groups like the Allman Bros were forming the southern rock sound with similar traditional influences.
Ironically during this period where rock acts were trying to sound more country/folk. Actually country music was allowing more experimenting and freshness than ever with the outlaw country movement.
@@adamprice3466 Country wasn't "allowing" the Outlaw movement. Willie & Waylon & Merl moved away from the Nashville scene, (that was not accepting them), to do their own thing and create that movement. And the Band, The Byrds / Flying Burrito Brothers and Grateful Dead offshoot, New Riders of the Purple Sage, were several years ahead of that development.
This is my uncles favorite song which came out during his second tour in Vietnam in 1968. He tried to talk me out of joining the military back in the late 80's saying "I served enough, saw enough, for the entire family." This song brings on so many memories, it's a great song, thank you for reacting to it.
Wife here..Have heard and loved this song all my life!!!..Yes a "folkish" "Nostalgic feel".Perfectly stated..I certainly listened to this with my Dad!!
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (The Last Waltz version) and their cover of Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" are definitely two from The Band you should check out.
Recorded and released in 1968. I love how the verses alternate between singers (Levon Helm and Rick Danko). The live version with the Staples singers is a must-see - it comes from a feature film made of their last official concert, The Last Waltz, and is one of the greatest concert movies ever made, featuring a host of guests musicians.
The term you're looking for to describe this kind of music is "Americana". They were Ronnie Harkins and then Bob Dylan's back-up band before they went out on their own. They were ground breaking and that's why they made the cover of "Time" magazine and that's why Eric Clapton traveled to their home outside of Woodstock, NY and wanted to join their band. Great reaction.
From an album called "Music from Big Pink" with the cover a painting by Bob Dylan. Released in mid-1968 and called by some the second most important (influential) album of the 1960s next to Sgt. Pepper's Lonelyhearts Club Band by The Beatles.
I find that I tend to watch you guys most when I'm feeling a smidge low, you're such lovely authentic people that you lift me up just like this song sings about. Thank you kindly.
one of the most important things to remember about the Band was is they lived and worked as a family. band members and their wifes and kids, some of them just big kids. even parents and what not. these guys were singing about a collective annie i think.
There's so much more from them. That's America, music from many streams all flowing togeather. The drummer was from the south and a lot of the story themes come from him.
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 So would I. Funny thing, I'm a drummer ( or should I say was, I'll be 71 next month ) and I always seem to run into drummers. I went to a music store in Woodstock to by some speakers and "Willie" Wilcox was there. I ended up Buying a pair of Altec studio monitors that Todd just traded in.
@@waynegray1380 Wow! when I said bastard I hope it did not offend you. It was the only word I could use. Age wise I am not that far behind you. Again, you lucky bastard. A mate of mine played drums for Bo Diddley on his Australian tour.
This is one of the first songs I put on my phone playlist. It is a go to. My wife found this on a a old mix tape in a junck drawer I made back in the 80's and this was on it.
One of the greatest rock bands of all time - simply put. If you have not already done so, I recommend listening to Up On Cripple Creek live from their Last Waltz Concert. Lex you are right on. During rock’s psychedelic sound, harder rock period, The Band was recording great “folkish” rock.
It's funny Lex said that. I used to listen to this song in the car with my Dad. I'm 32 and he's 72 and back when I was a kid he would drive 3.5 hours to Sydney on Friday to pick me up after school and then 3.5 hours back to his house in the country. I would load the cd stacker with a mix of 'The Band', Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, CCR, Clapton, etc. We really bonded over it and I love that music to this day and it's one of the main things that we have in common. Actually gave me a couple of tears thinking about this.
I am so happy you did the studio version, which is such a classic record in every way, just in terms of production and arrangement.... and they never, ever did those vocal breaks (where the band stops) better than on the album, it's almost always messy. This one, they just peg those notes to the wall like a butterfly and the vocal blend is mixed just right, something you don't get in a live mix. You guys have really become one of my favorite music reactors, you both have great stuff to say, you react differently, so we get two reactions for the price of one (free! lol) and best of all, you pick the right songs, and the right versions, at least as far as I can see. Omg, I just noticed you have 236k subscribers. You don't need me to tell you all this! :D PS: What IS a good live Band song is "Don't Do It"! And you can see at least one, if not two great live versions on You Tube. It's really cool to see The Band play; once you see them, it's a lot easier to "see" them in your head when you listen. They're unusual. Three singers - one of them the drummer, who is really cool to watch - and they've got not one, but two keyboardists. "Don't Do It" is a cover (in a really cool new arrangement) of a Marvin Gaye classic. THAT'S a record definitely worth checking out as well. I think his version is called "Baby Don't You Do It". Both are great versions. LOVE YA! xxx
They camped out in Woodstock with Bob Dylan after his motorcycle crash, recorded "The Basement Tapes" with Dylan, which was bootlegged massively before getting an official release in 1975. Then they recorded their debut album, "Music From Big Pink" (a reference to the Woodstock house) in 1968. That's my favorite album of theirs. Then "The Band" in 1969, widely considered their masterpiece. Many, many great songs.
