Rating: 5/5
Review:
A fine live album
This live album by The Band is a long overdue release of a fine concert. They were, of course, a magnificent bunch of musicians who were simply brilliant live and this is a worthy addition to their discography.
Recorded only a few months before The Last Waltz, this is still well worth having even for those of us who own and love that classic - arguably one of the greatest live albums ever issued. This is The Band alone without the starry guest list, performing a very good cross section of their greatest songs. Most are simply superb - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and The Weight , for example, have never sounded better or more sincere to my ears - and they sing and play like the geniuses they were almost throughout the album.
There are one or two weaker tracks, I think. King Harvest Will Surely Come plods and clunks a bit and This Wheel's On Fire lacks the real bite and vein of venom it really needs to work perfectly, for example, but overall it's a very fine live album indeed. The sound quality is excellent and the sense of a great band playing brilliantly together is strong. There is almost no talk between songs and the audience noise is mixed well back which I like on an album I will listen to repeatedly, but if you prefer more chat and atmosphere it may possibly be a slight weakness. For me, though, this is a fine record of a very good performance by one of the greatest bands of the 60s and 70s.
It is sobering to remember that Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Levon Helm are all dead now, but this stands as a fine tribute to them and to Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson. Very warmly recommended.
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