The Band

[Shug]

A new box set from The Band's 1971 run at the Academy of Music is being released.  I read this on Amazon:

"During the final week of 1971, The Band played four legendary concerts at New York City's Academy Of Music, ushering in the New Year with electrifying performances, including new horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint and a surprise guest appearance by Bob Dylan for a New Year's Eve encore. Select highlights from the concerts were compiled for The Band's classic 1972 double LP, Rock Of Ages, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and remains a core album in the trailblazing group's storied Capitol Records catalog.

For the first time, all four of the concerts' multi-track recordings have been revisited for 'Live At The Academy Of Music 1971,' a new 4CD+DVD collection. The expansive new collection features new stereo and 5.1 Surround mixes, including 19 previously unreleased performances and newly discovered footage of two songs filmed by Howard Alk and Murray Lerner. 'Live At The Academy Of Music 1971' takes a deep dive into The Band's historic shows for a definitive document of the pioneering group's stage prowess at the apex of their career.
Live At The Academy Of Music 1971 is presented in a deluxe, 48-page hardbound book with previously unseen photos, a reproduction of Rolling Stone's original Rock Of Ages review by magazine co-founder Ralph J. Gleason, an essay by The Band's Robbie Robertson, and appreciations of The Band and the set's recordings by Mumford & Sons and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. The collection's first two discs feature performances of every song played over the course of the four concerts, and the New Year's Eve soundboard mix on discs 3 and 4 puts the listener in the room for that entire legendary night: Uncut, unedited, taken straight from the master recordings and presented in full for the first time. The set's DVD presents the tracks from discs 1 and 2 in 5.1 Surround, plus Alk and Lerner's filmed performances of 'King Harvest (Has Surely Come)' and 'The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show.'

The stereo mixes for the first two discs and the DVD's 5.1 Surround mix were done by Bob Clearmountain, with the stereo mixes for discs 3 and 4 helmed by Sebastian Robertson and Jon Castelli, assisted by Ryan Nasci. The collection was mastered by Patricia Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Mastering. The concerts were originally recorded by Phil Ramone with Mark Harman.

Additional Disc Information: (Disc 3) New Year's Eve At The Academy Of Music 1971 (The Soundboard Mix)/(Disc 4) New Year's Eve At The Academy Of Music 1971 (The Soundboard Mix)/(Disc 5) [DVD] Live At The Academy Of Music 1971 in 5.1 Surround Sound plus archival film clips of two previously unissued performances from December 30, 1971. "

Damn shame that the video is only two songs.  This is pricey and the highlights of the shows were released long ago as the Rock of Ages live album, so its probably only for hardcores, but its tempting to someone like me who loves The Band so much.

[cre618]

Here is what Jim wrote in the liner notes.  Great set.  Ponied up for the much cheaper digital copy, but at least it came with a PDF of the booklet:

---

what is it about the band? is it the perfect combination of rugged country grit and intense urban intellectual sophistication? is it the tears of rage or the joy and abandon of Ophelia? is it the gently crafted ballads or the hard-swinging barroom brawlers?
is it the several single lights shining into the world from its gifted vocalists or the combination of them all ringing in perfect harmony? is it the wizardry of the keys or that heavy backbeat always swinging in perfect time? is it the zipping and zagging of a relentlessly stinging electric guitar or the dipping and bopping of the most fearlessly dancing bass line? is it the storytelling? the sense of humor? the abstract surrealism? is it the deep body of studio work they left behind or the several statements of live virtuosity and cohesion captured on film and tape that have formed the bible and instruction manual for so many musicians working in their wake? perhaps it is all of this and more, beyond human comprehension yet still easily understood — a way to do things and do them right in the musical realm; do them for real with no compromise because your life is on the line. always has been and always will be. and for anyone playing or enjoying music, the band left behind a map of what a perfectly flawed journey might look like: the difficult climb, the thrill of success, the agony of defeat. fighting, loving, living, and dying amongst the hills and valleys of real life in rock
and roll... because that is what has always inspired reverence for the band deep in
my heart: these were no corporate puppets — they were real people living real life creating real music — drawing blood and playing for keeps — and as long as human beings walk the face of the earth their music will be blasting out of our hearts and minds: singing their songs from stages and campfires... pouring out of juke boxes, laptops and turntables... car stereos and hi-fi setups so far in the future we can't
even imagine...

they will be playing forever... messing with the space time continuum... inspiring future generations to keep it real with faith in pure music alive... no compromise... because our life is on the line.
always has been. always will be.
forever and ever amen.
rock of ages.

-Jim James

[johnnYYac]

Damn, that was a fine piece, Jim!  Didn't know you had it in you.  A clear indication of the importance of The Band to that which would become My Morning Jacket...

[Fully]

I wonder when the new e. e. cummings anthology is coming out. I hear he's writing the forward for that one too.

[weeniebeenie]

Those are some pretty awesome liner notes. He said it perfectly.

[GO4IT]

And here's Robbie Robertson's take on it.....  http://news.radio.com/2013/09/16/robbie-robertson-on-the-band-i-hoped-we-would-have-a-timeless-quality/

[weeniebeenie]

And here's Robbie Robertson's take on it.....  http://news.radio.com/2013/09/16/robbie-robertson-on-the-band-i-hoped-we-would-have-a-timeless-quality/

Nice article.