Customer Reviews

Cahoots [Vinyl]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Band is one of my favorite bands, and their first two albums are unanimously prized as two landmarks in rock history. In recent years, people have come to appreciate later, underrated albums like "Stage Fright" and "Rock of Ages." However, popular opinion for "Cahoots" hasn't gotten much better, and for good reason. Very few of the original album tracks are good, and only two, "4% Pantomime" (a great duet between Van Morrison and the late Richard Manuel) and "Life Is A Carnival," could be ranked as true, great Band classics. Actually, "Life Is A Carnival" never felt like much of a song; what really breathes life into it is the exuberant horn arrangement done by legendary producer/writer Allen Toussaint. Another popular favorite is "When I Paint My Masterpiece," a good Dylan song that doesn't quite get the definitive treatment here. (I still prefer Dylan's recording, produced by Leon Russell.) As for the rest, there's nothing abysmal or unlistenable. It's just not all that good.

What does make this album worth owning now is the new reissue by Capitol. For one thing, the sound is better, having been remastered from the original master tapes. But more important than better sound is the legendary studio version of "Don't Do It," by far the best bonus track on the reissue. I've always loved the Band's rendition of this song ever since I saw them perform it in their film, "The Last Waltz." For years, the only official release of this song was a great live version from "Rock of Ages," but unbelievably this studio take is even better. I have to warn you, the sound isn't phenomenal; at the time, the only available source was a demo record. (EDIT: The original tape was eventually found and used for the Band's box set, "A Musical History.") It still crushes every version ever made like a grape. It's a great rarity, a Motown song done better than Motown.

Out of The Band's entire resume of studio albums, "Cahoots" is probably the most interesting. Though the previous record, 1970's memorable "Stage Fright" first saw the outfit breaking away from the intense portrait of Americana they had trademarked, choosing instead a loose reaction to the terrors of performing and public display, this 1971 effort is much more down-to-Earth, but that never detracts from its spark. And though most will cite "Stage Fright" as having a 'dark' quality, that deep realism is actually found in "Cahoots."
A majority of critics claim that this set finds head songwriter Robbie Robertson's work to be 'dried up.' But perhaps it was with "Cahoots" that Robertson's songwriting, and the efforts of his Bandmates, found a new life; to be exact, the album's body of work shows that Robertson had most likely realized that his vision of old-fashioned Americana that the outfit perfected on "Music From Big Pink" or "The Band" was all a dream, and the reaction to this shattering realization is vividly portrayed here. 'Last of the Blacksmiths' is definite proof, as is the lyrically bracing 'Where Do We Go From Here?' A reading of Bob Dylan's 'When I Paint My Masterpiece' sets The Band's intentions in stone, while the opener 'Life Is a Carnival' (penned by Robertson and vocalists Levon Helm and Rick Danko) may actually be a bit sarcastic. "Cahoots" is probably noted most for '4% Pantomime,' a duet showcasing the late Richard Manuel and guest Van Morrison, and this track could possibly be a telling of the hard-eyed aspects of the music industry. However it is the closing 'River Hymn,' a tune full of mystery, that speaks the most.
"Cahoots" will probably never be appreciated for what it is by the critics, and will probably never be justly praised by the fans either, but it is nonetheless an interesting and gripping album as only The Band could create. Too bad Robertson didn't thrive on this newfound songwriting view while it was still beating--their next effort would be a collection of covers, the "Moondog Matinee" and their next album of originals, 1975's "Northern Lights-Southern Cross" would find The Band starting from scratch.

...the album is good. A step down from the previous album? Sure, but when only two of your five members are truly inspired to work, you are going to run into problems. Of the eleven tracks, five are quite strong, three are quite weak, and the others traipse between.

The album's like a journey through the world. "Life Is A Carnival" is the fourth straight brilliant opener that evokes New Orleans (down to the Allen Toussaint-arranged horns). "When I Paint My Masterpiece" is a brilliant Dylan-penned second track that evokes Europe (dig Manuel's drumming). "4% Pantomime", with Belfast's own George Ivan Morrison on second vocal, really evokes the musician lifestyle, frantic, manic and drunken. "Thinkin' Out Loud" has a great piano part and a nice metallic (upright?) bass part. "Volcano" features a strong vocal by Rick Danko and great horns by Garth Hudson. They all get five out of five stars.

