In a Station 1969

“Once I walked through the halls of a station.
Someone called your name.
In the streets, I heard children laughing.
They all sound the same.
Wonder could you ever know me?
Know the reason why I live.
Is there nothing you can show me?
Life seems so little to give.”

Richard Manuel - In a Station

Although most talk about THE BAND’s second album as being their masterpiece, there are more than a few reasons why you should consider their debut Music From Big Pink as filling that role nicely. In January of 1968 sessions began in New York to record THE BAND’s debut album Music From Big Pink, completing it in February in Los Angeles. This was due to two reasons as covered by Rob Bowman in the liner notes to the 2000 re-issue,

“(1) In January the City of Angels was a fair sight warmer than Woodstock and
(2) while they had to pay for the sessions at A&R, at Capitol, studio time was free.”

The majority of material present on this album was written during THE BAND’s time in Big Pink and contains three songs written by or co-written by Bob Dylan. The cover was also painted by Bob Dylan. This could have been seen at the time as attempting to cash-in on Bob Dylan’s temporary retirement from touring and exit from the public eye. It quickly becomes clear that THE BAND are their own masters and a Dylan song in their hands becomes something else. Of course in 1968, none of these Dylan songs had seen release for some time. I Shall Be Released was eventually released by Dylan in a different form to the original 1967 recording in 1971 when he re-recorded the song and included it on his Greatest Hits Volume 2. Other Basement Tapes songs, You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere and Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood) were also re-recorded with Happy Traum and included. It took until the official release of the Basement Tapes in 1975 for Dylan’s versions of Tears of Rage and This Wheel’s On Fire to see the light of day. So for several years, THE BAND were the originators of these songs. It’s fairly irrelevant when you listen to the different interpretations as they are quite dissimilar in their intent and execution.

Tears of Rage 1969

Tears of Rage opens the album with Richard Manuel’s unmistakable wail. Manuel’s interpretation of the song differs significantly from Dylan’s, simply because of how his voice alters the meaning. Dylan, like most of his work on the Basement Tapes is half-way between talking and singing. It has an Old World quality to it. It is relaxed and subdued, as if coming through from another time. Manuel injects an excitement and a need to communicate the emotion of the song.

Manuel sounds like time is running out. When he sings “time is brief”, it takes on a different meaning. Where as Dylan sang it with a world weary acceptance, Manuel gives you the feeling that “all is not lost” and you must hurry to alter your surroundings. Everything buried in the lyrics and the song by the Basement Tapes‘ arrangement and production comes out on Music From Big Pink. The presence of Garth Hudson’s Hammond organ and the group punching in on backing vocals during the chorus still gives me chills. With every verse the song builds up; from the vocals to the percussion to Hudson’s phenomenal job on the keyboards and organ, the desperation of the singer is translated to the listener.

To Kingdom Come 1969

Masters of sequencing, THE BAND follow up with Robbie Robertson’s joyous To Kingdom Come featuring THE BAND trading off lines with a typically inspired guitar solo from Robertson on the tag. This is one of the things that people forget about THE BAND, that during the first three albums, you had two extremely strong and different styles of song-writing from Manuel and Robertson. Before Manuel became a little too alcoholic and a little too unmotivated, he was probably the best writer they had.

The great thing about Music From Big Pink is that you don’t have to get into that argument because these 11 songs blend into each other and create a fabric of styles.

THE BAND had four amazing singers and five of the best musicians working.

They may have gone on to greater fame and in some eyes, greater critical success but there is no-where in the entire catalogue of these men that comes close to the ambience of Music From Big Pink.

The production on this album is often unobtrusive, not getting in the way of the musicians but the way in which simple humming on In a Station is able to impart more joy than almost any chorus or hook is a testament, not only to Richard Manuel’s unique vocal gifts but also the manner in which this album was recorded.

The Weight 1969

Not to be out-done, Robbie Robertson provides the big hit here with The Weight. Overplayed perhaps but with Helm on lead vocals, pounding the drums, Danko taking a verse all to himself with Robertson supplementing the sound, it is clear to see that this is a phenomenal song. It’s an indication of the strength and wealth of material present that a song like this could ever be overshadowed on an album. Also, dig how Danko approaches the song when he comes in for his verse. Danko’s voice on “wait a minute Chester, you know I’m a peaceful man” always stands out for me in the song. I love how they are improvising little lines in this like Helm’s “what did you say?” to Danko.

Chest Fever 1974

Chest Fever is probably Garth Hudson’s greatest moment on here. This particular performance from 1974 contains a long organ intro which was dubbed “Genetic Fever” and was a staple of most of THE BAND’s concerts. A song which in its raw form, has the same energy and will to mutilate with sound that The Velvet Underground had with Sister Ray. When the song proper kicks in at two and a half minutes, Chest Fever reveals itself to be a super catchy, visceral Rock ‘n’ Roll work out. So many of THE BAND’s songs are exultant salutes to performing and feeling the simple pleasures in jamming. This is one of them.

This Wheel’s On Fire 1969

Co-written with Bob Dylan, Rick Danko’s writing credit on this album is rife with the biblical imagery that you would expect from Bob Dylan in his Basement Tapes mode. As with the rest of the Basement Tapes songs present here, this version has a very different feel to Dylan’s original. This is altogether a more up-beat and aggressive song in this form with Robertson’s electric guitar feeding into Helm’s primal drumming.

I Shall Be Released 1970

A song that would go on to be covered by many, many people including Joan Baez, Nina Simone, Bette Midler and Jeff Buckley. One of the main reasons why The Last Waltz didn’t have that special something is is present on this song and lacking in that concert — Richard Manuel’s falsetto. By 1976 he had consumed so many cigarettes and bottles of whiskey that he didn’t have a hope in hell of reaching these notes.

Music From Big Pink is a fantastic album. There are no bad tracks here and no waste of potential. This is 42 minutes of some of the most life affirming, exquisitely performed music by an ensemble ever recorded. Every single facet of this album is worth appreciating. The musicianship is unsurpassed in Rock, the harmonies and interplay between all five members is something that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere at any time in the last hundred years of popular music.

For these reasons and many more, this is the one essential album to own by THE BAND.

And if you do purchase it, make sure and purchase this version.

Long Black Veil 1969

Bugul

• BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
• « An Introduction To: THE BAND Part One
• » A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man.

• BROWSE / IN General
• « Andy Kaufman Went Wrestling
• » NKOTB, I kid you not!