Springsteen and Clapton on their favorite, heh, band.

A lot of fair points, and I fully expected to see @onhwy61’s argument made. Sweetheart Of The Rodeo was big in my small circle of friends (my senior year band included a coupla songs from that album in our repertoire, as well as some Buffalo Springfield songs), as was Dylan’s John Wesley Harding and The Flying Burrito Brothers’ debut.

As for The Band coming out of nowhere with a unique sound, well, not to be argumentative, but they actually did. I have numerous times reminded everyone that Dylan began recording in Nashville in ’65, but that was not because he was "going Country", it was because that’s where the musician’s he wanted to record with were. In 1965 the members of The Band had no idea who Bob Dylan was, nor did they care (their idea of a singer was Bobby Blue Bland, Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Hank Williams, and The Louvin Brothers). While the other groups mentioned above had some of their same influences, none shared The Band’s deep Rockabilly, R & B, Gospel, and 1950’s Rock ’n’ Roll roots. Springfield had three singers---as did The Byrds and Moby Grape---but none had a singer of Richard Manuel’s caliber. IMO, of course. And none had a musician of the caliber of Garth Hudson.

Whereas the Sweetheart album was deliberately, overtly Country, in Music From Big Pink and the brown album, The Band wove the thread of their Hillbilly influence into the entire tapestry they wove. It didn’t obviously stick out (though they did include Lefty Frizzell’s hit "Long Black Veil" on MFBP), but their music was subtly infused with that influence. Levon Helm was listening to KDIA out of Memphis, Rick Danko The Grand Old Opry, and their playing and singing absolutely reflects that. The other groups has far less character in their voices than did Levon, Richard, and Rick.

But ya’ll are STILL missing my point! Eric Clapton and Bruce Springsteen (and Nick Lowe) were all very aware of The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and anyone else you care to mention. And yet it was Music From Big Pink that knocked them on their asses, not those other’s albums. You may agree or disagree with Eric and Bruce, but that’s beside the point.

Clapton didn’t disband Cream and think "It changed my life" in reaction to hearing the Sweetheart album, The Flying Burrito Brothers’ debut, or any other album you can name, but rather because of MFBP. Springsteen didn’t react to hearing any album but MFBP by thinking to himself "and everything changes".

For anyone who didn’t (or doesn’t) react to Music From Big Pink in the way that Clapton and Springsteen did, so be it. And you can agree or disagree with me (and Clapton and Springsteen) if you wish, but I’m here testifying to the truth of the cataclysmic effect MFBP had on the 1968 Rock ’n’ Roll community. George Harrison flew from England to San Francisco to attend The Band’s 1969 debut show at Winterland. He did not come to America to see and hear Buffalo Springfield---or anyone else, only The Band.

For Clapton, Springsteen, myself, and a lot of musicians I know, there is a musical dividing line as dramatic as B.C / A.D.: Before The Band / everything that followed in their wake.

IMO Springsteen is one of the most over rated musicians on the planet. He surrounded himself with great talent to cover up his lack of talent. Did he put on a good show yes but that does not make up for his individual talent that IMO was just not there. Marketing done right will do wonders for people with no talent in any field, need look no further than hollyweird. 99.9% of them have zero talent but have great marketing behind them.

@onhwy61
I so agree about 'The Band' being a masterpiece.  The poignancy of 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" still brings a tear to my eye, and I'm no admirer of the Lost Cause.  But if one is, this song speaks to why.  They evoke "Americana" so brilliantly on every track, not equalled by MFBK or 'Stagefright' either, IMO.

I never got into The Band, I also enjoy threads like this one so I listened to the two albums and came away with the same feelings I had back in '68.  Ambivalence, which in this case turns into work to listen.

I'm happy for all the people that are really into it. Just not for me.

This sort of reminds me of a good female friend who states "wow wait 'till you see this girl, she is really beautiful".  Only to find that quite the opposite is true.  Go figure.

Regards,
barts

@sgreg1: Can’t disagree with ya, mate! I had tuned out contemporary Rock ’n’ Roll by the time Born To Run was released, but all the noise about that album sparked my curiosity. I got the LP, and found it to echo (no pun intended ;-) Shakespeare: All sound and fury, signifying nothing. Bruce said his idea for the BTR album was Roy Orbison produced by Phil Spector. Speaking of Roy: have you seen the film A Black & White Night? Bruce’s performance is unintentionally funny; I was actually embarrassed for him.

Bruce’s singing on BTR (and many other albums) exhibits far too much "bluster", Bruce trying waaay too hard. Reminds me of seeing Albert King at The Fillmore; he didn’t have to "try" to sound soulful, it just came out that way. I borrowed Bruce’s previous two albums from a friend, and had to at least give Bruce props for firing his drummer on those albums. Terr-i-ble. What a sloppy, disjointed, awkward mess, the drummer waaay over-playing. He obviously never studied Roger Hawkins (The Swampers), Al Jackson (Booker T & The MG’s), and Earl Palmer (Little Richard), and did not understand the role drums play in Rock ’n’ Roll. It’s great that Bruce finally fired him, but why did he hire him in the first place? His playing ruins those two albums, butchering the songs.

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is everything people say about it, but "The Weight" is the one that still chokes me up. It is---along with "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", " God Only Knows", and "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted", all masterpieces of songwriting---the most "majestic" song I’ve ever heard. Makes one thrilled to be alive.

@onhwy61: I love the debut by The Electric Flag, and was fortunate in being able to see and hear them live in the Summer of ’68. They were fantastic, one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. The commencement of their set was delayed, Mike Bloomfield nowhere to be found (probably scoring ;-). He finally showed up, jumped on stage, and the band (which included four sax players: two baritone, two bass!) kicked into "Killing Floor", the Howlin’ Wolf song which opens the album. OMG, they were on fire! Unfortunate for the doors, who had to follow them on stage. To characterize them as sounding underwhelming is to be generous.

The only band which comes close to The Band for me are NRBQ, very under-appreciated and acknowledged imo. Their fans include Bonnie Raitt, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Elvis Costello, all also huge Band fans. But in saying that, I'm ignoring for the sake of this discussion the great studio bands: The Swampers, The Wrecking Crew, The Motown house band, the Nashville A-list players, Booker T & The MG's (the house band at Stax Records, heard on many recordings). That's another thing that made The Band so unique: a self-contained unit whose musicianship was as good as that of studio players.