Name: Greatest Hits
Brand: The Band

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

CAP24941B.2

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2019-06-07

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

724352494125

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

The Band

Genre US

60s & 70s

Label US

Capitol Records

The Canadian-American roots rock group that rose to prominence in the late 1960s. Comprised of vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson, The Band's soulful and authentic sound captivated listeners worldwide. They were cherished for their seamless blend of rock, folk, country, and blues, showcased in hits such as "The Weight" and "Up on Cripple Creek." Their contributions to popular music also included collaborations with Bob Dylan. The Band's enduring influence is characterized by their timeless harmonies, storytelling prowess, and lasting impact on the Americana genre.

It seems odd that the Band emerged in 1968, defying the counterculture's extravagant rejections of U.S. culture with literary, often Southern-tinged musical and lyrical vehicles. Hearing this 18-song anthology, with its heavy weighting toward the Canadian quintet's first three albums--<a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004W50T/%24%7B0%7D">Music from Big Pink</a> (four tunes), <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004W510/%24%7B0%7D">The Band</a> (five tunes), and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004W50Z/%24%7B0%7D">Stage Fright</a> (three tunes)--what still stands out is the Band's command of yearning vocal harmonies, their sense of plainly laid melodies that reveal acoustic depth, and a nostalgia for an imagined American culture. With all their quirkiness and the advance of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/42525/%24%7B0%7D">Robbie Robertson</a> as their centerpiece, the Band lost their celebrated place in the rock pantheon within a decade. This set, which opens so magnificently with "The Weight," "Tears of Rage" (cowritten with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/114558/%24%7B0%7D">Dylan</a>), and the big organ-vamping "Chest Fever," declines rather steeply on the final tracks, "Acadian Driftwood" and "The Saga of Pepote Rouge." Up till then, however, this set is fantastic. --Andrew Bartlett

Greatest Hits

Music US