Fui ao cinema em 1980 ver o Último Concerto da Banda, quando ouvi esta música shap i'm virei fã. A maior banda do mundo é Led Zeppelin, mas The Band está no meu coração.
Actually what I know of The Bands history was relayed to me directly from Richard, Rick and Levon themselves over the course of friendships that date back to the early 80's
Erik, you are so right! I do find it sad to watch them in this "re-group". They lack the energy they once had, but I could never fault one of them, their spirit had been damaged. These guys are thc best muscians ever, I truly hurt for the loss of Richard and Rick, It hurts that Robbie did as he did, I mean that was bad!!! Levon and Garth are still making good music though, so I support them 100%
I never said Levon assembled the Band. I know their history quite well. What I said was that after Hawkins left Levon did keep things together. He also says in so many words that he never wanted the Band to end and the proof is in the fact that he continued to play much of their catalog as well as similar American roots music up until his death.
Longtime fan of this unique awesomely talented group even prior to their most well known edition. This week the thought occurred to me that this gourmet dish may have been bumped up even a few more notches had SRV joined them at some point. Perhaps not producing the results I'd hope for. But on the other hand it could've given us a slice of ultimate musical Heaven right here on sold ground. I wonder....
In the early days, lest we forget, Richard did receive songwriting credit. On Big Pink he is the sole writer of three songs. He didn't like to write lyrics but has co-write w/ Robertson on 3 songs on The Band and 2 songs on Stage Fright where he wrote the music. Richard, of course, wrote on the piano and used a much different chord structure than Robbie. That being said, most of the compliations and anthologies leave out anything Richard wrote. I knew Rick. He said his biggest beef was Robbie talked he, Richard and Garth into signing away their rights to all the band's music and they didn't realize that it meant everything. Levon got a lawyer and didn't sign. In talking about This Wheel's on Fire (which has a few inaccuracies like saying Richard rather than Rick sang "Look Out Cleavland") Rick had this to say:"When I write my book it's gonna have a chapter 'people I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire.'" He was talking, of course, about Robertson.
@@inthegamepodcast6596 Actually I'm not from anywhere...military father. But I guess if I had to pick, it's Texas. I have been obsessed with The Band since the first time a needle hit the vinyl. But I know Rick is from Simcoe. I met him in Austin, TX.
@@leftywright6458 I am born and raised in Simcoe, my friends father played with all of them. He actually had a band with Ricks brother Terry Denko. Look up the song “Mark Twain” by bearfoot. I got to know Levon, Rick before he passed and Ronnie Hawkins from them.
They all dabbled in the drug life, there is a bunch of articles on this. Richard had it the worst, he had a terrible heroin addiction. Levon’s death was due to his addiction to cigs most likely. Damn sucks that drugs have taken away so many legends.
gonna open my show with Libby at Ninkasi Bar in Tel Aviv with this song tonight!! Great Tune rest in peace Levon and Richard Manuel we'll be channeling you tonight!!
They should have continued recording with Robbie during the 80’s and going on the road without him. That’s what The Beach Boys did for years with Brian Wilson.
Robbie was indeed a lyricist but for him to claim sole writing credit of both lyrics and music is unfair to the other four musicians who contributed to that process. Has Robbie produced anything even remotely sounding like "The Band" since 1976? No he hasn't and there's a reason for that.
No, Robbie was not just a lyricist, he wrote the chords and the melody too, to most of the songs in The Band's catalogue. Together they arranged the songs. Without Robbie's songs they would have been just Bob Dylan's backing band. Without the other guys Robbie would have been a great songwriter but it was the five of them that made it what it was. Robbie used very particular chord structures and wrote fantastic riffs and had quite exact melody lines thought out before all of them started arranging.
The reason Robbie's solo stuff doesn't sound like The Band is because it isn't The Band. How is him exploring new musical directions in his solo career a bad thing. What kind of artist tries to do the same thing his whole career?
