Wilco's career's v. The Bands'

[quarter23cd]

The fact remains that even your average band these days can now play circles around some musicians of that era

Que?

[caliber66]

Umm... Robbie Robertson is the only one in The Band that actually made royalties on their music. He made a deal with the record company and made sure he was named as the sole song-writer when most songs were collaborative efforts. I'm sure Tweedy has never been that much of an asshole.

I still don't understand what that has to do with the music they made. Lots of great artists are dicks. That has nothing at all to do with their talent or their musical legacy. You can argue that one artist is "cooler" than another, but what matters to me is the music they make, not their personality.

 

As to whether or not Robbie Robertson was a controlling bastard, that's been pretty well established. Jeff seems like a pretty good guy, but he has had his own documented interpersonal problems throughout his career. Either way, when I cue up a Band or Wilco album on my iPod, the personalities of the musicians involved don't even enter my head. Except maybe on The Last Waltz when you can tell Levon is REALLY pissed off while he's singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and that's only because I think it works for the song.

[jdmel]

i think wilco will be an influence to bands in the future in the same sense the band was an influence on wilco... atleast i hope.

[caliber66]

No, it means they are on the same level. And Little Feat was popular around the same time as The Band (its really only a difference of a few years and there was plenty of overlap).

And I'm still not sure what your point is here. Little Feat may very well have been a more popular act when they and the Band were both active, but there's one group that people still talk about, and it's not Little Feat.

[nettles]

Hey I dig wilco, compared to most modern bands, to me they maybe the most interesting to follow, but dude, THE BAND! you may have gotten a little carried away there.

[jdmel]

Hey I dig wilco, compared to most modern bands, to me they maybe the most interesting to follow, but dude, THE BAND! you may have gotten a little carried away there.

i think without the mystique of the era they came from they match up pretty well.

[BobsRevenge]

I still don't understand what that has to do with the music they made. Lots of great artists are dicks. That has nothing at all to do with their talent or their musical legacy. You can argue that one artist is "cooler" than another, but what matters to me is the music they make, not their personality.

 

As to whether or not Robbie Robertson was a controlling bastard, that's been pretty well established. Jeff seems like a pretty good guy, but he has had his own documented interpersonal problems throughout his career. Either way, when I cue up a Band or Wilco album on my iPod, the personalities of the musicians involved don't even enter my head. Except maybe on The Last Waltz when you can tell Levon is REALLY pissed off while he's singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and that's only because I think it works for the song.

I guess my point there is that that is one of the reasons I find their music to be fake. This guy is a huge douche and took advantage of his bandmates. Personality does come across in music and Wilco is proof of that. The fact that Robbie Robertson did that kind of thing and then wrote lyrics like he did makes me feel like there was more pretentiousness and dishonesty to it than you would suspect just by hearing it. Wilco's music is absolutely honest and that is pretty much one of the main reasons they appeal to me. I lost that feeling with The Band, hence the antipathy.

[BobsRevenge]

And I'm still not sure what your point is here. Little Feat may very well have been a more popular act when they and the Band were both active, but there's one group that people still talk about, and it's not Little Feat.

Umm... not really. Little Feat is still talked about and probably moreso than The Band. Then again, they are still around so that isn't a fair comparison.

 

i think without the mystique of the era they came from they match up pretty well.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm trying to get at.

[jff]

Levon is far above average on the drums. He doesn't do a lot of meaningless show-boating like a lot of drummers, which is a sign of talent, maturity, and TRUE musicianship. You can't improve on the feel of those tunes. He's a lot like Jim Keltner in that way.

 

Add his ability on the mandolin and his strong vocals (if, like me, you consider the voice a musical instrument), and there is no way you can convince me that he is merely "average" as an instrumentalist.

[TheMaker]

Big Pink is already kind of a footnote. Who talks about it anymore?

 

UHH. Wow.

 

Little Feat is still talked about and probably moreso than The Band.

 

UHHHHH. Okay. I get it. It's Bizarro Day, where everything is opposites!

[quarter23cd]

UHHHHH. Okay. I get it. It's Bizarro Day, where everything is opposites!

Just roll with it, man. Everything's gonna be ok.

[caliber66]

I guess my point there is that that is one of the reasons I find their music to be fake. This guy is a huge douche and took advantage of his bandmates. Personality does come across in music and Wilco is proof of that. The fact that Robbie Robertson did that kind of thing and then wrote lyrics like he did makes me feel like there was more pretentiousness and dishonesty to it than you would suspect just by hearing it. Wilco's music is absolutely honest and that is pretty much one of the main reasons they appeal to me. I lost that feeling with The Band, hence the antipathy.

I don't think we're ever going to see eye to eye on this one. Every artist writes about things that aren't true.

 

Umm... not really. Little Feat is still talked about and probably moreso than The Band. Then again, they are still around so that isn't a fair comparison.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm trying to get at.

I haven't heard anyone discuss Little Feat since I was in high school in Texas almost twenty years ago. I hear about the Band and their legacy all the time. "Dixie Chicken" is a cute little song, but it has nothing on the Band's even average songs. I don't think I've ever heard a band list Little Feat among its influences, while there are piles of acts around today that would count the Band as one.

[TheMaker]

It's just an interesting interpretation of reality. Keeping in mind that I love both The Band and Little Feat, my only explanation for Bob's take on things is that he's going out of his way to avoid any and all discussions about The Band whilst simultaneously rooting out every story he can find about Little Feat.

[LouieB]

No, it means they are on the same level. And Little Feat was popular around the same time as The Band (its really only a difference of a few years and there was plenty of overlap).

 

Well, I get miffed when people say The Band was the first to start bringing back that kind of sound. The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Dylan, and quite a few others were doing it before The Band released Big Pink. Also, let's not forget that Wilco hasn't been around 30 years to make that comparison.

Edit: I really don't want to do all this quoting again... so if this continues I'd rather it not be in this format.

Wow, this is really great. Little Feat were if anything influenced by the Band as well. While there was overlap, The Band was around and influential releasing their first two albums prior to Little Feat even being a band. But be that as it may....

 

The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield were certainly influential bands, but neither had keyboards. Not sure what the sound was that we are arguing about here really.

 

What it is difficult for a kid like BobsRevenge to understand is that a couple years back in the 60s was a huge amount of time really. It is easy to take the long view now, since that period of time was 40 or more years ago, but many of the types and genres of music we now take for granted were practically brand new in the early to mid-60s. These artist were really second generation rock and rollers, influenced first by Chuck Berry, Elvis, etc. and then secondarily the Beatles and the British Invasion. There weren't that many influences. We now can access nearly any type of older music at the click of a mouse, but back then hearing and being influenced by older artists and styles of music wasn't quite so simple.

 

When the Band "covered" (not a correct term really since they helped develop this material) songs that later we know as the Basement Tapes on Music from Big Pink, no one but them and a few others had even heard this material. It only started popping up on a rather limited number of bootlegs after the fact. Let's not forget that The Band aka The Hawks, was among the young musicians who were being schooled in the new Rock and Roll by way of R&B and blues, long before they became the Band. By the time they came recognized and named the band, they had already been a road tested group of musicans for the better part of 10 years.

 

LouieB

[LouieB]

in my opinion all music from here on out will eventually just be a footnote. there are too many outlets for music. nothing is mainstream anymore. there are so many places to get music the same people aren't going to the same places to get it. the radio only plays crap, which is how good bands made it big in the past. this won't happen anymore. i guess we can blame it on the mtv. (sorry if someone posted something like this already...i was too lazy to read the thread.)

I used to voice the same opinion here a few years back and got blasted for it regularly, but there is much truth in what you say. The names of bands and musicians who are influential change with the times as well. Folks who were barely even known are now revered as huge influences, while well known musicians of their day have been relegated to the dust bin of history. So it goes...

 

By the way, Little Feat was a great band (prior to the death of Lowell George), but clearly not in the same category as The Band.

 

LouieB

[benkramer]

Musicianship: Go look at The Last Waltz. Watch as some of the greatest artists of all time are humbled to be on the same stage. Watch as someone like Eric Clapton stands awestruck by Robbie Robertsons playing. Watch as 4 of 5 members take lead vocals and can be considered great front men in their own right.

 

Watch. Learn.

[danelectro]

I'm kind of surprised people here aren't more into Little Feat. IMO their first two albums are as good as anything The Band did. However towards the end of the Lowell George era the material was kind of iffy but I suppose the same could be said of post Cahoots Band material. LF is probably not as historically influential but I think it depends who you ask. In the guitar community Lowell George is up there with Duane Allman.

[jff]

Regarding Little Feat being influenced by the Band...

