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Rating: It is never easy to say "Enough!" when it's necessary, it requires determination and not everyone has it. Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson had it in 1976 and said "Enough, it's over!" Together, they decided to end one of the most important rock bands of that period: The Band. No one knows exactly why they broke up, probably it was the years spent together, which had now become a wheelbarrow full of beautiful memories and nostalgia, a dream to be interrupted before it could turn into a nightmare. Perhaps it was just the fatigue from sixteen years of touring around the world or more simply the awareness that things can change. And they were indeed changing, with New Wave and Punk on the horizon. But the reason for an end matters little when it is written in this way, with serenity, joy, and a lot of class.
They chose a date, December 4, 1976, Thanksgiving Day, and a symbolic place, the "Winterland" in San Francisco, a city where they had held their first concert under the name "The Band" seven years earlier. Then they called some friends, simply some of the most influential musicians of that generation: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond, Ronnie Hawkins, and many others. All to realize a simple idea: return to the starting point and leave the scene with a bang with a concert that celebrated an end and a new beginning. They decided to title this concert "The Last Waltz", a final waltz to dance together with those they loved, to bid farewell to the audience with a smile, without regrets. The memory of that evening would also be forever captured on film by the great Martin Scorsese.
And today, looking at those images nearly thirty years later, it's hard to remain indifferent, not only for the engaging, vital, and sincere beauty of the music but also for the symbolic power of these frames that have permanently captured in time some icons of a past that has since evaporated. Seeing Dr. John with that beaming, jolly Santa-like face makes you smile, and hearing him play makes you realize how great he was. And how wonderful was Joni Mitchell back then? Just see these images, which grant us her splendor at the peak of her career. How can one not be moved by seeing Neil Young before time relentlessly wore him down, turning him into a shadow of himself? And hear how Van Morrison's young and energetic voice could break hearts? And the chills before a seventies-era Bob Dylan in great shape? The same ones given by the performance of the legendary Muddy Waters, capable of delivering a blues that twists the soul, making you realize that people like him are no longer around. Just as today there is no group with the bloodline like "The Band", capable of carrying in its music that immediacy, sometimes electric, sometimes acoustic, of a rock with deep, distant roots.
It seems almost redundant to emphasize the musical value of this extraordinary evening; it should suffice to know that watching this concert amidst rock, folk, and blues is experienced with passion, all in one breath. Much credit also goes to the superb direction by Martin Scorsese and the idea of intertwining musical images with interviews with the band members. Of course, one might also purchase the lavish box set with the CD recordings of "The Last Waltz", but in my opinion, it's impossible to overlook this film to have a precise idea of what it was: a true event. It's only a pity that the courage of that choice vanished seven years later when the group reunited, though without Robbie Robertson. But once the last waltz had been danced, it was never the same again.
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