@oleole52 As you stated "you're unaware". While he might not come out and say publicly he wrote all of the music. It is indeed a matter of record that at the urging of Albert Grossman Robbie legally claimed sole writing credit and has continued to live handsomely off those writing royalties. .
@grimmpoxer Film scores don't tear up any charts.They're orchestral,a different animal from movie soundtracks.As far as acclaim,his 1st solo album cracked the top 40 ,was nominated for a Grammy,and featured U2 as well as,surprise surprise,Levon and Rick Danko.He was nominated again in 1989,1992,and 1999 for his solo work.Nominated again for his film work with Scorcese for Gangs Of New York.Sounds like acclaim to me.
Propably for the very same reason Robbie never put out anything even remotely sounding like the The Band after 1976. This was a group of men who's total sum was greater than it's parts and it's ludicrious for any single part to claim all of the credit with outward distain towards the others
Just the writing credit. Not arrangement, musicianship, vocals. Robbie was the only one continuing to write, the rest relied mostly on other peoples songs. A fine song by Robbie... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8CzBZ7_BiZ0.html
@Derrick Hand Personally I liked Storyville best (album) , but Somewhere down the crazy river from the album Robbie Robertson was probably my favorite single. And what was your favorite song from any of the other Band members solo careers ?
@Wharfomatic Agreed. i read Robbie discounted the others contributions saying, "How could they contribute to writing a song when they're passed out in the corner" (Paraphrased). I always thought if someone gave ONE WORD (or a musical phrase) they should get co-writing credits. For instance John Phillips gave Michelle co-credit for California Dreamin and all she did was wake up and write it down.
@Wharfomatic Indeed, the agreement among the band was that everything would split five ways equally and the record label decided they didn't like that idea. The thought the band needed a "face" and decided it should be Robbertson. The rest of the band didn't find out until Big Pink came out and Robertson got the lions share of songwriting credits, they argued and it just got worse on The Band were the credits make it appear Robbertson is the sole song writer with a occasional help.
I tend to believe it. Look at the intro to Chest Fever; what would become the Genetic Method. That's pure Garth. Robbie and the others had nothing to do with it. And yet who gets the writing credit (and consequently the royalties) from Chest Fever; Robbie. Levon said many times over the years that the Band's writing of songs wasn't just Robbie showing up with new music and then everyone recording it. It was by all accounts a very organic process, and everyone through ideas into the hat.
Rick also said that he assembled The Band. And I am sure Richard and Garth have said the same thing. What does it matter? The fact was they were together and man could they play!!
@oleole52 The "acclaim" for his music is what it is. This is a partial list of musicians with whom Levon has played since the Band broke up: Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Donald Fagen, Scotty Moore, Johnny Cash and Albert Lee. You are clearly a Robertson fan. To the point where you buy into the myth that the Band was nothing without him. They all deserve the credit for the Band's success, imho.
The Band had 3 great voices, 4 multi-instrument musicians, a great singing drummer, a great bass player, two great piano and organ players, a great guitarist, 5 great songwriters, an 1 dick head.
He wasn't touring with them at that point. They decided to end after The Last Waltz and all but RR decided to regroup. He was wise not to do so. he noted in TLW the road is a damn near impossible way of life, how many of the great ones it took. And it took Manuel and Danko who decided to keep on touring. What an unhealthy and dangerous lifestyle the road is.
All bands develop a sound together,including the Beatles,Stones,CCR,and The Band.It's a meaningless comment.And they all had "unique production sounds,"whatever the hell that means. Robbie wrote The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down at his house on the piano.His ex-wife confirms it.They just had a baby,and she came down the stairs to tell him to keep it down,the baby was sleeping.He wrote it alone.And no one says he didn't,including Levon.He has every right to his songs,just like Fogerty.
Actually,the 1st time I heard Showdown at Big Sky,I thought it WAS The Band. Writing credits are a philosophical issue.If you come to the studio with the chords and lyrics,did you write it?R.E.M. says no,the songs come alive when they play it together.Shared credit.Beatles,Stones,Led Zeppelin say otherwise. Original Fleetwood Mac is similar.Schooled as teens in John Mayall's blues system,like The Band and Ronnie.Tight,close band.But Black Magic Woman is credited to Peter Green alone.