 

Was Lowell George playing with Zappa when Big Pink came out? I don't know the exact timeline. If so, it's possible Big Pink played a major role in George leaving Zappa and doing Little Feat.

 

Totally untested hypothesis...Just thought I'd throw it out there.

[Lammycat]

I'm kind of surprised people here aren't more into Little Feat. IMO their first two albums are as good as anything The Band did. However towards the end of the Lowell George era the material was kind of iffy but I suppose the same could be said of post Cahoots Band material. LF is probably not as historically influential but I think it depends who you ask. In the guitar community Lowell George is up there with Duane Allman.

I listen to the first three LF albums very often. Some of my favorite music ever. The Band were an exceptional group of musicians and wrote/played some incredible music, as well. I'm not sure why we even need to compare them. They were unique unto themselves, really. Kind of like the Band and Wilco.

[BobsRevenge]

UHH. Wow.

UHHHHH. Okay. I get it. It's Bizarro Day, where everything is opposites!

Umm... Little Feat is still around. I see them on lists of bands playing festivals and things a lot and they still are releasing material. How is it suprising they are talked about more? If Little Feat ended at the same time as The Band it wouldn't be true (even though they kinda did for a while), but it is unfair to say The Band is talked about more than Little Feat is at this point in time.

 

It's just an interesting interpretation of reality. Keeping in mind that I love both The Band and Little Feat, my only explanation for Bob's take on things is that he's going out of his way to avoid any and all discussions about The Band whilst simultaneously rooting out every story he can find about Little Feat.

Where the hell did that come from? I've talked about The Band fairly in depth and barely mentioned Little Feat and have only elaborated because people keep going back to it. edit: sorry, I misunderstood what you said for a bit...

I already said that The Band was my favorite band for a while, so I don't see how you could say that.

 

 

edit: Little Feat began because Zappa wanted Lowell to leave and start his own band because he had ambition. That's what I remeber hearing at least. Might have to wikipedia that...

[Spawn's dad]

it isn't the same little feat.

[Lammycat]

If Little Feat ended at the same time as The Band it wouldn't be true (even though they kinda did for a while),

Some would say LF "died" when LG died, which was prior to the Band's early/mid 80s gigs....

[caliber66]

Musicianship: Go look at The Last Waltz. Watch as some of the greatest artists of all time are humbled to be on the same stage. Watch as someone like Eric Clapton stands awestruck by Robbie Robertsons playing. Watch as 4 of 5 members take lead vocals and can be considered great front men in their own right.

As much of a fan of the Band as I am, I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid. Robbie Robertson was a talented guitarist, and he had his own style, which he used to great advantage by soloing sparingly, but I didn't get the impression that Clapton was "awestruck" by Robertson's playing. In fact, as I understand it, they went back and overdubbed a lot of The Last Waltz, although that could have been due to technical problems during recording (which are well documented, of course). Clapton (and everyone else except Neil Diamond) seemed to be having a great time on stage and were obviously honored to be there, though.

 

Umm... Little Feat is still around. I see them on lists of bands playing festivals and things a lot and they still are releasing material. How is it suprising they are talked about more? If Little Feat ended at the same time as The Band it wouldn't be true (even though they kinda did for a while), but it is unfair to say The Band is talked about more than Little Feat is at this point in time.

Where the hell did that come from? I've talked about The Band fairly in depth and barely mentioned Little Feat and have only elaborated because people keep going back to it.

edit: Little Feat began because Zappa wanted Lowell to leave and start his own band because he had ambition. That's what I remeber hearing at least. Might have to wikipedia that...

Yes, Little Feat is still around. And I forgot that Lowell George wrote "Willin'," which is a great song that stands up with the majority of the Band's stuff. We're going to have to disagree about who's talked about more, though. I just don't hear anything, ever, about Little Feat, and I hear plenty about the Band and their legacy.

[danelectro]

If Little Feat ended at the same time as The Band it wouldn't be true (

 

For all practical purposed LF did end shortly after The Band. By 1976 all the was once great about LF was pretty much gone with Lowell George on the sidelines.

[Lammycat]

Some would say LF "died" when LG died, which was prior to the Band's early/mid 80s gigs....

Come to think of it, I don't think Robbie Robertson joined them on the reunion tours of the early 80s, so I'd say that both LF and The Band ended about the same time.

 

Anyway...