Music From Big Pink – THE BAND*****

Tears Of Rage/To Kingdom Come/In A Station/Caledonia Mission/The Weight/We Can Talk/Long Black Veil/ Chest Fever/Lonesome Suzie/This Wheel’s On Fire/I Shall Be Released

Prior to the release of their debut album The Band were best known as Bob Dylan's backing group. Three of his songs were included on the critically well received Music From Big Pink. (US:30)

"The Band provided a new model for rock music with Big Pink. They combined what they learned from working with Dylan with their own take on Americana (even though they were mostly Canadians) to come up with a set of sophisticated, timeless, well crafted songs. The arrangements showcased the excellent musicianship of the entire group, rich in subtleties while deliberately avoiding the extended soloing that was popular at the time."

"Music From Big Pink is an album I have grown to like more over the years as I and my tastes have matured. The songwriting is just wonderful and pure. Lyrically it might be some of the most honest and heartfelt I've ever heard. And as a band, they are super tight. The Weight is an all time classic, and the organ intro/outro on Chest Fever is enough to move any congregation to its feet."

"This startlingly different LP was lyrically and musically like nothing that we had ever heard before. It is blues, folk, country, roots and rock, all with a distinctly Southern feel. The band members had played together for many years, thus imparting an air of casualness to the endeavour. Rather than harmonizing the three singers just sing together, over, under and around each other. It could have resulted in a mess. Instead, Big Pink simply became one of the most influential albums of all-time."

"Music From Big Pink was a well-crafted album. It featured four strong voices and precise musicianship. The songs painted pictures through the use of words and sounds yet retained a quality that would ingrain itself in the unconscious and emerge as elemental truths. Music From Big Pink would show their versatility as it would contain rock, blues, folk and gospel. It remains a shining example of what rock ‘n’ roll is all about."

"By rejecting the contemporary rock world, this helped pave the way for bands like Poco, Eagles and other countrified-rock."