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Life & Arts

Legendary Band still stands alone

Quintet backed Bob Dylan, Canadian rocker Hawkings before coming into own with 'Pink'

by BLAKE WHITAKER
The Daily Cougar 

Mainstream rock 'n' roll in the late 1960s was dominated by outrageous frontmen and inimitable guitar gods. The Band, however, chose a slightly different form of expression. Years of serving as side men for obscure ramblers and great poets prepared them to make their own statement, and it would prove to be one of the most definitive debuts in rock 'n' roll history.

The Band's enigmatic name was a reflection of an egalitarian approach. Though each of the five members played with a unique style, they chose to forgo individual statements for creative unity. The group ebbed and flowed like a single entity. At its best, The Band was like the Holy Trinity, a collection of separate elements functioning with an indispensable cohesion.

That unity was not solely a matter of instinct; it had to be earned. The five members -- four Canadians and a drummer from Arkansas -- were hired at various times by rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, and by 1961 they were his primary band. Through '64, they toured Canada and parts of the United States with Hawkins while making a name for themselves playing their own gigs and recording two singles. In the summer of 1965, during an extended engagement in New Jersey, The Hawks were hired as accomplices to musical treason when Bob Dylan made them his backing band for his then-maligned inaugural electric tour.

Through May 1966, they backed Dylan through one of the most tumultuous tours in rock history, after which Dylan retreated to Woodstock, New York, with his backing band in tow. Throughout 1967, the quintet wrote and recorded in the basement of a rented pink house. It was with Dylan that they were given the anonymous moniker "The Band," but it didn't take long in Woodstock for them to establish their own identity.

Guitarist Robbie Robertson, after years of on-stage pyrotechnics, opted for a more reserved role, trading traditional solos for Curtis Mayfield-style riffs. Levon Helm's drum work and Richard Manuel's warm upright piano gave The Band's sound an organically antique timbre that avoids feeling like forced nostalgia. Bassist Richard Danko, meanwhile, kept the group grounded in rock 'n' roll with his electric bass work. Skilled multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson's touches, including organ and saxophone, rounded out the ensemble.

The Band's first album, released in 1968, was aptly titled Music From Big Pink. Though most of the songs were recorded in a Capitol Records studio in Los Angeles, the record was the result of an effort to forge a new sound in the womb of the titular house in rural New York. The arrangements on Big Pink are superb, with rock and folk mingling with gritty funk and blues. The songwriting is equally impressive, with Robertson and Manuel taking the lion's share of the lyrical duties. Dylan's influence is strong, from his painting that serves as the album's cover to three writing contributions, but his presence in no way overshadows The Band's creative vision.

Roberston's lyrics are not heard on the first track, which was written by Dylan and Manuel. "Tears of Rage," a wrenching story of parental betrayal sung beautifully by Manuel, defied convention. Formula dictated a rock 'n' roll record must begin with an up-tempo song; from the opening warble of the guitar intro, though, it was clear The Band was not interested in adhering to accepted norms.

"To Kingdom Come," Big Pink's second track and a Robertson composition, showcases The Band's more fiery side. Robertson contributes a rare vocal performance on the song, which throws religious imagery and musings on human nature over a sweeping, syncopated backdrop. "Caledonia Mission" is similarly melodic, with Danko masterfully recounting a lighter story about an unsuccessful attempt to use the occult to escape a mission, which may have been a reference to a pot bust in Canada years earlier.

No discussion of Big Pink is complete without mentioning "The Weight" -- hearing Levon Helm sing the first line, "I pulled into Nazareth … ," is enough for many to recognize the song. The fact that The Band's equivalent of "Stairway to Heaven" is in a Verizon Wireless commercial doesn't detract from its epic, timeless feel.

"We Can Talk" and "Chest Fever" are more playful offerings. "We Can Talk" features coherent songwriting with a breakdown in which Danko sings, "I'm afraid if you ever got a pat on the back / It would likely burst your lungs / Stop me, if I should sound kinda down in the mouth / But I'd rather be burned in Canada, than to freeze here in the South." On the other hand, "Chest Fever" features lyrical non-sequiturs that served as placeholders for an actual song that was never written. The track serves as a quirky counterpart to some of the heavier subject matter of Big Pink.

Big Pink concludes with "This Wheel's on Fire," a Dylan/Danko piece, and "I Shall Be Released," a Dylan composition. "Wheel," a bleak reflection on fate and retribution, spawned numerous cover versions. "Released," sung in a haunting falsetto by Manuel, serves as a eulogy for an album that, at the time, seemed imbued with mystery.

While psychedelic and overtly political rock were reaching their apexes, The Band's members were playing material that seemed to reference an entire century of American music--black and white, rural and urban. Though the bandmates' second, self-titled record trumps Big Pink, their debut remains a powerful performance from a group that simultaneously defied and drew inspiration from tradition.
 

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