Last week a part of the brain trust that is On the Flip-Side explored a selected work by Gram Parsons entitled A Song For You. But as we looked back on our selection -- as we like to do -- we felt we failed to satisfactorily credit Emmylou Harris for her huge contribution to the success of the beautiful Parsons song. Well, lucky for all of us, Emmylou Harris returns for a second straight week (an honor not ever bestowed before) on our Song of the Week selection.
This week's installment finds the crack staff at Flip-Side's Rocky Mountain offices listening to copious amounts of the Canadian/American band, The Band. In particular we have been listening to the Robbie Robertson penned waltz, Evangeline as it was filmed on a soundstage in San Francisco by Martin Scorcese for the must-own 1978 film, The Last Waltz.
The song demonstrates vintage Robertson lyrics of a romanticized Southern heritage lost or never had. In this instance he explores the sinking of a riverboat named The Mississippi Queen that takes down the gambler, Bayou Sam, to a watery grave. Evangeline, his faithful lover, "high on the top of Hickory Hill/she stands in the lightning and thunder" as she is forced to watch helplessly as the Mississippi Queen goes under.
In one of three scenes filmed on a sound stage, we get to see The Band as they rotate their musical instruments and nicely showcase their multi-threat vocalists. The always-pain-stricken sounding Rick Danko opens with the first verse and then gives way to the angelic sounding, and looking, Emmylou Harris who, in contrast to last week, gets a much deserved vocal lead here. Then, after a brief music break in which Arkansan Levon Helm, who usually mans the drums, takes us on a nice little tour of his mandolin skills and shows why he is one of my all-time favorite singers. After that, it's some pretty sweet 4-part harmonies as Richard Manuel joins the others to fill out the last two verses. It's a more than pleasing sight to watch.
Okay, Gram Parsons made some great recordings. Emmylou too. But be careful how deeply you mine that vein because you'll quickly go from gold to fool's gold to bat guano, which, I'm afraid, is the category into which The Band falls. Maybe I suffered through too many hippy southern country boogie shuffle rock bands as a kid in the '70s and '80s, and now I'm resentful. Or, more likely, The Band really did just suck. If rednecks want to make rock and roll, they should be hopped up on meth and weird sex (see Lux Interior below). When they get all self-important and earnest, they are The Band. If you disagree, just look at The Band's legacy: Counting Crows. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteDude, you're going to love next week's SOTW. Don't tell anybody but it's going to be a 26 minute jam from Phish covering the Grateful Dead covering Elizabeth Cotten. And of course, they are all hopped up.
ReplyDeleteI must respectfully disagree with my anonymous collegue above. You can't blame the Band for Counting Crows anymore than you can blame Led Zeppelin and Bowie for Poison. And where one might see a disingenuous form of earnest songwriting, I personally see storytelling tinged with mythic power, the American story and profile as written by one growing up outside of it, yet drawn to it as one is to compelling tales of violence, tragedy, triumph, and ultimate joy.
ReplyDeleteOne's first mistake, if I can be so bold, is attaching 'country boogie' to them. This is far too simple a definition. They pulled in country, yes. But, also cajun music, Acadian music, R&B, New Orleans funk, bluegrass, jazz (especially on Northern Lights, Southern Cross), and Bach fugues (thanks, Garth). And yet they were still The Band. Like them or not, they were unique.
I generally prefer the Band's first two albums to the later stuff, but this is a nice performance. I agree that the Band can veer into self-importance, at least when Robbie is spinning the mythology. Levon is great. I've read his book, and he's really bitter about what he sees as Robbie's taking sole credit for songs Levon says were collaborations. Whether he's right or not I don't know, but it is interesting that Robbie has never really had much of a solo career.
ReplyDeleteAs for Emmylou, this was right about the time she was recording the Desire album with Dylan- I love her on that record.
Ooh, I hadn't thought of Desire. We could have Emmylou make three straight weeks on SOTW. I need to go listen to that wonderfully ragged Mozambique again. What a wonderful album that is, Mazz.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, it would have to be Phish Covering the Dead covering the Cramps covering Merle Travis covering Elizabeth Cotten covering W.C. Handy. And definitely while mainlining some cystal and sniffing panties.
ReplyDeleteYou know anon, after the first two bands listed in your email, you throw out some pretty dang impressive names of music. I think you know your music and I implore you to give The Band another try. They weren't Southern Boogie...as they are neither Southern (unless you are counting Toronto as South Canada) or Boogie. I say you stop sniffing the collodian chemicals and join me in a rousing chorus of Up On Cripple Creek. :)
ReplyDeleteI tend to run hot or cold on the Band. It took me many years to really appreciate them, but once I did, I finally understood why they are so widely revered. Still, I have to be in the right mood to enjoy them. If I am in that mood, I can't get enough of 'em. But if I am not in that mood, I cannot be bothered to sit through a single song. When you first posted "Evangaline", I was not in a "Band mood", and, try as I might, I couldn't glean anything noteworthy from this song. I didn't dislike it, it just left no positive impression on me. But now, just a few days later, I think it is fantastic. Maybe I just needed to hear it a few more times to let it sink in. Maybe I wasn't feeling waltz-y until today. Maybe my biorhythms have been out of whack. Whatever the reason, I now really appreciate this SOTW selection, perhaps all the more so because it took me a while to wrap my head around it.
ReplyDeleteThat's nice to hear Mr. GeeBee. The best things in life are acquired tastes...beer, coffee and The Band.
ReplyDeleteShe was so beautiful. Now too much botox and plasty.
ReplyDeleteThe Band's legacy: Counting Crows. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteBS. Total BS. I was at The Dukes of September show last year & each member Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs & Donald Fagen each sang a song from The Band. EACH!
The Band's legacy: Counting Crows, STEELY DAN, BOZ SCAGGS, DOOBIE BROTHERS etc.
"Or, more likely, The Band really did just suck."
Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they suck. You aren't music personified.
This is such a nice song and so well performed. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete