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Takes one to know one

I find what one artist has to say about another fascinating. Here's what Eric Clapton has to say about one such:

"I met the genius of that outfit, who was Richard Manuel. He was as close to genius as I've ever met in a white guy---all the other geniuses I've met have been black Blues players, like B.B. and Buddy Guy. The reason I say they're geniuses is that they do what they do effortlessly with a gift that is so powerful that they don't need to engage in any kind of thinking to pursue it."

I would add Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and even Robbie Robertson (somewhat begrudgingly ;-), the other members of The Band, to the list of geniuses. There has never been, and never again will be, a Group containing so much talent. I listen to their music every single day of my life, and have done so for years. Their debut and second album are in my Top 10 albums of all-time list. Both are available on LP and SACD from Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs. Ignore them at the cost of your own musical wealth!

128x128bdp24
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bdp24 OP
9,931 posts
 
I’ll be darned, Al! John did a fantastic job producing the first two Band albums. The third (Stage Fright) was done by Todd Rundgren, an odd choice it seemed to me then and now. It was a major disappointment after the incredible first and second, and when the fourth was also not up to snuff, we all wondered if John was in actuality the 6th member of The Band! He made a solo album sometime in the 70’s, which I somehow missed. Gotta get a copy of it---Eric.
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bdp24 OP
9,931 posts
 

@jond, isn’t "It Makes No Difference" as beautiful a song as you’ve ever heard?! I love Rick’s voice, it’s so unique. I love how he sang "Long Black Veil---a Lefty Frizzell song (Rick loved Country music)---on Music From Big Pink. As were Levon’s and Richard’s. Three lead singers! The way their voiced weave in and out amongst each others, trading verses, even lines. In The Last Waltz, Robbie cited The Staple Singers as their model for how to arrange vocals. The three singers did that, not Robbie.

The Band’s roots were SO deep; Hillbilly, Country, Cajun, Blues, Rock ’n’ Roll, Gospel, Pop, Jazz, Classical (Garth was a trained musician). The five members had been playing together as an ensemble for eight years before making their first album. Most bands whole lifespan is less than that! And they were all multi-instrumentalists. Levon played not only drums, but guitar, mandolin, and harmonica. Rick bass, guitar, and tuba. Richard was a FANTASTIC drummer, almost as good as Levon. And Garth Hudson, the most unlikely person to join a Rock ’n’ Roll Band, played all keyboards, as well as sax. Robbie was (I guess still is) a wonderful guitarist. Can’t sing worth a damn, though.

dragunski
113 posts
 
The Band was a great band. They should have had a better name, though.

Since I was in South America, I heard the first two LPs out of order. I heard the brown one first, and it blew me away. I had heard of Big Pink, read about it somewhere,  but never got a chance to hear it. Then some kid in Recife, Brazil had the brown one and let me tape it on reel to reel. I was floored.

I didn't hear Big Pink until I got back to the US. It was eye-opening, too.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,931 posts
 
@dragunski, I heard Music From Big Pink when it was released, but didn’t "get" it---it was over my head. It troubled me that I didn’t, as the smartest guys I knew loved it. It wasn’t until I saw and heard Dewey Martin (drummer of Buffalo Springfield) play and sing in The New Buffalo (he being the lone BS band member left) in the Summer of '69 that I had my life-changing epiphany, right as I watched he and his bandmates perform. Dewey was the first studio musician (BS enticed him away from session work) I saw and heard live, and it was a real education. I gave MFBP another listen soon after, and now understood what all the fuss was about. Halleluiah, I had seen the light! When the second Band album came out, I was primed for it.
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tomcy6
2,605 posts
 
Robbie KNEW that would be the case, and knowingly tricked, manipulated, John Simon into signing away his future royalties for what he, Robertson, knew would be very little.

I'm not defending Robbie in any way, but shouldn't someone in the music business this long have a lawyer?  After Robbie screwed his bandmates out of all their royalties, why would anyone trust him? 
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