Description
Label Review.
Recorded New Years Eve 1971. Remastered fts 10 unreleased live tracks & Bob Dylan.
Our Overview.
Following the lukewarm response to their fourth album ‘Cahoots’ in the Autumn of 1971, The Band booked the Academy of Music in New York City for a series of shows between 28th and 31st of December 1971.
Allen Toussaint who scored the horn charts for ‘Life Is A Carnival’ from ‘Cahoots’ was tapped up again to arrange a horn section for these shows to add a new twist to their sound for the fans lucky enough to attend the concerts. For those not able to see them, the shows were recorded for posterity and the best performances were compiled as ‘Rock Of Ages’, their next album released in August 1972.
At the time, the double album got The Band back into the US Top 10 and served as an alternative ‘Best Of’ but commercially it proved to be their last big seller. It also was the first release to disguise the fact that main songwriter Robbie Robertson’s well of inspiration had run dry and they would follow this up with a covers album in 1973 and a joint album and tour with Bob Dylan the year after.
As for ‘Rock Of Ages’ it was superseded by ‘The Last Waltz’ in 1978 as their definitive live album. However, this current edition which came out in 2001 is not only remastered but comes with a whole bonus disc of extra tracks that didn’t make it to the original album. Also, four numbers performed with Bob Dylan who showed up on the final date on New Year’s Eve and joined The Band for the encore.