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There are albums that arrive and leave no trace. There are albums that are hailed as masterpieces, only to be forgotten as the years go by. There are albums that are born immortal, marking history and influencing entire generations. These are the records that are a pleasure to own. Those records you proudly show to your friends, flaunting your original version found at the local market for a few bucks.
The Band, better known to Robertson's fans as “The Brown Album”, is one of these. It’s a tumultuous history for the Canadian-American band, born from the ribs of a band formed by Ronnie Hawkins back in 1958, and evolved to reach the formation assumed in this album just ten years later, the year they gave birth to their first studio work: “Music from Big Pink.”
An album of great depth, a smashing debut by these 5 versatile musicians, yet imperfect and raw enough not to be elevated to a “cornerstone” of music. The following year they tried again and it was a masterpiece. 12 tracks (which can become 19 if you have the super-mega-deluxe-extra version from 2000) that illuminate an hour of your life with the most classic rock-blues you can find. 12 tracks etched into vinyl with guitar and violin that will become a “must” for every “American rock” enthusiast.
Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel alternate with infinite mastery on an equally infinite series of instruments, from trumpet to piano, passing through organs, bass, violins. Yet always preserving that folk-rock air that is the fundamental soul of “The Band.” Robbie Robertson's voice does the rest, warm, American, damn American. The blues and rock'n'roll influences are felt in many of their pieces, from “Rag Mama Rag”, anthology country blues (country piano, trombone, violins, all seasoned with a catchy rhythm that makes you snap your fingers in time without meaning to) to “Up on Cripple Creek”, “Jemima Surrender”, “Look Out Cleveland”. The five also allow themselves poignant moments of melancholy in “Whispering Pines”, a refined ballad in the arrangements that for four minutes cradles the ears and gently caresses them, warming them with its warm and humid breath.
The listening ends with the rhythm & blues of “King Harvest [Has Surely Come]”. Accordion in the background, guitar barely plucked in pure “old” R&B style and rhythmic alternations in abundance.
In short, a piece of history and culture to own. Naturally, this too should be on vinyl; at least if you want to fully enjoy the warmth of Robertson's vocal cords and the simple and sophisticated soundscape that “The Band” has woven for us in these 60 minutes of musical passion.
[I’m listing the tracklist due to access issues with the freedb page]
1. Across the Great Divide
2. Rag Mama Rag
3. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
4. When You Awake
5. Up On Cripple Creek
6. Whispering Pines
7. Jemima Surrender
8. Rockin' Chair
9. Look Out, Cleveland
10. Jawbone
11. The Unfaithful Servant
12. King Harvest [Has Surely Come]
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Rag Mama Rag (03:03)
Rag Mama rag
I can't believe its true
Rag Mama rag
What did you do
I go on up to the railroad track
Let the 4:19 scratch my back
Sag Mama sag
What's come over you
Rag Mama rag
I'm pullin out your gag
Gonna turn you loose
Like an old caboose
Got a tail I need to drag
I ask about your turtle
And you ask about the weather
I can't jump the hurdle
And we can't get together
We could be relaxin'
In my sleepin' bag
But all you want to do for me Mama is
Rag Mama rag
There's no where to go
Rag mama rag
Come on resin up the bow
Rag Mama rag
Where do you run
Rag Mama rag
Bring your skinny little body back home
It's dog it dog
Cat eat mouse
You can rag Mama rag
All over my house
Hail stones beatin' on the roof
The bourbon is hundred proof
It's you and me and the telephone
Our destiny is quite well known
We don't need to sit and brag
All we gotta do is rag Mama rag Mama rag
Rag Mama rag
Where do you roam
Rag Mama rag
Bring your skinny little body back home
04 When You Awake (03:13)
Ollie told me I'm a fool.
So I walked on down the road a mile,
Went to the house that brings a smile
Sat upon my grandpa's knee,
And what do you think he said to me?
(Chorus:)
When You Awake you will remember ev'rything,
You will be hangin' on a string from your...
When you believe, you will relieve the only soul
That you were born with
to grow old and never know
Ollie showed me the fork in the road.
