Disc of the day
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
Features Disc of the day
The Band
The Band
(Columbia, 1969)
The best-sounding record ever? Our Ed Assistant thinks so…
Like their one-time employer Bob Dylan, The Band – those mysterious, hat-headed fellows tinkering away in a basement in upstate New York – have been the subject of 40 years of dissection. Their journey from Ronnie Hawkins’ instrumental lackeys to Dylan’s electric pioneers; revered musical geniuses to misplaced stadium fillers, has been pulled apart on a regular basis ever since their debut, 1968’s Music From Big Pink, re-focused the creative impulses of rock’s main players. So rather than delve back into byzantine nuances of Greil Marcus’ Weird Old America and the idea of The Band as a portal back into a lost history of the US, I’ll simply say that this is my favourite-sounding record of all time. Time then, to doff our caps to producer John Simon, whose deft touches at the desk, not to mention his sousaphone bass boogie on Rag Mama Rag and his in-a-round studio set-up managed to cajole a loosely gelled, rattle’n’hum brilliance right out of the walls of Sammy Davis Jr’s old poolhouse – the LA outpost hired for the recording of The Band. The component parts of each song are instantly recognisable – Robertson’s biting guitar runs on King Harvest (Will Surely Come); Manuel’s cracked vocals on Whispering Pines; Hudson’s exploratory organ work on Up On Cripple Creek. All these, and many more, are brought together in an old-time, downhomey mix. There are images galore - lantern-lit medicine shows, backwoods clearings and porch-stoop gatherings to name but a few. Released in September ’69 the album would take The Band into a period of perilous, uncomfortable stardom that would slowly chip away at the foundations of the group, but play this record (preferably on vinyl) on a crisp autumnal day, windows open, the smell of last night’s rain still fresh in the air and be transported back to Sammy’s poolhouse, the click of a tape recorder cutting through the tobacco-scented space and signifying the start of something very special.
Ross Bennett
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 09/10/2008
Further Listening
Bob Dylan – New Morning (Columbia, 1970)
The Band – Music From Big Pink (Columbia, 1968)
Drive By Truckers – The Dirty South (New West, 2004)
Previous Disc of the day
-
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
6:00 AM GMT 20/11/2009
-
-
Isley Brothers - The Brothers: Isley
The Cincinnati siblings bed into their heavy period.
6:00 AM GMT 18/11/2009
-
Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land
The trumpeter's most soulful excursion entrances MOJO messageboarder.
6:00 AM GMT 16/11/2009
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Comments
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I'm allright. The sound of this album is incredible, specially in vinyl. Wonderful and essential.
Posted by carneham at 6:33 PM GMT 09/10/2008 Report Abuse
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It's at its best when it isn't trying too hard to do the American mythology stuff. Dixie, King Harvest are just a bit too grandstandy. I love Unfaithful Servant, Jawbone, Rockin Chair, Whispering Pines.
They peaked with this, but the long tail of their work was immediately and alarmingly inferior.
Posted by showbiz whines at 10:35 PM GMT 09/10/2008 Report Abuse
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The sound is what we're talking about - absolutely icredible, it's the producer, John Simon. Check out an LP he produced by 'the Electric Flag' called 'A Long Time Comin'- perhaps even better in terms of it's orchestration and sound. It's always the producer - ever wonder why the Beatles never came anywhere near the 'quality' of their work as solo artists? It was the lack of George Martin. Ever wonder why the Stones peak - (Beggars.. .. Exile) was never approached again by them, the answer: no Jimmy Miller.
Posted by Anonymous at 4:06 AM GMT 10/10/2008 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
The sound is what we're talking about - absolutely icredible, it's the producer, John Simon. Check out an LP he produced by 'the Electric Flag' called 'A Long Time Comin'- perhaps even better in terms of it's orchestration and sound. It's always the producer - ever wonder why the Beatles never came anywhere near the 'quality' of their work as solo artists? It was the lack of George Martin. Ever wonder why the Stones peak - (Beggars.. .. Exile) was never approached again by them, the answer: no Jimmy Miller.
Posted by Socrate1818 at 4:06 AM GMT 10/10/2008 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
The sound is what we're talking about - absolutely icredible, it's the producer, John Simon. Check out an LP he produced by 'the Electric Flag' called 'A Long Time Comin'- perhaps even better in terms of it's orchestration and sound. It's always the producer - ever wonder why the Beatles never came anywhere near the 'quality' of their work as solo artists? It was the lack of George Martin. Ever wonder why the Stones peak - (Beggars.. .. Exile) was never approached again by them, the answer: no Jimmy Miller.
Posted by Socrate1818 at 4:06 AM GMT 10/10/2008 Report Abuse
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