The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down-

Unfaithful Servant-

I thought a live album would be a nice change of pace…well, that was until I realized the still fairly recent LP 22 was a live album. Oh well, this one’s already recorded and ready to get posted ^^;

Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert (1972), by The Band. And before you ask, yes, “The Band” is the name of the band. I thought the same thing the first time someone told me about the Canadian group, and it doesn’t make talking about them in conversation, or even Googling info about them, very easy. However, once you dive into their music and who they actually were, I swear their name will make sense.

It’s very easy to forget that behind most albums and songs, there is often more people at work than just the music artist that sings the tune. Sure, there are songwriters who don’t get a lot of time in the limelight, but I’m talking about someone else that tends to get even less attention. The backing band members and the studio musicians. The songwriter normally gets their name next to the title of the song, but that random musician that came in and played drums for one tune? Listed deep within the album notes, and that’s if they’re lucky sometimes. The same can be true of live performances when a singer goes on tour. Normally the lead musician is polite enough to introduce the band members to the crowd, but this formality is also sometimes skipped over.

That is not to say that these musicians aren’t as talented as the frontman they’re backing (sometimes it can amusingly be the opposite), they just tend to be unknown names to the public. They often end up in groups so that studios can find bits for them easier. Whether it’s something like a horn group or a rhythm group, they find other musicians they are able to play well with. Some of these unofficial “bands” would even be given their own titles, like the Funk Brothers, The Nashville A-Team, or the famous Wrecking Crew. However, except for a few minor exceptions, these groups never (successfully) released much material on their own. Glen Campbell, originally a guitar player for the Wrecking Crew, is a good example of an exception, but even he would have to release six albums before catching the public’s eye. The Band is another such example.

Tracing the beginnings of The Band is confusing at best, but if you were to over simplify it, it would begin with “The Hawks”. Originally put together by the rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins and based in Toronto, the band would gradually change its lineup over the years until it consisted of the members that now make up “The Band”. They would split from Hawkins in ’64 and briefly be known as “Levon and the Hawks” (named after the drummer, Levon Helm, who had been with the band the longest, since ’57), but it wouldn’t be until 1965 when they would really hit the big-time as Bob Dylan’s backing band during his first “electric” U.S. tour (and for his world tour the following year). While still technically “The Hawks” at this time, on tour they were often just billed as “Bob Dylan and the Band”. They ended up forming a strong relationship with the famous folk singer, who would contribute in several ways to the band by writing songs and painting album covers for their solo years later. When they struck out on their own again in 1968 they realized that most people who recognized them knew them only as “the band”, and as they say, “The rest is history.”

While The Band would write the majority of their own work (with the tunes Dylan wrote for them as the biggest exception), several of their tunes would be covered by a wide variety of artists over the years. It seems only fitting that the band that once backed Dylan wasn’t exactly known for their…graceful delivery. Quite like the unique (some might say flawed) voice of Dylan, their performances stressed their own raw qualities instead of fine tuning their work. I, for one, prefer the originals because I feel like they have a stronger emotional impact for me through their flawed, yet sincere delivery. Of course, if you asked me, I also prefer Dylan’s and Leonard Cohen’s versions of their songs instead of most of their covers, so maybe I’m biased.

“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is a good example of this case. The Civil War inspired song from the South’s perspective would be quite beautifully covered by a multitude of artists, and yet few would capture the sad, mourning quality that The Band’s original possessed. The other song I chose, “Unfaithful Servant”, is another fairly somber tune. It’s true meaning is mostly shrouded in mystery since the The Band refuses to give any concrete explanation. One can draw very different conclusions about the song, especially since the song’s speaker is never fully identified. Some think it is a close friend of the “unfaithful servant” consoling the ex-servant after they were expelled from their master’s house, others believe it to be the master himself who may have had an affair with the servant that the mistress had discovered. What is certain is that while the words are quite harsh, their delivery suggests some deep regret or pain from the speaker that is hard to fully understand.

The Band’s music never ceases to amaze me. Their songwriting skills spread across their many members is impressive in its own right, but their skills as musicians with their different instruments is equally strong. If you’re not familiar with The Band, their energetic live albums are a great place to start, but I think I would have to say my personal favorite is their second self-titled album ^^