I just heard a few tracks on the radio, and it cemented something I've been thinking for a bit. I bought The Last Waltz some years ago, and it's still the only thing I have by The Band. So those are really the versions I know of their songs. But most of the ones that make radio / movies / whatever are the studio versions, and they ALWAYS strike me as perhaps 1/2 as good as those live versions on a good day. Every damn time. The vocals are weaker, the arrangements suck, the instrumentation is crappy in comparison... what the hell? Is it me?

I just heard The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, studio take, and was left utterly disgusted. I almost had to pull over and puke.

Next was It Makes No Difference, and it made me miss Rick Danko even more - he managed to sound pretty good in the studio. But the overall sound was just a hollow shell of the last waltz. No goosebumps.

The only thing I'd change about the live takes is the keyboardist... what in the living fuck was he doing? I've always thought this, and I don't think I can be swayed otherwise - those LOUD (mixed way too high for certain), wandering, loopy, sloppy, off-key keyboard bits come damn close to wrecking some of those songs, but otherwise that concert just whips their studio stuff hands-down, IMO.

I respect your musical opinons more than just about anyone in these parts, Kyle, but to my ears, The Band can do NO wrong -- live OR studio!

I'm 100% sure it's a result of how I heard the material... live 400 times, THEN studio. But whatever the reasons, those album versions sound just... dead. Quiet, low-energy, flat, like a bad cover band.

I know exactly what you mean Cap. I too think The Last Waltz represents the ideal versions of Band songs, for pretty much the same reasons.

I can't really be impartial about The Band. Anything from what I consider to be their 4 best albums is just about perfect to me-live or studio.

I will say that I was just thinkin' the other day that The Band were one of the very few artists I could think of whose music could truly be called timeless. Even the very best bands sound of their time. Take away your knowledge of when their albums (particularly the first 2) were made and I don't think anyone could say-"oh, that's from the 60's....."

Steve

It Makes No Difference has the ability to reduce me to tears, just about. One of the most powerful songs I can think of.

I seriously almost broke down crying after Auburn v. Georgia in 2003..me and ol Kurtz had been up for about 73 straight hours and I had to go to the damn ol airport and go back to NH, but we were going to Tha Rock to see a friend of mine, and when I saw the granite carvings, and heard the "There Goes Robert E. Lee" well...Stay out the way of the Southern Thing.

I think honestly it's just a matter of what you're used to. Just about my entire knowledge of The Band is from The Last Waltz, therefore when I hear studio versions I don't get into them as much.

I mean I sorry but you can't beat The Staple Singers on The Wieght. You just can't.

[Neil Diamond voice]Thanks very much.[/Neil Diamond voice]

"Theggsverrrmugch"

No goofing on JewElvis.

Steve

Unabashed, non-ironic Diamond fan here. I have Hot August Nights, and love his appearance on the Last Waltz...also, eagerly awaiting to hear what THIS sounds like.

Oh I'm all about the diamond. But the intro to Dry Your Eyes..

"I think you know this guy..... Neil Diamond!"
(crowd roars)
"Theggs Verruh Mugch"

Priceless.

Still feel like I'm living in the bizarro world to be discussing the merits of the Band with the Cap'n and Busty.

I enjoy the Band's studio stuff, most notably Big Pink and the s/t, but they do lack the swing that you sometimes get on the live stuff, including their work backing up Dylan.

While the Last Waltz is technically live, keep in mind that it is a movie; What you see/hear is not necessarily what happened. Remember that everybody was incredibly fucked up. And what of the live Thanksgiving concert that wasnt gussied up by Robbie and Scorsese was recorded on soundstages (like the aforementioned "The Weight").

But, that all being said, it is a truly incredible piece of music and (you that know me well) one of my all time favorites.