"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".

"He was just 18 and strong and brave, but a Yankee put him in his grave..." - chokes me up every time.

@larsman ,

I also have my doubts it was fast as lightning...

@onhwy61: I don’t know if I’m the world’s biggest fan of The Band, but I’ll admit to being amongst those who are.

Speaking of which, in the latest Stereophile Newsletter (August---2nd Edition), there is a great story on and interview with mastering engineer Bob Ludwig. In the interview Bob talks about growing up listening to Classical ("I certainly love Classical music. That’s my heart.") and Jazz---though recounts buying Chuck Berry 45RPM singles, learning to play trumpet, getting into studio work, etc.

At the end of the story he is asked for some of his favorite albums of which he mastered. The first one he names is The Band’s s/t "brown" album, which he describes as "an iconic recording." The second is Led Zeppelin II.

The story ends with this: "When pressed on his absolute favorite artists, he settles on The Band." Ludwig: "The Band have always been my ultimate favorite." I'm in good company 😊 .

Let's do a thought experiment -- who from Led Zeppelin could play in The Band?  Bonham, no way.  Plant, it's a few decades early in his development.  Page, as an acoustic player he could bring a little English folkie sound to the group.  Although I'm not sure they need that.  Finally, JPJ would slot right in with Danko moving to vocals.

Who from The Band could play in LZ?  Robbie R. could and so could Garth.  I think that would be the most interesting 2 lead guitar group going.

I do somewhat similar thought experiments all the time, including with members of The Beatles. In the documentary on The Band, George Harrison states he instantly felt a kinship with Robertson, hearing in Robbie’s guitar playing an emphasis and focus on contributing to the song itself, to the entire production, rather than playing as a single instrument---the way many guitarists do.

It’s the ol’ "ensemble"-style playing I am so attracted to. That’s why many of my favorite players are studio musicians. Emitt Rhodes told me the best musician he ever worked with was Jim Gordon, a very favorite of mine as well. Another is Roger Hawkins, the drummer in The Swampers, the studio band heard on all the great recordings that came out of Muscle Shoals in the 60’s and 70’s. In an interview in Modern Drummer, Jim Keltner stated he wished he played more like Hawkins.

If you watch and listen to the finale of The Last Waltz, you see and hear poor ol’ Ringo Starr, trying to remain relevant by playing along with Levon Helm. It’s sad: his playing is SO tired, SO sluggish. There is no way he could have been the drummer in The Band.

There are two English bands whose records allow a direct comparison between the playing of three of that country’s most well known guitarists in the same "setting": The Yardbirds, and John Mayall’s Blues Breakers. Eric Clapton is heard on only some of the songs on The Yardbirds’ For Your Love album, the rest and the next two albums it was Jeff Beck. Jimmy Page is heard only on their last---and drastically weakest---album, Little Games.

John Mayall’s first three albums feature the playing of first Clapton, then Peter Green, and lastly Mick Taylor. Dave Edmunds---one of my favorite UK guitarists---was considered when The Stones were looking for a replacement for Brian Jones. I’m glad they chose instead Mick Taylor, allowing Dave to embark on his fantastic solo career. When Dave wanted a guest guitarist on one of his albums, he gave Albert Lee a call. Albert played in the bands of Emmylou Harris and The Everly Brothers for many years. He also has a number of excellent solo albums.

I better stop now: this could go on for quite some time 😉 .