It looks like there were four members that thought they were all in it together and one member that was sort of greedy and crooked. Also did the drugs kill them or keep them alive a little longer until they couldn't take it anymore?
I bought that line of thinking for a long time, especially being sympathetic to Levon's point of view in his book and elsewhere, but if you think about it, Robbie ended the band in 76 fearing that someone would end up dead given the lifestyle some of them were living on the road, and he surely did not have to let them go out as the Band touring and playing so many of his compositions in the 80s - look at Creedence for an example of how most writers would have handled the notion. In the end it was rather generous of Robbie to let them go continue as the Band and make a living even as he was no longer in a position in life where it made sense to join them and return to being a road dog. Food for thought anyway.
Well said. Robbies solo stuff was nothing to shout about either. Yet Levon's Ramble at the Ryman record was recently awarded a grammy? Last year I believe? And has been highly praised by many in the industry as a fantastic ode to American Music. Robbies stuff went all stoney and new age - just weird garbage most of it.
After Stage Fright you see an obvious shift in that the other guys gradually stopped writing because it became clear they probably wouldn't get credit for it. At the end Robertson was largely the sole song writer and the music suffered for it. Robertson has never made any move to change this or give proper credit or royalties for the early stuff. Helm's book gives a great account of the band dynamics in his book and it has been backed by Danko and Hudson.
That is nonsense. Manual was credited for songs he wrote on the first three records. He stopped writing due to addictions. Helm never wrote. Danko rarely did. Hudson never. You’re repeating Helm’s version of events from his book. Robertson paints a different story in his as supported by John Simon in various interviews.
Da hora o solo de Garth Hudson, o cara entende do riscado he he. Acompanho a banda desde Music From Big Pink, nas confesso que o segundo album e o terceiro são meus preferidos.
I'm not convinced that Robbie "screwed" them out of royalties because the evidence that I have seen is that he wrote the songs. I anything copyright law screwed them out of royalties (believe it or not I am a copyright lawyer; though I don't practice but teach). One of my other favorite bands, Kansas, are in the same position. K. Livgren wrote their two big tunes (and most of their good tunes) and consequently doesn't have to tour with them.
He sobered up when he moved in with Garth after the L.A./Shangri-La period, started drinking again after Albert Grossman died. Check out other videos from the 1983 Reunion (in The Weight from Vancouver he sings a great verse).
Yeah after Albert died he became depressed and starting back up his drug and drink use and then we all no what happen a few months later in that motel room. RIP Richard
OK, is it just me or....? What the hell? I've looked at this 10 times and I'm pretty convinced that Garth's 2nd keyboard, the one he's playing with his left hand, is pitched upside-down from top to bottom, where it would normally be bottom to top, and that he is doubling his solo (see 3:38) with both hands. The pitch is high, yet his left hand is right down at the bottom of that keyboard. I know he is a madman genius, but this seems a stretch, even for him. Comments please.
I noticed that too. Of course, Joe Zawinul had been doing that for years (Black Market) before this show happened. It wouldn't surprise me if Garth was checking out Weather Report - altho it also wouldn't surprise me if he came up with this idea on his own. He wasn't playing Lowery anymore in the 80's, and it's easy to invert the keyboard on almost any synth. It's gotta be crazy hard to play that way, but maybe not as hard as you might think - just try doing some "mirror image" fingering of riffs and lines - which is what I think Garth is doing for much of the time when he plays both keyboards.
I'll never understand why people hold The Band to a standard they don't hold others to.Stu Cook and Doug Clifford contributed more or less equally to CCR,musically.No one gives John Fogerty a hard time for claiming all writing credit.There seems to be a suggestion that since all 5 Band members were equally talented,it doesn't matter who wrote the songs.Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards wrote for a couple of pretty good bands.Think they might disagree with that notion.