"The Moon Struck One", to contrast those first five, blows. The lyrics are definitely Robertson's worst. It's the only Band track I have a hard time listening to. I give it one out of five stars. "Last of the Blacksmiths" and "Where Do We Go From Here?" sound uninspired. Out of five stars, they get 2.5 stars.

"Shoot Out In Chinatown", "Smoke Signal" and "The River Hymn" are decent enough, but are a step down from "Carnival", "Masterpiece", "Pantomime", "Thinkin" and "Volcano". Out of five stars, they probably all get 3.5 stars.

Averaging that out, you get an average of 4.15 out of 5 stars. A step down from the previous three, but worth a listen.

Cahoots definitely exceeded my expectations. Much like The Band itself, it is an acquired taste that, once acquired, becomes addicting and absolutely beloved.

The strange thing is how panned Cahoots is. Granted, it had a tough act to follow - "Big Pink," "Band" and "Stage Fright." Granted, it isn't the masterpiece that those are. But I compare it to anything else around today and it beats the pants off it.

First of all, I am with every other reviewer in that "Life is a Carnival" and "When I Paint My Masterpiece" are both fantastic.

But I would go on to say that "Last of the Blacksmiths" is actually one of my favorites. It appears to be one of the most widely disliked tunes on the album. I find the song itsself, especially Robertson's guitar and Manuel's percussive piano. "Last of the Blacksmiths," I think, is one of the album's highlights, not low spots.

"Moon Struck One" is rather pathetic. Although Manuel gives an inspired vocal performance (his voice would deteriorate over the years), Robertson's lyrics are... just not good. "And it looks like he's really really hurt." You'd have to hear it... it just doesn't work. At all.

The rest of the album is quite good, although River Hymn is a little affected. "Thinkin' Out Loud" has some GREAT piano work. "Shootout in Chinatown" is lighthearted fun, and "Smoke Signal," while not a great song, has a VERY cool intro. And "4% Pantomime," featuring a very inebriated Richard Manuel and an equally plastered Van Morrison, is one of their funnest songs ever.

Personally I find Cahoots to be a success, not a failure. It's just not as much of a success as their other work. Listen to it without comparing it to their first two albums. It will shine all on its own with quirky charm.

Maybe it didn't sell as well as earlier albums, and maybe some critics didn't like it, but as a musician I'm here to tell you it's terrific. I'd give it 5*s but that has to be reserved for the truly great Rock of Ages set. Face it, The Band never appealed to the masses -- they just went over the average person's head, I think. This disc has some truly remarkable performances, and belongs in every Band fan's collection, as does the entire reissue series. All are uniformly well produced -- the clarity is amazing -- and taken all together, the liner notes form a detailed and well written history of the group's output. Shoot Out in Chinatown, Volcano, and Thinkin' Out Loud are standout songs, and Life is a Carnival is still a masterpiece.

Stumbled? No, they just veered off in a direction no one predicted, when the critics wanted another "brown album."

Cahoots has been unfairly maligned over the years. Yes, it's not up to the standard of the first three albums, but it's not that big a drop in quality. We should acknowledge that the Band weren't content to simply rehash the formula they'd discovered on the brown album and eager to push onto new territory. That said, the growing sophistication of Robbie Robertson's songwriting comes perilously close to slickness at times, and there are a couple of songs -- Volcano, Smoke Signal -- that are pretty much filler. The River Hymn, the closing track, is too obviously a self-conscious Big Statement to really work. And the production is, for the first time, less than perfect, being a little dry and sterile. Then again, miss this one and you're missing some of Richard Manuel's best singing (I adore the Van/Richard duet 4 per cent Pantomime), Garth Hudson's growing wizardy with synths and keyboards, and a handful of great guitar solos from Robbie. The extra tracks added for this reissue are, for once, really worth having: a deliriously funky take on Baby Don't You Do It and the gorgeous Bessie Smith (which also appeared on The Basement Tapes).

I take exception to the view that The Band "slipped" in making "Cahoots." In many ways, the music is more sophisticated in "Cahoots" than in any of other their prior albums, even though the recording lacks the emotional involvement, passion and lyrical elegance of "Big Pink" or "the Band." Allan Toussaint's horn arrangements are outstanding and invocactive of New Orleans jazz dating back to Jell Roll Morton. Robertson's overall theme in "Cahoots" is of loss, whether it be of innocence or of the environment, and these themes are not dissimilar to territory he travels in general in his writing. Garth Hudson's keyboards are as inventive as usual throughout. Further, the recorded sound is exceptionally clear, as it was on the original LP.

