Band [2007] The Best Of A Musical History

[01] Who Do You Love
[02] He Don't Love You (And He'll Break Your Heart)
[03] Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window (Single Version)
[04] Ain't No More Cain In The Brazos
[05] The Weight
[06] Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)
[07] King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
[08] All LA Glory (Single Version)
[09] Stage Fright
[10] I Shall Be Released
[11] 4% Pantomime
[12] Don't Do It
[13] Life Is A Carnival
[14] Slippin' & Slidin' (Live)
[15] Endless Highway
[16] Share Your Love With Me
[17] Forever Young
[18] Twilight (Song Sketch)
[19] Home Cookin'

With [17] Bob Dylan


amg: A Musical History was one of the best box sets of the last ten years: a thorough and revelatory biography of the Band, telling their story from their beginnings as a backing band for Ronnie Hawkins to their disbandment after The Last Waltz. Released in the spring of 2007, about two years after the appearance of the original box, the single-disc excerpt The Best of a Musical History isn't nearly as good as its mammoth five-disc parent, largely because it tries to serve to audiences equally: it tries to please casual fans who just want the hits, while trying to win over serious fans curious about the rarities on the box yet unwilling to acquire the whole set. As such, this 19-track set sprawls all over the place, containing a smattering of Band standards ("The Weight," "Life Is a Carnival," "King Harvest [Has Surely Come]," "Stage Fright," "I Shall Be Released"), fan favorites that aren't quite rare ("Orange Juice Blues," "Don't Do It"), genuine rarities ("He Don't Love You [And He'll Break Your Heart]," by Levon & the Hawks; Bob Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl out Your Window?"), and five unreleased tracks, highlighted by a roaring live version of "Slippin' and Slidin'" and Rick Danko's "Home Cookin'." All of this music is good and the set does indicate the rich breadth of the Band's music. Many of the band's classics are here, but this doesn't contain enough great rarities from the box set to be a true "best-of the box." It merely is what it says it is: a sampler of the box, nothing more.
(amg 6/10)

Band [1978] The Last Waltz

[101] Theme From The Last Waltz
[102] Up On Cripple Creek
[103] Who Do You Love
[104] Helpless
[105] Stagefright
[106] Coyote
[107] Dry Your Eyes
[108] It Makes No Difference
[109] Such A Night
[110] The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
[111] Mystery Train
[112] Mannish Boy
[113] Further On Up The Road
[201] Shape I'm In
[202] Down South In New Orleans
[203] Ophelia
[204] Tura-Lura-Lural (That's An Irish Lullaby)
[205] Caravan
[206] Life Is A Carnival
[207] Baby Let Me Follow You Down
[208] I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
[209] Forever Young
[210] Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Reprise)
[211] I Shall Be Released
[212] The Last Waltz Suite - The Well
[213] The Last Waltz Suite - Evangeline
[214] The Last Waltz Suite - Out Of The Blue
[215] The Last Waltz Suite - The Weight
[216] The Last Waltz Suite - The Last Waltz Refrain
[217] The Last Waltz Suite - Theme From The Last Waltz

With [103] Ronnie Hawkins, [104] Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, [106] Joni Mitchell and Dr. John, [107] Neil Diamond and Dennis St. John, [109] Dr. John, [111] Paul Buterfield, [112] Muddy Waters and Paul Butterfield, [113] Eric Clapton, [202] Dr. John, [204-205] Van Morrison, [207-210] Bob Dylan, [211] Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Neil Diamond, [213] Emmylou Harris, [215] The Staples, [217] With Orchestra



amg: As a film, The Last Waltz was a triumph — one of the first (and still one of the few) rock concert documentaries that was directed by a filmmaker who understood both the look and the sound of rock & roll, and executed with enough technical craft to capture all the nooks and crannies of a great live show. But as an album, The Last Waltz soundtrack had to compete with the Band's earlier live album, Rock of Ages, with which it bears a certain superficial resemblance — both found the group trying to create something grander than the standard-issue live double, and both featured the group beefed up by additional musicians. While Rock of Ages found the Band swinging along with the help of a horn section arranged by Allen Toussaint, The Last Waltz boasts a horn section (using Toussaint's earlier arrangements on a few cuts) and more than a baker's dozen guest stars, ranging from old cohorts Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan to contemporaries Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Van Morrison. The Band are in fine if not exceptional form here; on most cuts, they don't sound quite as fiery as they did on Rock of Ages, though their performances are never less than expert, and the high points are dazzling, especially an impassioned version of "It Makes No Difference" and blazing readings of "Up on Cripple Creek" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Levon Helm has made no secret that he felt breaking up the Band was a bad idea, and here it sounds if he was determined to prove how much they still had to offer). Ultimately, it's the Band's "special guests" who really make this set stand out — Muddy Waters' ferocious version of "Mannish Boy" would have been a wonder from a man half his age, Van Morrison sounds positively joyous on "Caravan," Neil Young and Joni Mitchell do well for their Canadian brethren, and Bob Dylan's closing set finds him in admirably loose and rollicking form. (One question remains — what exactly is Neil Diamond doing here?) And while the closing studio-recorded "Last Waltz Suite" sounds like padding, the contributions from Emmylou Harris and the Staple Singers are beautiful indeed. It could be argued that you're better off watching The Last Waltz on video than listening to it on CD, but either way it's a show well worth checking out.
(amg 8/10)