The Best of A Musical History (CD/DVD)

The Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000NA233Y
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,862 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Who Do You Love? Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks

2. He Don't Love You (And He'll Break Your Heart) Levon & The Hawks

3. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? [single version] Bob Dylan (with The Hawks)

4. Ain't No More Cane On The Brazos

5. The Weight

6. Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)

7. King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

8. All La Glory [early version]

9. Stage Fright

10. I Shall Be Released

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Jam/King Harvest (Has Surely Come) [rec. 1970, Robbie's Studio, Woodstock, NY]

2. Long Black Veil [live 7/5/70, the Festival Express Train Tour, Calgary, Canada]

3. Rockin' Chair [live 7/5/70, the Festival Express Train Tour, Calgary, Canada]

4. Don't Do It [live 12/28-12/31/71, the Academy of Music NYC]

5. Hard Times (The Slop)/Just Another Whistle Stop (live 9/14/74, Wembley Stadium, London)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly better than the CD-only version, but still a disappointing cash-in, May 2, 2007

By 

Elliot Knapp (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of A Musical History (CD/DVD) (Audio CD)

As a big fan of The Band, I decided to save up my money and purchase the A Musical History box set, and was for the most part very happy with my purchase--it's got a great photo-filled book, disc one is almost entirely made up of early, unreleased Hawks tracks, there's a DVD with some rare performances, and the rest of the set is full of great unreleased and live treasures alongside an anthology of music that spans The Band's career through The Last Waltz--in a way A Musical History is both a greatest hits AND a rarities collection, but a relatively expensive one. Since the box set had so many great extras, it was worth it to me (a big fan) to re-purchase all of the standard album tracks I already had that came along with the set. This CD/DVD combo, The Best of A Musical History, is a one-disc collection drawn from the box set combined with the complete DVD from the box set. Unfortunately, though it's less expensive, it accomplishes neither the task of being a good 'greatest hits' album nor the task of being a good collection of rarities (though the DVD does add to the merits of it being a better collection of rarities). Although the music here is good, it's kind of a hodgepodge collection and I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone who's either interested in a one-disc 'best of' or a collection of rarities.

To start with, the box set's first disc is only represented by two songs, "Who Do You Love?" and "He Don't Love You." This is a shame, since that first disc is crammed with early Band tunes that fans have likely never heard. Conversely, these two rarities are good listens, but don't really qualify as "greatest hits" caliber songs. This CD also contains a number of the box set's other rare tracks, like the Dylan single "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?," the studio version of "Don't Do It," the live "Slippin' and Slidin'," and the excellent Rick Danko tune, "Home Cookin'." Aside from these rarities, though, this collection leaves out some of the box's greatest gems, like the stomping live versions of "Forbidden Fruit," and "Look Out Cleveland," the funky "Baby Lou," the superior live version of "Smoke Signal," or the great early Richard Manuel song, "Words and Numbers." Unfortunately, if you're looking for the rare and unreleased songs, this isn't the place to get a complete collection.

Since this disc attempts to place rare songs alongside some well-known songs, it ends up leaving out some of The Band's greatest hits. Sure, some of the usual suspects are there, like "The Weight," "Stage Fright," "Life is a Carnival," and "I Shall Be Released," but The Band's second album is sorely underrepresented (where's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," at the very least?). The rest of the disc is crammed with tracks that aren't greatest hits and aren't really that rare either--"Ain't No More Cane On the Brazos," "Forever Young," "Orange Juice Blues," "Endless Highway," and "Share Your Love With Me" are all good but minor songs that can all be found on albums that are worth buying in their own right (The Basement Tapes, Music From Big Pink, Moondog Matinee, etc.). If this disc is supposed to represent a collection of classic tunes, some of these really don't make the cut.

The DVD is great--a bunch of performances you've probably never seen (though you've heard the version of "King Harvest" as a bonus track on The Band-The Band), and if all you're looking for is a visual treat without the trappings of the expensive box set, this might be a good option for you (though it seems like they could have fit a few more performances on there).

To sum it up, I don't recommend buying this disc unless you're primarily interested in the DVD. If you're new to The Band and are looking for a 'greatest hits,' I'd buy their actual greatest hits album, which is a more complete and well-rounded collection of hits, or I'd recommend getting (at least) their first three albums, which are all classics and full of hits as well as strong non-hits in their original album form (they're pretty cheap too). If you're an old fan and are in the market for the rarities only, unfortunately there's no good option right now, unless all you want is a smattering of unreleased tracks and the DVD at a more affordable price. This disc is pretty pathetic on the unreleased side, so your only option for complete rarities is the expensive box set. If you're willing to shell out the cash, though, you might find that the color booklet, DVD, and wealth of unreleased material is worth the money. As it stands, this disc is basically just another example of the label and Robbie Robertson attempting to squeeze some more money out of loyal fans.