Jubilation [Original recording remastered]

The Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1998)
• Original Release Date: September 15, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Intersound Records
• ASIN: B00000AFDS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,233 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Book Faded Brown

2. Don't Wait

3. Last Train to Memphis

4. High Cotton

5. Kentucky Downpour

6. Bound by Love

7. White Cadillac (Ode to Ronnie Hawkins)

8. If I Should Fail

9. Spirit of the Dance

10. You See Me

11. French Girls [Instrumental]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Band as it now stands simply cannot carry the weight it once did. Avatar Robbie Robertson has been gone since 1976, meaning he's been an ex-Band member longer than he was in the long-lived outfit. Richard Manual, in his prime the group's most versatile vocalist, died in 1987. Still, bassist-vocalist Rick Danko, drummer-vocalist Levon Helm, and master instrumentalist Garth Hudson--along with a few supplemental players--forge ahead. With Helm, who's been the backbone of the post-Robertson group, ailing, the Band of Jublilation is left largely in the shaky hands and voice of Danko, whose past personal problems are well-documented. (In 1997 he was given a five-year suspended sentence in Japan for heroin possession.) This 11-song collection isn't going to make anyone forget Music from Big Pink. And yet there's a certain kind of nobility to be found in Danko's strained-but-true singing in "Book Faded Brown" and "If I Should Fall" as well as in Helm's more abraded vocals in Allen Toussaint's "A Blind Fool's Love." Eric Clapton and John Hiatt make cameo appearances here, but they don't really elevate the recording. In truth, Jubiliation isn't really an album about getting higher; it's about three musicians sharing a load that's wearing them down bit by bit but hasn't gotten the best of them yet. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

The Band's studio album Jubilation was recorded in Levon Helm's Woodstock barn in the spring of 1998, and released by River North Records on September 15th the same year. It includes songs written by Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Bobby Charles, John Hiatt (also guesting), and Allen Toussaint, and has Eric Clapton playing slide guitar on the song "Last Train To Memphis." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Band's Honesty, Nobility, and Bravery all Shine, December 31, 2004

By 

Bud (Seminole, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jubilation (Audio CD)

The Band, one of the most important musical groups of the late 60s and early to mid 70s began recording again in 1993 without Robbie Robertson (who had presumed the group to be over after 1976's "The Last Waltz") and vocalist Richard Manuel, who committed suicide in 1986 during one of the reunited Band's tours (in which Robertson did not participate). Their first album without Robertson, "Jericho" was one of the best surprises of 1993, and one of their strongest studio efforts, with the additions of new members but longtime cohorts Jim Weider, Richard Bell, and Randy Ciarlante. Along with 1995's "High On the Hog," The Band had produced two fine studio efforts full of rich musical landscapes but, with few exceptions, neither had really expressed the emotions of the group's history together. With 1998's "Jubilation" however, The Band may not have had a choice. Vocalist Levon Helm was ailing with throat cancer and it was now a full 30 years since the group had made their debut with 1968's "Music From Big Pink," a record which took the music world by storm. Faced with these facts, The Band delivers the most reflective and honest of their post-Last Waltz recordings. "Jubilation" is one of The Band's finest hours.
The disc begins fittingly with 'Book Faded Brown,' a description of the virtues of family, which is exactly what The Band and the friends that guest on the album have become. The song features vocalist/bassist Rick Danko's fragile, emotional voice which accurately describes The Band's personal state; Helm's voice is rapidly suffering but he bravely wails his heart out on rockers like 'Last Train To Memphis' and 'Kentucky Downpour,' or on more subtle pieces like the poignant 'Don't Wait.' Also of note is the fact that the Band-members have contributed more to the songwriting than on the previous two albums, resulting in very personal, reflective songs and jubilant celebrations; the care-free 'High Cotton' is as genuine a slice of Americana as anything the group did in their early days, and the salute to their first mentor Ronnie Hawkins 'White Cadillac' certainly fits on this album. Friend John Hiatt's 'Bound By Love' is a nice addition, but the song that will blow loyal fans away the most is the stirring 'If I Should Fail,' a personal anthem of being downtrodden and surrounded, against the odds, and it features Rick Danko's second-best performance on a 90s Band album (the best being 'Too Soon Gone' from "Jericho"). Longtime member and multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson ends things with a wistful instrumental puzzlingly titled 'French Girls.'
"Jubilation" certainly revealed a group that knew the odds were against them; Danko's death a year later ended The Band's career. Though they still have a loyal following, the critics (and even Robbie Robertson) will probably never give the post-reunion Band's work the respect it deserves. But anyone who takes this hard fact to heart can find comfort in knowing that The Band probably realized it too, and their bravery throughout is admirably shown on their final fight, "Jubilation."

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the Band's post-1976 output., October 9, 2000

By 

Jonathan Lyness (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jubilation (Audio CD)

Robbie or no Robbie, this is a wonderful album, and almost certainly the best post-1976 album of the Band. You could buy it for the first two songs alone: Rick Danko's voice and Garth Hudson's accordion on Book Faded Brown are beautiful and haunting, and Don't Wait (despite Levon Helm's voice problems, a heartfelt and expressive vocal) is (both in lyrics and in performance) one of the best and most moving songs they have recorded since the brown album. In general there is a wistfulness to this album that makes it very adult and appealing, reflecting some of the hard times they've gone through...some terrific & heartfelt songs here. And I have to single out Rick Danko's vocals too...some of the finest & most poignant singing in his career (Book Faded Brown, If I Should Fail, High Cotton) is on this disc. And Garth's playing is always a joy.

If you are looking for an introduction to the music of the Band, you'd be better off starting with the early classics of the original lineup (Music from Big Pink, The Band (brown album)). But if you're familiar with the 1968-1976 albums and are curious about the group's later years, you will enjoy this lovely signature piece from one of the finest and most original groups in music history.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just fine, what's the problem?, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jubilation (Audio CD)

So this isn't an album chock-full of Robbie Robertson 'toons like the good ol' days. So what?? It's a fine album which, in the songwriting department, has definite highs (the beautiful "Book Faded Brown," "Kentucky Downpour," "Don't Wait" and a terrific duet between Rick Danko and guest John Hiatt on the latter's "Bound By Love") and maybe one ponderous low ("Spirit Of The Dance," reminicent of Little Feat but nowhere near as good). That's not a bad average. The playing is wonderously tight and engaging. The Band may not have had everything they started out with, but they've managed to endure and make some great music, much of which can be found on this CD.