Thoughts On: The Band, CAHOOTS

By Paul Casey

Part four in a continuing series on THE BAND’s discography.

To read the whole series, go here.

“Where do we go from here?”

Cahoots was the last album of new material THE BAND would record until their last great work, Northern Lights – Southern Cross, in 1976. On the basis of the songs, and the disconnect between the constituents of THE BAND, it was a tough album to make. There is little thematic cohesion here. It is a leap around America in a manner—from the fairground to Chinatown—but it lacks the conceptual feeling of The Band or the personal confession of Stage Fright. It does have some of the eclectic feeling of Big Pink, if little of that album’s mood. It is when the burn out became an issue and when it became apparent that THE BAND could not muscle through their creative and personal issues. They do give it a hell of a try, though. Cahoots is not a classic, like the previous three, but it is a good record. (more…)

Thoughts On: The Band, STAGE FRIGHT

By Paul Casey

Part three in a continuing series on THE BAND’s discography.

To read the whole series, go here.

“Now deep in the heart of a lonely kid
Who suffered so much for what he did
Gave this plough boy his fortune and fame
And since that day he ain’t been the same.

See the man with the stage fright
Just standing up there to give it all his might
And he got caught in the spotlight
But when it gets to the end
He wants to start all over again.”
—From “Stage Fright”

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Thoughts On: The Band, THE BAND

By Paul Casey

Part two in a continuing series on THE BAND’s discography.

To read the whole series, go here.

Photo © Elliott Landy, 1969

Recorded primarily in a Los Angeles house that once belonged to Sammy Davis Jr., THE BAND’s second, self-titled LP, is considered to be their masterpiece. It is the album on which the legend of THE BAND was built. Unlike Music From Big Pink, Robbie Robertson gets a writing credit on every song, collaborating with Richard Manuel on three tracks, and Levon Helm on one. It does not have the diversity of their debut, but instead comes their most cohesive work.

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Thoughts On: The Band, MUSIC FROM BIG PINK

By Paul Casey

Part one in a continuing series on THE BAND’s discography.

To read the whole series, go here.

THE BAND is Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson. In common chatter, they are known first for being Bob Dylan’s backing band during the most combative and divisive tour of his career, and second, for convincing Martin Scorsese to film their last concert as The Last Waltz. Those who are fixated on “classic rock” may know them for the issues that existed between the members of the group, and how Robbie was a preening ego-fuck who took glory for himself alone in the last gasps of their existence.

Like The Eagles, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, THE BAND was home to acrimony over songwriting credits, royalties and differing philosophies. It was also home to five multi-instrumentalists, four of whom sang and wrote material. Unlike those supergroups, THE BAND did not come after the fact. They were a supergroup because of their combined talent, not their individual fame. This does not make them superior to those bands, but it is significant to the changing dynamics which resulted in The Last Waltz and their untimely end. To understand why THE BAND are so respected and influential is just to hear their music.

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