The jury is still out on that one, but there is no question the Band were in top form on this entire tour, and for this show in particular. The group had only played one show in 1973 (the massive Watkins Glen Festival with the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead), so they were itching to get back on the road when this tour commenced in early 1974. The setlist was pretty much the same each night. Richard Manuel’s heartfelt rendering of “I Shall Be Released” is missing, but all the other Band classics are here, in rousing versions.
Leading off with “Stage Fright,” sung by bassist Rick…entire summary
Robbie Robertson - guitar
Rick Danko - bass, vocals
Levon Helm - drums, vocals
Richard Manuel - piano, vocals
Garth Hudson - vocals, keyboards
This was the big New York City homecoming for both Bob Dylan and the Band when they teamed up again for the first time in almost a decade for the Planet Waves album and their joint Before the Flood national tour of 1974. This recording is actually the segment of the concert that featured the Band by themselves. Although the reunion of Dylan and the Band was a much-hyped music industry event, many critics at the time felt the Band, not Dylan, stole the show.
The jury is still out on that one, but there is no question the Band were in top form on this entire tour, and for this show in particular. The group had only played one show in 1973 (the massive Watkins Glen Festival with the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead), so they were itching to get back on the road when this tour commenced in early 1974. The setlist was pretty much the same each night. Richard Manuel’s heartfelt rendering of “I Shall Be Released” is missing, but all the other Band classics are here, in rousing versions.
Leading off with “Stage Fright,” sung by bassist Rick Danko, the Band runs through “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “King Harvest (Has Surly Come),” “Up On Cripple Creek, “Rag Mama Rag” and others. They were always a unique band in that three of the members took turns singing lead (Danko, Manuel and Helm) on songs mostly written by the non-singing member, Robbie Robertson. (The fact that Robertson didn’t sing much and on none of the major Band trademark songs made it possible for the others to re-unite without his involvement many years later).
Later interviews and Band biographies have revealed that it was on this tour that the self-destructive abuse of drinking and drugs started getting out of hand. The fact that it took the group two years to return with a viable studio album is probably significant; but for this show, the Band sounds as vibrant as ever.
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