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I haven't been this sad about a musician's death since Alex Chilton died. One of the great voices in music, ever. Of course, he did much more than just sing, but the voice is what instantly grabbed my attention when i heard "Music From Big Pink" for the first time. They'll never be another like him.

 

I just noticed that on CNN's website, they are debating the lyrics to "The Weight"(does he say "Annie" or "Fanny" and it mentions the Wilco/Mavis/Nick Lowe version performed at the Civic Opera House last year. It even posted a direct link to Wilcoworld from within the article, so readers can listen to the track to hear how Mavis sung that line! I thought that was kinda funny. The link to the article is below.

 

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/20/the-weight-of-our-ears-take-a-load-off-who/?hpt=hp_c2

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I think I'm sadder about Levon. Chilton's death was such a shock that it's hard to compare. I love Big Star and some of the other stuff Chilton did, but I connected mostly through Westerberg. I knoew that w/o Chilton there would be no Westerberg, so I am incredibly grateful for his legacy. Levon... He has to have one of the top 5 voices in rock and roll. And his joy and compassion just always seemed to be right there. The Band was kind of in the background of my musical conciousness until about 5 years ago. His last 2 LPs are tremendous. The man had a lifelong career from the early days of rock and he never lost his passion.

 

Also growing up, The Right Stuff was a favorite movie. Hell, I started chewing Beemans gum because of the banter betwen he and Sam Shepard in the movie, but I never realized who he was! When I put the 2 together recently, I had goosebumps.

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Robertson seemed like a douche for killing the group but he had plenty of reasons. As the principal songwriter he was out of gas. That and the continuing slide of Manual's psyche and drug use kind of tilted the scales. If he owned the band he could have fired people like Jeff Tweedy but they were a musical partnership and he wanted out. As far as i know he never contested their use of the band name and various assembleges of the original members toured until Richard hung himself while they were on tour. I think his douchebag rep is unwarranted. I did see them in 1975 and it was an awesome show. Those three voices were amazing. And J. Robbie wrote some timeless music. I still listen to the first two records and Rock of Ages. The Basement Tapes are aso in my Ipod but not a big fan of demos. I also have some John Hammond vinyl that Robbie demonstrates some great blues chops.

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Just watched the Last Waltz for the first time in a while. Wow! I'm going to watch it again.

Wow!

Ah to be young again......wait, you're 49??

 

An interesting note on this movie - Pauline Kael panned the shit out of it when it first came out.

 

LouieB

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Ah to be young again......wait, you're 49??

 

An interesting note on this movie - Pauline Kael panned the shit out of it when it first came out.

 

LouieB

Watching Van Morrison in the Last Waltz is pure joy.

Watching Rick Danko sing It Makes No Difference moves me to tears.

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Ah to be young again......wait, you're 49??

 

An interesting note on this movie - Pauline Kael panned the shit out of it when it first came out.

 

LouieB

 

Thanks LouieB.

Not that young anymore. Its catching up with me.

I knew at some point I would be watching The Last Waltz again. Soon.

Yesterday, KUNR fm was planning alot of Levon and a lot of The Band. I found myself sitting in the car listening to It Makes No Difference from The Last Waltz on the car radio. I said "thats it, its time to watch The Last Waltz" So I did.

I lost track of how many times I saw it in the theater when it came out in 1978. It seems like it has always just been apart of my life. The Last Waltz was (and still is) a major road map for my musical journey. That road map would eventually lead me to Wilco.

Anyways, The Last Waltz is still amazing to watch. The performances are still top notch. It will stand the test of time.

 

PS - Did you guys hear that they laid Levon to rest next to Rick Danko. That was one of the most touching things I heard at the end of Levons journey.....have fun guys! That band upstairs keeps getting better and better.

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An interesting note on this movie - Pauline Kael panned the shit out of it when it first came out.

LouieB

LouieB: got any sources on that? It surprised me so I poked around some and even found her original 1978 New Yorker review which is pretty positive. A different reviewer for the Nww Yorker (Penelope Gilliatt) didn't like it much but Kael seems to be a fan. She is quoted in other articles as calling it "the most beautiful rock movie ever."

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One more thing about The Last Waltz. The show was broadcast that night in the Bay Area. The entire show does exist. Its worth tracking down. 6 hours of the raw real deal. Multiple songs from their guest and well as other Band songs that were left out of the WB release. Seek and you will find. (if you want it)

 

Did it get an offical release? Or was that just a glorified new box release with extras?

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LouieB: got any sources on that? It surprised me so I poked around some and even found her original 1978 New Yorker review which is pretty positive. A different reviewer for the Nww Yorker (Penelope Gilliatt) didn't like it much but Kael seems to be a fan. She is quoted in other articles as calling it "the most beautiful rock movie ever."

As I recall her saying the sound was too loud and that the musicians were acting like they were old men when actually they were pretty young. It was not a total pan, but considering everything it was less than positive as I recall hence you calling it "pretty positive.) If you have a link post it because it came out a long time ago and I read the review a long time ago too. So yup I could be wrong. I also googled it and got the same quote. So nevermind.

 

LouieB

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  • 2 weeks later...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30B1tb9g4GU

 

new years '83 opening up for the dead. very cool. too bad the 80s were rough for them. i'm very thankful to have their 90s output and to have seen them then. a breath of fresh air in the grunge/alternative era.

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  • 1 year later...

That's cool.   Proving once again that the vaults still contain plenty of material on just about everyone.

 

The reissue CD from several years ago has the Dylan material on it. 

 

LouieB

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I just picked up a nice used vinyl copy the other day for $6.00. This may be my favorite live album of all time. The horns sound so perfect with those songs!

Arranged by Allen Toussaint if memory serves me.  Also this album was not well received on release either.  Its a good one though. Do find the CD release (which is also pretty cheap I bet) because the Dylan material is interesting. 

 

LouieB

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Arranged by Allen Toussaint if memory serves me.  Also this album was not well received on release either.  Its a good one though. Do find the CD release (which is also pretty cheap I bet) because the Dylan material is interesting. 

 

LouieB

 

Right about the Toussaint. Was it really not well received? I just can't believe that....its so good!

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Right about the Toussaint. Was it really not well received? I just can't believe that....its so good!

As I recall it was thought of as very staid and too controlled.  But if you look above my recollection about The Last Waltz was only vaguely correct too. 

 

LouieB

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 years later...

Was checking out some memorabilia auction and found this.

 

$500 total payment for performance is nuts.

 

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/entertainment-and-music/the-band-signed-performance-contract-1969-/a/7164-89461.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

 

They also have Dylans guitar that he played on stage for many years and he sold to Larry Cragg (who was / is a guitar tech).  He is Neil Youngs guy now and keeps Old Black working...Bid on that starts at $300,000.

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