@oleole52 "acclaimed film scores and albums," is a bit of a stretch. None of them were particularly tearing up the charts after the Last Waltz. Levon is doing modestly well for himself these days.
@oleole52 OK, and see Wharfomatic's point about Levon's back to back Grammies. I don't suggest Robertson didn't contribute anything to the Band. My point is that they achieved more success as a five man unit than any of them have since hte Last Waltz, individually or in any combination. ("None of them," referred to the five members, not Robertson's film scores).
Furthermore, The Band was a beautiful team and Robbies decision to "pack it in" was in a way a betrayal of the great collaboration that was kind of assembled by Levon after the Ronnie Hawkins band fell apart. In a way they all kind of owed it to Levon to have the last word on breaking up but everyone went along with Robbie for some reason.
@grimmpoxer Fine.But the acclaim for his music after The Band isn't a stretch,it's an obvious fact.Here's a short list of musicians on his solo albums:Eric Clapton,Stevie Winwood,Trent Reznor,U2,Tony Morello{Rage Against The Machine.} These are people who only play with musicians they respect..The music community is a tight one.They know The Band story.Clapton and Winwood knew all 5 members.I think I'll take their opinion over Wharfomatic's any day.
There's a lot too it..Robbie bought out the publishing rights from all the other members but Levon for $20,000 when they were at personal financial lows. Levon had income from the movies he was in to ward off this latest of Robbie's fiscal assaults..! The Last Waltz contract which I read is a different matter, it's 70 pages, it was actually only with Last Waltz Productions not The Band & that was Robbie and Martin Scorsese they got the shaft big time..!
I think Robbie probably wrote the entire song except the intro. Usually bands "arrange" and add bits & pieces to songs that the chielf songwriter writes. I could see how this might lead them to think they "co-wrote" the song or otherwise lead to a petty squabble. Lennon & McCartney had a good way of dealing with it. Given copyright law screws the non-songwriter/performer some bands agree to give everyone a writing credit for all their songs. But I understand why a principle SW would balk.
@grimmpoxer My short list wasn't of musicians Robbie played with;it was musicians who played with him,on his albums.He called,they came.It's a bit different from a list of sessions Levon played on. Look.I don't dispute the contributions of all of The Band.I think Richard Manuel was the most talented of the 5.All bands are greater than the sum of its parts.4 of the 5 were Canadian,like me.I just think painting Robbie as some sort of evil ogre is unfair and not factual.
Never read Levon's book,but if he suggests he "assembled The Band,"then yes,it is fiction.Ronnie assembled The Band,Dylan lured them away,and then they went on their own.
That's total fiction.The Band was assembled by Ronnie Hawkins,and no one else.They were trained by him like a drill sergeant,and all of them had stories to tell about it,and complaints.But every one of them gave him credit for what they became.Then they backed up Dylan on that infamous world tour.They learned from the best. Bands break up.Robbie decided that 16 years on the road,8 with Ronnie,8 with Dylan and the Band,were enough.He had kids.Owed no one an apology,including Levon.
Has anyone noticed that after Robbie left these guys wrote NO new material.The reason they signed the rights away was they were always broke from supporting their drug habits
Cmon there's no comparison - Everybody know Fogerty wrote all those tunes, whereas Garth wrote the chords and feel to the Band songs, plus the Band had a unique production sound than anyone, they developed that sound together. Robblie got 100% of the money the others got nothin, the others contributed alot more than nothin
Robbie screwed the other members of The Band. The first few records were entirely a collaborative affaIr. So he has been able to sit pretty raking in money. At least Levon never quit, and deservedly so, won a grammy for his Dirt Farmer CD.
@Wharfomatic Wait a minute.This Wheel's on Fire is credited to Dylan and Danko.Whispering Pines has Richard Manuel as a writer.There are others.He never claimed sole writing credit,as you say.That's fiction.Look at the evidence.Since The Band broke up in 1976,Robbie has written acclaimed film scores and albums,by himself.What have the others written?Are we to assume their writing ability disappeared when The Band broke up.Except for Richard,they had years to write something.It's a bum rap.
