Songs of the Week – Legendary
Apr 7, 2009This week’s selection is comprised entirely of…
THE EPIC.
THE LEGENDARY.
THE BAND.
Need I say anymore? It’s The Band!
The Band is – or was – made up of Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, and Levon Helm. They’re all awesome. I’d have to say, though, that my favorites are Levon Helm and Rick Danko.
The video above is from their documentary, The Last Waltz. When I first watched this, I thought about how awesome it is that they have the Staple Singers up there performing with them. They, too, are a legendary bunch.
Rick Danko (the bassist) has an amazing, but weird, stage presence (the weirdness comes from drugs, I think). His vocals in the video above are so great.
And Levon Helm… He is the definition of “beast.” Not only is he giving spectacular vocals, but he is drumming in a sort of Ringo-gone-country delicious way.
Robbie Robertson (the one with the double neck guitar) looks eerily similar to Mick Jagger.. Maybe they’re the same person! Maybe Mick/Robbie was originally a member of The Band until he reinvented himself as a pop icon and dominated rock n’ roll. Or maybe not.
Okay, I think it’s time I stop gushing and get to the music.
There are two versions of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down on this playlist – one’s live, one’s from the studio. Enjoy!
(Embedded playlist courtesy of Grooveshark)
Excellent. Wish I would have discovered this epic gem when I was your age!
We can’t forget to mention that the band name “The Band” is genius. At the time, maybe it wasn’t amazing, but then with the revival of the “The” band names that happened in the late 90s, I just love to imagine all the people who really wanted to named their band “The Band” and were very sad when they googled the name and discovered it was already taken.
I love your blog Spencer. Keep it up!
Hey spencer..wanted to say how awesome it is that you can find some respect for The Band…you are not that much younger than me, so I can say people our age have pretty much lost touch with the true classic rock inovators. The Band is a perfect example of that. There just aren’t tunes like The Night they Drove ol’ Dixie Down anymore. And it seems as though the only “classic rock fans” our age listen to is Led Zeppelin and other generics. Just good to see that others have the ability to appreciate good music :)
Love the blog spencer..keep on blogin,
Brent
Hey man, I would just like to say that its so cool that there are more young fans of The Band out there. I was introduced to The Band through The Last Waltz (and Dylan), and they changed my life and my view on music. They are the definition of a BAND. There lifestyle and musical passion was simply incredible.
Keep on rockin’ and keep on blogging,
-Peace
[...] Rick Danko came in (bass) I almost peed myself. And that, combined with the whole “Judas” [...]
[...] Rick Danko came in (bass) I almost peed myself. And that, combined with the whole “Judas” [...]