Great reaction! I remember seeing an interview where Eric Clapton said that when he first heard this album he couldn't stop playing it over and over. He said that nobody was making music like this at the time. He was inspired, so much so that he actually wanted to go to America and join "The Band".
watching the 'old music' set Lex on fire, seeing that moment when the spark ignites, is very pleasing/gratifying and a living testament to the power of the music from this period of creativity.
You were spot on in identifying heavy folk influences here. Before they were known as “The Band,” these guys were the backing band for none other than Bob Dylan, the KING of folk music. (In)famously backing him during the period when he went electric. After the split with Dylan, they adopted the name The Band. Seemingly suggesting they were ‘the best.’ Which it would be hard to argue against definitively. These were top flight musicians.
The Band released this song in 1968. For a few years in the mid-60s, the Band backed-up Bob Dylan when he ditched his acoustic guitar and went electric. The Weight was on the set list of songs the Band performed at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. It became a rock anthem for the ages when the song was included in the soundtrack of the counter-culture film classic-Easy Rider. Because of their record label restricting use of the Band recording of the Weight in a film soundtrack, the song was performed by a group called Smith in that Easy Rider soundtrack. Appreciate you covering and reacting to this song,
Music From Big Pink. I've heard a hell of a lot of diverse music in my life. From different eras, different countries. But, that's my all-time favorite album.
Levon Helm as ‘Ridley’ in “The Right Stuff “ : “There was a demon in the air.” Love it. “Hey Ridley, got any Beeman’s?” “I might have me a stick.” IYKYK
Love the song, it's a classic. I first discovered the song as part of the excellent soundtrack to the cult classic film Easy Rider, starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nickolson.
So much great music from The Band. These guys at one time were the backing band for Bob Dylan. They had started making some music together and in fact did an album (with Dylan's blessing). One night at a Dylan concert he announced to the crowd that we are gonna have a few songs from the band. When they left Dylan and went out on their own, they kept the name. There is another video of this on YT where they are joined on this song by The Staples Singers. Worth a listen guys.
This is my jam. I love everything about The Band. And this song. 💜✌🎶 This was released in 1968. I was 12 and dreaming of being the kind of woman someone would write a hit song about . 🙃💞😂
In my opinion, one of the all-time great rock songs by one of the greatest rock bands of all time. The Band is criminally underrated today, but was one of THE most respected bands by other musicians during their time.
Americana. These guys invented it. Backed Bob Dylan on two world tours. Their first album, Music From Big Pink is considered a pivotal album in the history of popular music. One of the best albums of all time. Four Canadians and a boy from Arkansas. Eric Clapton quit his band to go join them but realized he wasn't good enough.
Downloaded from the internet: " Actually, Robertson got the name "Nazareth" in the 1st line from the label inside guitar he wrote the song on - a Martin Guitar manufactured in Nazareth PA. Robertson himself never visited Nazareth PA. Somewhere I read Robbie Robertson's explanation of this song. He said that, in writing it, he was influenced by the film maker Luis Bunuel. Nazareth refers not to the biblical Nazareth, but to Nazareth Pennsylvania, where the Martin guitar company is located. The song is about someone traveling there and being asked to do many favors for others when he arrives." The style of music they play is often times referred to as "Americana". Wikipedia says : "Americana incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of genres upon which it may draw". Love you guys, thanks for reacting to this iconic classic.
Rag Mama Rag and The Unfaithful Servant are two songs from this LP you should listen to. After the electric 60s a lot of people came down off the excitement and returned to the roots of music. The Byrds went 100% Old School Country and even played at The Grand Ol' Opry. Grateful Dead put out Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The Band showed up and showed everyone how to do it, basically creating "Americana".
This song was from the album, "Music From Big Pink". The cover shown is from their next album which contains the 2 great songs you mentioned. Both albums are great...
YES!!! Great Canadian 🇨🇦 band plus Levon Helm, put together by the GreatRonnie Hawkins, their association with Bob Dylan, YOU MUST WATCH the first ever Rock Documentary by Martin Scorsese called THE LAST WALTZ of their final show.
This song was my introduction to The Band back around 1976. I then went back a ways. For a while, they worked with Bob Dylan in the mid-60s. Glad to see them featured here.
