Title:
The Band
Description:
Scaruffi:
Band II (1969), 8/10
That first album had really only been a still uncertain attempt. It was the second one, Band II (Capitol, 1969), that decisively took off, cutting through hippie prejudices. Interestingly, the group had just moved to California, to Los Angeles. The record was this time entirely composed by Robertson, without any influence from Dylan. It was superbly arranged, with Levon Helm in evidence as the guiding force of both the singing and their characteristic syncopated rhythm. The album is even more varied and dense, with several more classics of their ragged, dyed-in-the-wool style, borrowed a little from 1920s town bands, a little from barrelhouse entertainers, a little from country country bands, a little from 19th-century minstrels. The group dusts off the civilization of the Frontier, thoroughly exploits the strand of legend, wandering between emigrant bivouacs and racist South, and at the same time explores the more humble village music of the Roaring Decades, resorting to tube orchestras and pub choirs. Mostly marking the passage of time are the metamorphoses of keyboards: rag pianolas, street organs, pipe organs, and gospel organs take turns at the helm. Thus parade The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, a mournful evocation of the style of early 20th-century rural bands; the crackling Rag Mama Rag, to the rhythm of tuba and with ramshackle fugues of honky-tonk piano; Across The Great Divide, a rhythm and blues in the jump style of New Orleans; the choral country of When You Awake; and Look Out Cleveland, soul sped up in an ironic doo-woop. But there is also no shortage of mighty, syncopated dance songs, such as Up On Cripple Creek, with its funky cadences, Jemina Surrender, a shuffling, festive boogie, and Jawbone, the most martial spiritual of their career.
Anachronistic country folk attached to family values and by the Bible, the five of them manufacture in the midst of generational warfare a phenomenal bucolic rock that is surprisingly loved and respected by just about everyone.
Band II (1969), 8/10
That first album had really only been a still uncertain attempt. It was the second one, Band II (Capitol, 1969), that decisively took off, cutting through hippie prejudices. Interestingly, the group had just moved to California, to Los Angeles. The record was this time entirely composed by Robertson, without any influence from Dylan. It was superbly arranged, with Levon Helm in evidence as the guiding force of both the singing and their characteristic syncopated rhythm. The album is even more varied and dense, with several more classics of their ragged, dyed-in-the-wool style, borrowed a little from 1920s town bands, a little from barrelhouse entertainers, a little from country country bands, a little from 19th-century minstrels. The group dusts off the civilization of the Frontier, thoroughly exploits the strand of legend, wandering between emigrant bivouacs and racist South, and at the same time explores the more humble village music of the Roaring Decades, resorting to tube orchestras and pub choirs. Mostly marking the passage of time are the metamorphoses of keyboards: rag pianolas, street organs, pipe organs, and gospel organs take turns at the helm. Thus parade The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, a mournful evocation of the style of early 20th-century rural bands; the crackling Rag Mama Rag, to the rhythm of tuba and with ramshackle fugues of honky-tonk piano; Across The Great Divide, a rhythm and blues in the jump style of New Orleans; the choral country of When You Awake; and Look Out Cleveland, soul sped up in an ironic doo-woop. But there is also no shortage of mighty, syncopated dance songs, such as Up On Cripple Creek, with its funky cadences, Jemina Surrender, a shuffling, festive boogie, and Jawbone, the most martial spiritual of their career.
Anachronistic country folk attached to family values and by the Bible, the five of them manufacture in the midst of generational warfare a phenomenal bucolic rock that is surprisingly loved and respected by just about everyone.
Band or Artist:
Band
Release Year:
1969
Country:
United States
Format:
CD
Speed:
33 1/3 rpm
Genre:
Blues
Country
Rock
Pop
Folk
Folk Rock
Classic Rock
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Producer:
The Band
John Simon
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AllMusic Rating:
nostar
Recording Location:
8850 Evanview Drive, West Hollywood, CA
Number of Tracks:
12
Quality:
N/A
Date Added:
2018-06-28 16:13:08
Date Added:
2018-06-28 16:13:08
