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Across The Great Divide (album)
''Across the Great Divide'' is a box set by Canadian-American rock group the Band. Released in 1994, it consists of two discs of songs from the Band's first seven albums, and a third disc of rarities taken from various studio sessions and live performances. The set is now out of print, having been replaced by the five- CD/one-DVD box set ''A Musical History'' that was released in September 2005. Track listing All songs written by Robbie Robertson, unless otherwise noted. Disc one Tracks 1–7 from '' Music from Big Pink'' (1968). Tracks 8–15 from '' The Band'' (1969). Tracks 16–19 from '' Stage Fright'' (1970). # " Tears of Rage" (Bob Dylan, Richard Manuel) – 5:19 # " The Weight" – 4:35 # "I Shall Be Released" (Dylan) – 3:12 # " Chest Fever" – 5:13 # "In a Station" (Manuel) – 3:30 # "To Kingdom Come" – 3:19 # " Lonesome Suzie" (Manuel) – 4:01 # "Rag Mama Rag" – 3:03 # "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" – 3:31 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Manuel
Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Manuel's singing alternated between a soul-influenced baritone that drew frequent comparisons to Ray Charles and a delicate falsetto. Though The Band had three vocalists sharing lead and harmony parts, Manuel was sometimes seen as the group's primary vocalist. Biography Early life and career Manuel was born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. His father, Ed, was a mechanic employed at a Chrysler dealership, and his mother was a schoolteacher. He was raised with his three brothers, and the four sang in the church choir. Manuel took piano lessons beginning when he was nine, and enjoyed playing piano and rehearsing with friends at home. Some of his childhood influences were Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, Jimmy Reed and Oti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel And The Sacred Harp
"Daniel and the Sacred Harp" is a song written by Robbie Robertson that was first released by The Band on their 1970 album ''Stage Fright''. It has been covered by such artists as Barrence Whitfield. Themes As with several songs on ''Stage Fright'', such as the title track, "Daniel and the Sacred Harp" reflects the difficulties the Band was going through at the time of the album's development. The theme of "Daniel and the Sacred Harp" is "a loss of integrity." The lyrics tell a story similar to the Robert Johnson myth. They also have antecedents in the story of Faust. They tell of a man who acquires a famous harp, but loses his soul to get it. Robertson has claimed that the inspiration for the song came from his early days as a guitarist, when he was "stealing" techniques from earlier guitarists such as Fred Carter, Jr., Roy Buchanan and Howlin' Wolf. Robertson has also described the song is about "greed in the context of Christian mythology." ''Billboard Magazine'' used t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shape I'm In (The Band Song)
"The Shape I'm In" is a song by The Band, first released on their 1970 album ''Stage Fright''. It was written by Robbie Robertson, who did little to disguise the fact that the song's sense of dread and dissolution was about Richard Manuel, the song's principal singer. It became a regular feature in their concert repertoire, appearing on their live albums ''Rock of Ages'', '' Before the Flood'', and ''The Last Waltz''. Author Neil Minturn described the song as "straightforward rock." Along with "The Weight," it is one of the Band's songs most performed by other artists. It has been recorded or performed by Bo Diddley, The Good Brothers, The Mekons, The Pointer Sisters, She & Him, Marty Stuart and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. It was also released as the B-side to their single " Time to Kill," and proved more popular than the hit side, recognized by Capitol Records in its promotion kit for the single. The mix used for the single is disputed, as the Band had second thought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Unfaithful Servant
"The Unfaithful Servant" or "Unfaithful Servant" is a song written by Robbie Robertson that was first released by The Band on their 1969 album '' The Band''. It was also released as the B-side of the group's "Rag Mama Rag" single. It has also appeared on several of the Band's live and compilation albums. Lyrics and music The lyrics of "The Unfaithful Servant" concern a servant who offended the mistress of the house and is being sent away. The singer offers sympathy to the servant. The identity of the singer is ambiguous. According to Jason Schneider, the singer is a "conscientious friend coming to the aid" of the former servant but according to Nick DeRiso it could be a "master bidding goodbye to his hand maiden after an embarrassing affair is revealed." As with other songs on ''The Band'', the characters seems to be from the Southern United States. Music critic Barney Hoskyns described the setting as a Southern household from a Tennessee Williams play. David Hatch and St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Across The Great Divide (song)
"Across the Great Divide" is a song written by Robbie Robertson. It was first released by The Band on their 1969 album '' The Band'' and was subsequently released on several live and compilation albums. According to music critic Barney Hoskyns, it was one of several songs that contributed to ''The Band'' being something of a concept album about the American South. Lyrics and music The lyrics begin with the singer asking his wife Molly to put down the gun she is waving at him. The singer then recalls his earlier struggles when all he wanted was a home, and thinks that if Molly does not put the gun down he will have to leave that home. According to ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' critic Greil Marcus, the fight ends when the song ends, although the singer still wants to know where Molly hid the gun. According to Hoskyns, the song then achieves "a blithely good-humoured groove, with the unrepentant heel bragging tipsily over some Fats Domino-style piano triplets." Similarly, Allm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Up On Cripple Creek