You can take to the left
or go straight to the right,
Use your days and save your nights,
Be careful where you step,
and watch wha-cha eat,
Sleep with the light on and you got it beat.
(Repeat Chorus)
Ollie warned me it's a mean old world,
The street don't greet ya, yes, it's true;
But what am I supposed to do:
Read the writing on the wall,
I heard itwhen I was very small.
(Repeat Chorus)
Wash my hand in lye water,
I got a date with the captains daughter.
You can go and tell your brother.
We sure gonna love one another, Oh!
You may be right and ya might be wrong,
I ain't gonna worry all day long.
Snow's gonna come and the frost gonna bite,
My old car froze up last night.
Ain't no reason to hang your head
I could wake up in the mornin' dead. Oh!
And if I thought it would do any good,
I'd stand on the rock where Moses stood.
05 Up on Cripple Creek (04:32)
When I get off of this mountain, you know where I want to go?
Straight down the Mississippi river, to the Gulf of Mexico
To Lake Charles, Louisiana, little Bessie, girl that I once knew
She told me just to come on by, if there's anything she could do
(Chorus)
Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one
Good luck had just stung me, to the race track I did go
She bet on one horse to win and I bet on another to show
The odds were in my favor, I had 'em five to one
When that nag to win came around the track, sure enough she had won
(Chorus)
I took up all of my winnings, and I gave my little Bessie half
She tore it up and threw it in my face, just for a laugh
Now there's one thing in the whole wide world, I sure would like to see
That's when that little love of mine, dips her doughnut in my tea
(Chorus)
Now me and my mate were back at the shack, we had Spike Jones on the box
She said, "I can't take the way he sings, but I love to hear him talk"
Now that just gave my heart a throb, to the bottom of my feet
And I swore and I took another pull, my Bessie can't be beat
(Chorus)
Now there's a flood out in California and up north it's freezing cold
And this living on the road is getting pretty old
So I guess I'll call up my big mama, tell her I'll be rolling in
But you know, deep down, I'm kind of tempted to go and see my Bessie again
Chorus
06 Whispering Pines (03:58)
(R. Manuel / J.R. Robertson)
The Band
If you find me in a gloom,
or catch me in a dream.
Inside my lonely room there is no in between
Whispering pines,
rising of the tide
If only one star shines,
That's just enough to get inside.
I will wait until it all goes 'round
With you in sight,
the lost are found
Foghorn through the night,
calling out to sea
Protect my only light,
'cause she once belonged to me
Let the waves rush in,
let the seagulls cry
For if I live again,
these hopes will never die
I can feel you standing there
But I dont see you anywhere
Standing by the well,
wishing for the rains
Reaching to the clouds,
for nothing else remains
Drifting in a daze,
when evening will be done
Try looking through a haze
At an empty house,
in the cold, cold sun
I will wait until it all goes round
With you in sight,
the lost are found
07 Jemima Surrender (03:31)
Jemima Surrender, I'm gonna give it to you,
Ain't no pretender, gonna ride in my canoe.
If I were a barker in a girly show,
Tell ya what I'd do, I'd lock the door, tear my shirt and let my river flow.
Oh, oh, Sweet Jemima wont'cha come out tonight?
The ground is so warm and the moon is so bright!
Jemima Surrender, I'm gonna give it to you,
I'll bring over my Fender
And I'll play all night for you.
There's a bird on my head
And his mouth won't talk,
You know he laughs just like a goose,
But looks like a hawk
Jemima, you know what I'm try'n to say,
Meet me in front and we'll fly away.
You can change your name
You can find a new walk
You can change a lock, its all the same
You don't have to give out
If you'll only give in
You can jump and shout
But can't you see girl, that I'm bound to win
Jemima Surrender, I'm gonna give it to you,
Ain't no pretender, gonna see my tattoo;
I hand you my rod and you hand me that line,
That's what you do, now, we ain't doing much fishin'
Or drinkin' any wine.
Sweet Jemima, if I were king
I'd fix you up with a diamond ring.
08 Rockin' Chair (03:43)
Hang around, Willie Boy,
Don't you raise the sails anymore.
