| 8th January 2007 08:21 AM |
|
|
| Ten Thousand Motels |
Endless Highway: The Music Of The Band
Jazz News Service
January 7, 2007
Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel -- aka The Band -- inarguably placed alongside a shortlist of groups considered "rock royalty", will be paid a long-overdue, much-deserved tribute with Endless Highway: The Music Of The Band - a collection of their compositions lovingly reworked by a diverse group of artists who share a love of The Band and are highly regarded in their own right.
The project will be released by 429 Records (a unit of the Savoy Label Group). The stellar collection features reinterpretations of classic Band songs by Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket, Lee Ann Womack, Death Cab For Cutie, Roseanne Cash, Jakob Dylan, Gomez, Widespread Panic, The Allman Brothers, John Hiatt, Joe Henry, Bruce Hornsby, Guster, Blues Traveler, Josh Turner, Government Mule and Others. Tracks are currently streaming on the Savoy Label Group website listed below. Endless Highway: The Music Of The Band is in stores January 30th.
Executive Produced by Stu Fine and Steve Vining, Endless Highway is a showcase for musicians of many different genres for whom The Band represent a pinnacle of creative musicianship. Says Stu Fine: "The more we talked about the idea of finding an artist whose songs transcended time, space and generations, who artists loved and respected enough to want to cover, THE BAND kept showing up at the top of each of our wish lists."
When The Band released their first album, Music From Big Pink, they had already spent over a year touring with Ronnie Hawkins (as The Hawks) and Bob Dylan on the intensely polarizing world tour that introduced audiences to the "electric" side of Dylan. It was a series of performances that were astonishing in their unwavering musical vision and intensity. The Band materialized out of the ashes of The Hawks upon an unsuspecting musical community with a collection of compositions unlike anything released in pop music before. Rob Bowman states in his notes to the compilation The Band: A Musical History, ... more than any other band in the history of popular music they were able to internalize the main tributaries of American roots musics to the point where they syncretically fused them into a timeless musical stew that, both linguistically and sonically, encapsulates the mythical essence of some long-lost sense of America."
The challenge for the artists participating in Endless Highway was how to approach a body of work where more often than not, the word used to describe a particular song was "masterpiece." My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan comments to Billboard.com on the recording of "It Makes No Difference" with Levon Helm in Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY: "We were very aware of the potential pain he would feel from hearing that song recorded by someone else. (Late Band members) Rick Danko and Richard Manuel were amongst the purest musicians to ever grace the art, and to conjure up their loss was something we feared and respected."
Adds Steve Vining, President of 429 Records/SLG: "It's been gratifying to work with so many established artists but also the young bands who have such an appreciation for The Band's legacy. Putting together this project has been a labor of love for all involved and I am happy the music reflects that."
|
| 8th January 2007 08:50 AM |
|
|
| gimmekeef |
Saw them in venues as small as 500 and with 600,000 at Watkins Glen....always a great show.I love Keith's tune with Levon Helm...."Deuce and a Quarter"..on Scotty Moore's All The Kings Men.... |
| 8th January 2007 10:32 AM |
|
|
| Saint Sway |
Its BS that the Black Crowes werent asked to contribute a song to this... I cant think of another band that plays songs by The Band as frequently - and as well - as they do |
| 9th January 2007 11:14 AM |
|
|
| Lethargy |
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
Its BS that the Black Crowes werent asked to contribute a song to this... I cant think of another band that plays songs by The Band as frequently - and as well - as they do
WORD! I'm listening to ...Dixie Down off "Fog" right now and it's gorgeous. |
| 9th January 2007 11:21 AM |
|
|
| TampabayStone |
quote:
Lethargy wrote:
WORD! I'm listening to ...Dixie Down off "Fog" right now and it's gorgeous.
I love that song! From the Classic Albums episode I saw, Robbie takes the credit; seems weird for a Canadian. I would have always assumed Levon was the main contributor. |
| 9th January 2007 11:28 AM |
|
|
| Saint Sway |
quote:
Lethargy wrote:
WORD! I'm listening to ...Dixie Down off "Fog" right now and it's gorgeous.
a great closing number to a great show
I challenge anyone to find a band thats covered The Band as much as The Black Crowes...
to the best of my knowledge these are the songs they've done between Crowes shows and Chris Robinson's various solo gigs...
Tears of Rage
Jemima Surrender
The Weight
Long Black Veil
It Makes No Difference
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Shape I'm In
Don't Do It
Just Another Whistle Stop
Life is a Carnival
Ain't No More Cane
Wheels on Fire
plus all the Dylan songs that they've done that were also staples in The Bands shows |
| 9th January 2007 11:52 AM |
|
|
| gimmekeef |
Rick Danko belting out.."Makes No Difference"...is one of the best gut wrenching songs ever recorded..... |
| 9th January 2007 12:01 PM |
|
|
| Saint Sway |
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:
Rick Danko belting out.."Makes No Difference"...is one of the best gut wrenching songs ever recorded.....
quoted for truth and accuracy
I loved his voice. He had so much soul. |
| 9th January 2007 12:17 PM |
|
|
| Lazy Bones |
These guys were terrific! And, I'd have to agree with saint sway about the crowes - especially when considering a couple of the artists selected for making a contribution.
With the exception of Levon, these guys are good 'ol Southern Ontario boys - just like me. Not bad for making "American" music! |
| 9th January 2007 12:45 PM |
|
|
| doo doo doo Dude |
Danko's voice was incredible but no one, imo, can touch the emotion of Richard Manuel when he sings "Tears of Rage"
R.I.P. Danko/Manuel |
| 9th January 2007 12:53 PM |
|
|
| Lazy Bones |
wolfgang's concert vault hosts 3 band concerts - all rated 5 stars...
http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/Concerts.aspx?stype=artist&id=7129 |
