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Garth Hudson's exciting organ intro here is brought out into the five channels, and makes me wish it were several minutes longer on tape, as it often was in concert. And then with them in church, for Chest Fever; long my favorite song on the album. But interestingly, the 'Nazareth' in the first line refers not to Jesus' hometown, but to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, the home of Martin guitars. We Can Talk is possibly the best sounding track on the album with the ambient surround channels adding real punch to the song. Much of the music emerged from their legendary work with Bob Dylan, (for whom they were sidemen in many of his early electric concerts), in a house in Woodstock, New York which they affectionately called 'Big Pink.' Much of this music would later emerge on vinyl as The Basement Tapes.
The disc concludes with another Dylan song, the epic I Shall Be Released. Caledonia Mission, also suffers from some distortion, but Robbie Robertson's Strat sound is improved from previous versions. It's sad how The Band ended, but Big Pink let's us celebrate the way they began. Things would get even better for The Band with their self-titled follow up. Besides Richard Manuel's suicide, which I believe came just as there was about to be some sort of reunion, Rick Danko followed Manuel into death last year.
None of these are here. Right from the start with Tears of Rage, a song which broke rock tradition by beginning a record with a 'slow' song, I felt like I was sitting among Richard, Rick, Robbie, Garth and Levon as an awed observer. Long Black Veil, a traditional song, uses the surround channels more as space for other instruments and thus, I return to sitting amongst the group. Music from Big Pink is truly a masterpiece, and is treated very well here. The Weight, The Band's first anthem, begins with Robbie 's somewhat tentative acoustic guitar introduction amid a sea of hiss, which apparently the engineers could not satisfactorily clean up. Music from Big Pink was The Band's debut album in 1968.
Fans of The Last Waltz will remember this as the all-star (including Dylan) finale. In 2001, Capitol re-issued the CD with bonus tracks, many of which were from The Basement Tapes, including some of the album tracks in their developmental stages. In a Station follows with a tremendous keyboard ambience in the opening seconds, although with the isolation of the electric piano in the left rear channel some distortion becomes apparent in places. The sound is spacious and full; the album coming to a mellow but inspirational end. To hear this song now truly haunts me in light of Manuel's suicide in 1986. The new 5.1 mix released on DVD-A last month by Capitol adds 'room' to the mix.
After all, who doesn't like bonus tracks. Again, we have the surrounds used primarily for echo, with awesome bass sounds. In some cases, they stretch the echoes, and in others, create a circle of music. This, I think, is one of few multichannel releases, either SACD or DVD-A, in which the rear channels are successfully used in different ways for different tracks. And while purists might argue that only the eleven album tracks should be presented, I think omitting these bonus tracks when there clearly was space for them is just annoying. Robbie Robertson no longer speaks with either Levon Helm or Garth Hudson to complicate matters.
Sadly, The Band split after The Last Waltz, never to reform as the same entity again. -- Daniel Wolfson ([.].), 4/7/03 I genuinely hope Capitol will give the same royal sonic treatment, though hopefully with bonus tracks, to any upcoming DVD-A offerings. To Kingdom Come, the next track picks up the tempo and is presented here with an especially fat drum and bass sound for a late 60's recording. But I do have one complaint about this album. This Wheel's on Fire is a Bob Dylan composition, which unfortunately, may be best known as the theme from Absolutely Fabulous.
The song definitely borders on the religious with some of the best spiritual imagery I've ever heard in a pop song. Richard Manuel's Lonesome Suzie follows, quiet and spacious like Tears of Rage, and replaces the invigoration of Chest Fever with the sad story of poor Suzie, and the author's heartfelt sympathy for her.
Do yourself a favor -- if you never heard it, buy or download immediately. Rolling Stone rated this as #34 of the best 100 albums ever. It's only competition from the era, in my opinion, is Rubber Soul, Blonde on Blonde, Sweet Baby James, and Moondance. This was the most revolutionary album of the 60s. They were wrong. I would put Big Pink easily in the top five, and maybe the best album ever.
The result was the first in several superb albums from one of the most important bands of the last century. The arrangements showcased the excellent musicianship of the entire group, rich in subtleties while deliberately avoiding the extended soloing that was popular at the time. The Band provided a new model for rock music with Big Pink. They combined what they learned from working with Dylan with their own take on Americana (even though they were mostly Canadians) to come up with a set of sophisticated, timeless, well crafted songs.
The Weight got a little radio play, but The Band songs that you heard or will hear on the radio are from The Band, and Stage Fright. Over the years I've had three vinyl copies (still have the last one), a CD copy that ended up wrecked from so much handling, and now the mp3 album with the out takes.I have a particular affinity for first albums and live albums. One reviewer called this a "singles album," with weak songs. Full Tilt Boogie was a GREAT band, but Janis Joplin lost some edge with them going for "tight." This album has music that no band, including The Band, had done before or since.
A friend of mine bought this album when it was a brand new release for no other reason than these guys had backed up Bob Dylan. Honestly, Cripple Creek and The Night They., are weak but commercial. This album got rave reviews from other musicians and caused several to make music they wouldn't have thought of without it. It was fall of 1968.
My only other Band album is Last Waltz. This album, this music, is classic and timeless. He played it for us and I went straight out and got my own copy. Rock music isn't just about a tight band.
If you are into music that will touch you in each and every way, this is your album. And last, but most definitely not least, Garth, who added a dash of musical genius to the each and every song on the album, with his beautiful organ solos. With Richard's at times raw, yet, brilliant falsetto, Rick's country influenced harmonies, and Levon's roadhouse blues influenced vocals, each one of them brought something unique to the table, so to speak.
This album brought everyone, including both musicians and music fans back to their musical roots. His guitar work is understated, yet, extraordinary at the same time. If you do not know who The Band was or just how important they were, and you want to know just what they were all about, listen to their debut, Music From Big Pink.
Led by not one, but three singers, Richard, Rick and Levon, the songs were taken to the next level. Music From Big Pink IS music for the soul. In my opinion, it was the first album to be considered Americana and the finest example of that genre, ever.
Robbie Robertson was the ultimate storyteller who took you back to a simpler time where family was most important.
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