While I am not suggesting "Cahoots" deserves the acclaim of "Big Pink" or "The Band," I find I return to this CD in a way that I do with the above recordings and not to "Stage Fright."

It's true, most of The Band's best music is not found on this album. The brilliant songwriting of Robbie and Richard, which reached its zenith on "Music From Big Pink" and "The Band," and to a lesser extent on "Stagefright," had begun to dry up by the time "Cahoots" was released. Fortunately, The Band were more than songwriters; they were also astounding musicians. Between the five of them, Robbie, Rick, Richard, Garth, and Levon played something like 42 instruments -- expertly -- and by 1971 (when this album was released) they had been an ensemble for a decade. So forget the mostly less-than-stellar compositions, and listen to them PLAY! Musically, The Band is one of the most accomplished groups in history, up there with Cream and the Yardbirds, plus The Band had three of the most visceral singers I've ever heard. Levon's vocal on "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (a Dylan cover and one of the best songs on any Band album) is EXACTLY right...I can't think of another studio-recorded song where he sounds this good. And of course, "4% Pantomime" is spine-tingling. What else could possibly happen when you combine two of the greatest vocalists in rock (Richard Manuel and Van Morrison) on one song? No wonder they did it again at The Last Waltz.

I suppose my basic point is that The Band are musicians first and songwriters second. Chances are, if The Band record a song, it's the definitive version of that song (for example, Van Morrison's "Caravan" or Neil Young's "Helpless" at The Last Waltz). It doesn't matter WHAT they're playing, because listen to what they do with it! So while "Cahoots" isn't even in the same building with "Music From Big Pink" and "The Band," it's still a remarkable feat of musicianship and worth picking up.

Something went way wrong here. On the heels of "Big Pink," "The Band," and the somewhat underrated masterpiece "Stage Fright," the Band issued this album, which mostly demonstrated that Robbie Robertson was running short of ideas, and the Band had forgotten how to make magic in the studio.

Which is not to say... if this album were released today, it might be rock album of the year. Any band recording today that put out an album with these songs would be at the top of the heap: "Life is a Carnival," "Smoke Signal," "Moon Struck One," "
4% Pantomime," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," and "The River Hymn" all have something wonderful to offer. But unfortunately, the group diluted the impact of these performances with not one, but three of their worst songs and worst performances ever -- "Last of the Blacksmiths," "Where Do We Go From Here" and "Shootout in Chinatown." These are cringeworthy -- almost parodies of what was great about the Band on its first three albums.

Luckily, the followed this with the indispensable "Rock of Ages," the musically dazzling "Northern Lights, Southern Cross," and the disconnected but modestly enjoyable "Islands."

Look, these guys were brilliant. Richard Manuel is one of the greatest singers of the 20th Century, Robertson was one of the most innovative guitarists, Hudson could do no wrong on the keyboards, and Helm and Danko formed a wonderful duet pair. All of those attributes are on display here. But, the bad stuff is really bad.

Bandfans argue over whether this is their most underrated album or their worst, if one discounts those issued since "The Last Waltz," for evident reasons. Still, a Band album guarantees a wealth of interesting listening, which means this ain't bad -- I still have my original issue CD, its cover burned in a house fire and a slight warp to its vinyl, but playable nonetheless.

If you don't know The Band, start with "The Brown Album," one of rock's true classics. If you don't know this record, you'll find a couple casual masterworks like the opener, 'Life is a Carnival' with its surging synchopation (and righteous New Orleans horns by Allen Toussaint), 'Shoot Out in ChinaTown' with its very credible guitar work, and the less-successful rocker 'Volcano.' Dylan fans can find the definitive version of "When I Paint My Masterpiece," far excelling his several attempts with the song. Van Morrison fans will discover '4% Pantomime,' in which the "Belfast Cowboy" trades vocal licks with Richard Manuel. And followers of Robbie Robertson's career will find 'Smoke Signals' prophetic, his first Native American song.

What's best about "Cahoots" is these guys know how to make the most of the material, in a unique and powerful way; what's worst about it is the uneven quality of the songs. All in all it's a solid purchase, though I can't vouch for the CD issue... it is from EMI after all, they've never realized what they had in the Beatles, let alone the Band.