Customer Reviews

Music From Big Pink

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's not hard to see why even giants like Eric Clapton and George Harrison freaked when they first heard the Big Pink acetate. (Jimi and Ringo were there, too, apparently.) Was the subsequent and exponential improvement in their own songwriting mere coincidence? Unlikely. Clapton has said it changed his attitude to music altogether, prompting him to kill off the supergroup thing and put out the magnificent Layla anonymously. And the bootlegs I've heard of George running through All Things Must Pass and Not Guilty at Abbey Road or Twickenham have 'The Band' stamped all over them.

Someone once said that Levon Helm was the only drummer who could make you cry, and you can hear just what he meant on the opening track, the Manuel/Dylan tune Tears of Rage, as moving a song as you'll ever hear. Richard could sing a bit.

Dylan's contribution also pays big dividends on This Wheel's On Fire, co-written with Danko. Both these tracks can be found on the Basement Tapes, with Dylan singing, and as good as those versions are, they are easily surpassed here.

Manuel's We Can Talk is a personal favourite - the wonky harmony vocals, Danko's weird bouncy bass line and Garth Hudson's inimitable keyboards are all typical and marvelous - but Robbie Robertson writes himself into rock history with the almost epic The Weight.

Big Pink was nothing like anything else that was being made in the late '60s - there's barely a guitar solo in sight - and though the follow-up eponymous album was probably even better, this remains the definitive debut album. (Not that I've heard every debut album there ever was, but what the hell.)

Essential.

This is one of the greatest albums ever made! Eric Clapton left Cream after hearing this album because he was so disgusted with what he was doing in comparison to the band.
The Band captured a totally unique sound in this album combining roots music, with their funky genius and three skilled vocalists. And they put it together with a structured looseness that adds to the rootsy feel. If you don't own this album then you're missing out on the greatest american album ever recorded!

This album is best known for "The Weight". The organ intro to "Chest Fever" will floor you.Each song is like a little story.I don't have a life-changing-related story about this album, I just want to say that among everything else that came out of 1968,this is great music. I absolutely recommend.

When The Band released their debut "Music From Big Pink" like an angry pitbull free from its leash, Rolling Stone raved that the album was "an event" as opposed to a rock and roll record. They couldn't have been more right. Bob Dylan's former back-up band, consisting of four Canadian bar-room musicians and an Arkansas farm boy, had completed one of rock's most pure and perfect works, an example of what countless artists have strived to immitate since 1968.
"Music From Big Pink" wasn't only an event, but a rebellion. The Band was one of the two groups that made such an impact musically by going against the grain of burgeoning psychedelic space rock of the late '60s (the other being Creedence Clearwater Revival). The work within is nothing short of a masterpiece; mysterious, soulful, often gritty and heartwrenching. Blossoming Canadian songwriter Robbie Robertson's flawless portrait of Americana is more vivid than most musical portraits painted by American artists. Songs like 'To Kingdom Come,' 'Caledonia Mission,' and a cover of Dylan's 'I Shall Be Released' seem to come straight from within the grooves of 19th Century American life. The harrowing opener 'Tears of Rage' (penned by Band-member Richard Manuel and Bob Dylan) is one of the outfit's most heartwrenching tunes, while songs like 'Chest Fever' and 'The Weight' are quintessential Band. The musicianship on this album is superb, needless to say, displaying talent in the voices of Manuel, Levon Helm, and Rick Danko, while Garth Hudson's keyboards are flawless.
Perhaps the only problem with "Music From Big Pink" was, along with their self-titled sophomore album, it would become so respected it would all too often cause later worthy efforts like "Stage Fright" or "Cahoots" to pale in comparison, according to many critics. Nonetheless, "Music From Big Pink" is an all-out masterpiece, something that will always be identified as one of the prime musical events of its time.

Gosh, this is the ultimate album by The Band. There is not one half-bad song on it, hence there are at least four masterpieces: The gospel-folk piece 'The Weight', one of the most influential and therefore most covered songs in music history; the bluesy 'Lonesome Suzie'; the raucious 'This Wheel's On Fire', a far better version than Julie Driscoll's one; and, the best song on the album by far, 'I Shall Be Released', which they turned from a folky Dylanesque ballad into a folk-gospel milestone. To cut a long story short: If you don't have this album in your collection, buy it! Otherwise your collection is not complete!!!

It's hard to believe that, while far lesser bands (the Monkees, for instance) have gotten the red-carpet treatment on their CD reissues, with remastered sound, bonus tracks, expanded booklets, etc., this seminal outfit's catalog is represented by shoddy mid-'80s vintage CD presentation.

At least BIG PINK and THE BAND are still in print in the U.S., which is more than can be said for STAGE FRIGHT, or CAHOOTS, or NORTHERN LIGHTS-SOUTHERN CROSS, or (incredibly) the ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE box set. What on Earth is Capitol thinking?

BIG PINK itself is the Band's masterpiece, and one of the absolutely essential albums in any respectable rock collection. But the CD presentation that Capitol has saddled us with merits, at best, one star. If anyone at that label is reading this--folks, an overhaul is long overdue.

How about that despite the creative output of The Band, only 12 (now 13) people have been inspired enough to review, Music From Big Pink.

OK, I am new to The Band. I am 27 and a victim of The Band's apparent failure to be properly remembered. I used to have their self-titled second album, and I never got it despite being a huge Niel Young fan. So I was whimsically browsing the music store and MFBP stared me in the face. I knew from reading about The Band that it was the other of the most acclaimed albums by the artist, so i gave it a try. It has since established permanent residence in my changer. In fact, I just took it out only to listen to it while typing this for all of you.

Why is it an "American Classic". Firstly,it is 'distinctfully American'. Down-home and earthy, it sounds like it was bred in the cornfields of our once Agrarian nation. This is not a popular word in the 90's, but MFBP is wholesome. It is artistically nutritious..LOL...I guess I mean, substantial. It is like an old shoe. This brings me to 'distinctively classic'. This record is universally relatable. It hits you where you are without being compromising. Sure, it has the country vibe, but I will tell you that I have not lived a year of my life in the boonies and 'Tarred and Feathered' sounds like a well-weathered rock anthem. More importantly, I simply am incapable of singing the lyrics, "Take a load off, Fanny" without feeling great. "American Classic" it is. Any classic rock fan that may be becoming bored and looking to venture into other areas will have their musical roots confirmed by popping in this disc.

after more than thirty years this album still stands as one of the best ever recorded.a milestone in rock music. i first heard it at age 18 and now, pushing 50, it's still one of my all-time favorites. everyone who appreciates superb songwriting and solid musicianship should own this album. it's timeless.

If I was to list the twenty greatest American recordings of the twentieth century, regardless of genre, "Music From Big Pink" would be one of the few entries in the Rock category. There is just an indescribable, mystical and intangible beauty to this particular group of songs, that not only eclipses all of The Bands subsequent albums, but pretty much everything in Rock in the last thirty years. An understated, homey and soulful combination of American folk tradtions and good ol' rock n' roll. For curious youngsters who have read of The Band's influence on the contemporary Alt-heroes, skip the "critics"-favorite second LP and stick with "Big Pink"- a much more striking effort.

This CD is really great, possibly the best one by a group out of the 1960's. Besides "The Weight," very recording on it is really good! This is a "must" for anyone with a serious interest in music. It pointed to a different way than the psychedelic dreck of the late 1960's, and is one to listen to over and over.