It's for sure, I've spent my whole life at sea
And I'm pushin' age seventy three;
Now there's only one place that was meant for me:
Oh, to be home again,
Down in old Virginny,
With my very best friend,
They call him Ragtime Willie.
We're gonna soothe away the rest of our years,
We're gonna put away all of our tears,
That big Rockin' Chair won't go nowhere.
Slow down, Willie Boy,
Your heart's gonna give right out on you
It's true,
and I believe I know what we should do.
Turn the stern and point to shore,
The seven seas won't carry us no more.
Oh, to be home again,
Down in old Virginny,
With my very best friend,
They call him Ragtime Willie.
I can't wait to sniff that air,
Dip'n snuff, I won't have no care,
That big Rockin' Chair won't go nowhere.
Hear the sound, Willie Boy,
The Flyin' Dutchman's on the reef.
It's my belief
We've used up all our time,
This hill's to steep to climb,
And the days that remain ain't worth a dime.
Oh, to be home again,
Down in old Virginny,
With my very best friend,
They call him Ragtime Willie.
Would-a-been nice just t'see the folks,
listen once again to the stale jokes,
That big Rockin' Chair won't go nowhere.
I can hear something calling on me
[second voice concurrent with first]
And you know where I want to be
Oh Willie don't you hear that sound
[second voice as above]
Oh to be home again down in old Virginny
I just want to get my feet back on the ground
Oh to be home again down in old Virginny
[second voice as above]
I'd love to see my very best friend
They call him Rag-time Willie
[second voice as above]
I believe old rockin chair's got me
[second voice as above]
Oh to be home again
10 Jawbone (04:21)
Oh, Jawbone, when did you first go wrong?
Oh, Jawbone, where is it you belong?
Three time looser, you'l never learn,
Lay down your tools before you burn.
Ya keep on runnin' and hidin' your face,
spreadin' your heat all over the place.
I'm a thief and I dig it!
I'm up on a beef, I'm gonna rig it!
I'm a thief and I dig it!
Oh, Jawbone, why don't cha sit and moan?
Oh, Jawbone, you know that it's stone for stone.
Sneak through the night upon your toes,
To look in your eye, it never shows.
Your name upon the post office wall,
Put you on edge 'cause they wrote it too small!
Oh, Jawbone, revenge stays on your mind.
Oh, Jawbone, you been doin' too much time.
Pull off a job with an inside man,
who needs the cash and likes your plan.
Then you will know just who to thank,
when you land right back in the tank.
Oh, Jawbone, why dont'cha go home?
Oh, Jawbone, where is it you belong?
Boostin' and goin' out on the lam,
Ya know that you'll steal anything that you can.
Temptation stands just behind the door,
So what you wanna go and open it for?
12 King Harvest (Has Surely Come) (03:36)
(J.R. Robertson)
Corn in the fields.
Listen to the rice when the wind blows ’cross the water,
King harvest has surely come.
I work for the union ’cause she’s so good to me;
And I’m bound to come out on top,
That’s where I should be.
I will hear ev’ry word the boss may say,
or he’s the one who hands me down my pay.
Looks like this time I’m gonna get to stay,
I’m a union man, now, all the way.
The smell of the leaves,
From the magnolia trees in the meadow,
King harvest has surely come.
Dry summer, then comes fall,
Which I depend on most of all.
Hey, rainmaker, can’t you hear my call?
Please let these crops grow tall.
Long enough I’ve been up on skid row
And it’s plain to see, I’ve nothin to show.
I’m glad to pay those union dues,
Just don’t judge me by my shoes.
Scarecrow and a yellow moon,
And pretty soon a carnival on the edge of town,
King harvest has surely come.
Last year, this time, wasn’t no joke,
My whole barn went up in smoke.
My horse jethro, well he went mad
And I can’t remember things bein’ so bad.
Then there comes a man with a paper and a pen
Tellin’ us our hard times are about to end.
And then, if they don’t give us what we like
He said, men, that’s when you gotta go on strike.
Corn in the fields.
Listen to the rice when the wind blows ’cross the water,
King harvest has surely come.
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