"Up on Cripple Creek" is the fifth song on the Band's eponymous second album, '' The Band''. It was released as an (edited) single on Capitol 2635 in November 1969 and reached No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Up on Cripple Creek" was written by Band guitarist Robbie Robertson, with drummer Levon Helm singing lead vocal. A 1976 live performance of "Up on Cripple Creek" appears in the Band's concert film ''The Last Waltz'', as well as on the accompanying soundtrack album. In addition, live performances of the song appear on '' Before the Flood'', which records the Band's 1974 tour with Bob Dylan, as well as on the 2001 expanded edition of ''Rock of Ages'', originally released in 1972. The Band performed the song on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in November 1969. Writing and recording Robertson said of writing the song: I had some ideas for ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ when we were still based in Woodstock making Music From Big Pink. Then after Woodstock, I went to Montreal and my da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whispering Pines (The Band Song)
"Whispering Pines" is a song written by Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson that was first released by The Band on their self-titled 1969 album '' The Band''. It was released as a single in France, backed by " Lonesome Suzie". Lyrics and music "Whispering Pines" is a ballad on the theme of loneliness. Manuel wrote the melody and vocal line but could not come up with the lyrics, so Robertson wrote the lyrics. According to Robertson, "Richard always had this very plaintive attitude in his voice, and sometimes just in his sensitivity as a person. I tried to follow that, to go with it and find it musically. We both felt very good about this song." The lyrics are filled with images of loneliness such as a lonely foghorn, crashing waves and the titular whispering pines. Allmusic critic Bill Janovitz notes that pines are prevalent in Woodstock, New York, where the Band was living, and in Canada, where most of the group is originally from. According to music critic Barney Hoskyns, " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
"King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" is a song by The Band, which originally appeared as the final track on their second album, '' The Band''. The song is credited solely to guitarist Robbie Robertson, although drummer/singer Levon Helm claimed that "King Harvest" was a group effort. It is sung in the first person from the point of view of a poverty-stricken farmer who, with increasing desperation, details the misfortune which has befallen him: there was no rain and his crops died, his barn burned down, he has ended up on skid row. A labor union organizer appears, promising to improve things, and the narrator tells his new associates, "I'm a union man, now, all the way", but, perhaps ashamed of his homelessness begs them to "just don't judge me by my shoes." Some sources speculate the events depicted in the song are a reference to the organizing drives of the communist-affiliated Trade Union Unity League, which created share-cropper unions from 1928 to 1935, throughout the U.S. South ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and originally recorded by the Canadian-American roots rock group the Band in 1969 and released on their eponymous second album. Levon Helm provided the lead vocals. The song is a first-person narrative relating the economic and social distress experienced by the protagonist, a poor white Southerner, during the last year of the American Civil War, when George Stoneman was raiding southwest Virginia. The song appeared at number 245 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Joan Baez's version peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 on 2 October 1971; it did likewise on the ''Cashbox'' Top 100 chart. However, on the ''Record World'' Top Singles chart for the week of September 25, 1971, the Baez single hit #1 for one week. Creation and recordings The song was written by Robbie Robertson, who spent about eight months working on it. Robertson said he had the music to the song in his he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rag Mama Rag
"Rag Mama Rag" is a song by The Band which was first released on their 1969 album '' The Band''. It was also released as a single, reaching #16 on the UK Singles Chart, the highest position for any single by the group. The single was less successful in the US, reaching only #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Music and lyrics "Rag Mama Rag" is credited solely to Robbie Robertson. However, drummer Levon Helm claimed years later that the song was a group effort. The song has an improvised feel. The Band initially attempted to record the song in a straightforward manner, but it didn't sound right to Robertson. So drummer Helm moved to play mandolin, pianist Richard Manuel played drums, bassist Rick Danko played fiddle and producer John Simon played tuba, while organist Garth Hudson played upright acoustic piano in a ragtime fashion. Helm also sang the lead vocals. Although a favorite with fans, the band didn't originally think that highly of the song, recording it almost as an aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lonesome Suzie
Lonesome Suzie is a 1968 song by The Band written and sung by Richard Manuel originally appearing on their influential debut album '' Music From Big Pink'' It was also released on Across The Great Divide, a compilation box set from 1994. Drummer Levon Helm has said that "...Lonesome Suzie was Richard's failed attempt to write a hit record." It never charted and is one of the few songs on which Manuel contributed writing, but is also recognized as one of Manuel's signature pieces. In 1970 it was released as the B-side of the French single release of " Whispering Pines". Recording The song features Manuel's soulful vocals complemented by Robbie Robertson's simple guitar licks with a subtle backing by the other members. Some of Robertson's guitar licks follow Manuel's lines in a manner similar to Charlie McCoy's work on Bob Dylan's " Desolation Row". Theme The song follows a seemingly troubled woman who hopes to acquire a friend or lover but struggles in doing so. The narrato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
