The Band: The Best of a Musical History CD Track Listing

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The Band The Best of a Musical History (2007)
Originally Released April 24, 2007\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: A Musical History was one of the best box sets of the last ten years: a thorough and revelatory biography of the Band, telling their story from their beginnings as a backing band for Ronnie Hawkins to their disbandment after The Last Waltz. Released in the spring of 2007, about two years after the appearance of the original box, the single-disc excerpt The Best of a Musical History isn't nearly as good as its mammoth five-disc parent, largely because it tries to serve to audiences equally: it tries to please casual fans, who just want the hits, while trying to win over serious fans curious about the rarities on the box yet unwilling to acquire the whole set. As such, this 19-track set sprawls all over the place, containing a smattering of Band standards ("The Weight," "Life Is a Carnival," "King Harvest [Has Surely Come]," "Stage Fright," "I Shall Be Released"), fan favorites that aren't quite rare ("Orange Juice Blues," "Don't Do It"), genuine rarities ("He Don't Love You [And He'll Break Your Heart]," by Levon & the Hawks; Bob Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"), and five unreleased tracks, highlighted by a roaring live version of "Slippin' and Slidin'" and Rick Danko's "Home Cookin'." All of this music is good and the set does indicate the rich breadth of the Band's music, but really it's no more than a sampler of the set. There are too many Band classics missing to have this be a good introduction -- for starters "Tears of Rage," "Chest Fever," "Rag Mama Rag," "Up on Cripple Creek," "The Night They Drove Old Dixe Down," "The Shape I'm In," "Ophelia," and "It Makes No Difference" are all absent -- and this doesn't contain enough great rarities from the box set to be a true "best of the box" (which is especially frustrating since it would have been possible to have a single disc of rarities and still leave plenty of hard-to-find music on the box). So, this single-disc is neither a good introduction nor a good summary of the strengths of the box -- it is merely what it says it is, a sampler of the box, and anybody who wants that should be happy with The Best of a Musical History, yet it's hard not to think they'd be happier investing in the extraordinary big box instead. [The Best of a Musical History is also available in a two-disc set that contains a bonus DVD featuring highlights from the DVD included with A Musical History.] -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nbetter than the CD-only version, but still a disappointing cash-in, May 2, 2007\nReviewer: Elliot Knapp (Walla Walla, Washington United States)\nAs a big fan of The Band, I decided to save up my money and purchase the A Musical History box set, and was for the most part very happy with my purchase--it's got a great photo-filled book, disc one is almost entirely made up of early, unreleased Hawks tracks, there's a DVD with some rare performances, and the rest of the set is full of great unreleased and live treasures alongside an anthology of music that spans The Band's career through The Last Waltz--in a way A Musical History is both a greatest hits AND a rarities collection, but a relatively expensive one. Since the box set had so many great extras, it was worth it to me (a big fan) to re-purchase all of the standard album tracks I already had that came along with the set. This CD/DVD combo, The Best of A Musical History, is a one-disc collection drawn from the box set combined with the complete DVD from the box set. Unfortunately, though it's less expensive, it accomplishes neither the task of being a good 'greatest hits' album nor the task of being a good collection of rarities (though the DVD does add to the merits of it being a better collection of rarities). Although the music here is good, it's kind of a hodgepodge collection and I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone who's either interested in a one-disc 'best of' or a collection of rarities. \n\nTo start with, the box set's first disc is only represented by two songs, "Who Do You Love?" and "He Don't Love You." This is a shame, since that first disc is crammed with early Band tunes that fans have likely never heard. Conversely, these two rarities are good listens, but don't really qualify as "greatest hits" caliber songs. This CD also contains a number of the box set's other rare tracks, like the Dylan single "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?," the studio version of "Don't Do It," the live "Slippin' and Slidin'," and the excellent Rick Danko tune, "Home Cookin'." Aside from these rarities, though, this collection leaves out some of the box's greatest gems, like the stomping live versions of "Forbidden Fruit," and "Look Out Cleveland," the funky "Baby Lou," the superior live version of "Smoke Signal," or the great early Richard Manuel song, "Words and Numbers." Unfortunately, if you're looking for the rare and unreleased songs, this isn't the place to get a complete collection. \n\nSince this disc attempts to place rare songs alongside some well-known songs, it ends up leaving out some of The Band's greatest hits. Sure, some of the usual suspects are there, like "The Weight," "Stage Fright," "Life is a Carnival," and "I Shall Be Released," but The Band's second album is sorely underrepresented (where's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," at the very least?). The rest of the disc is crammed with tracks that aren't greatest hits and aren't really that rare either--"Ain't No More Cane On the Brazos," "Forever Young," "Orange Juice Blues," "Endless Highway," and "Share Your Love With Me" are all good but minor songs that can all be found on albums that are worth buying in their own right (The Basement Tapes, Music From Big Pink, Moondog Matinee, etc.). If this disc is supposed to represent a collection of classic tunes, some of these really don't make the cut. \n\nThe DVD is great--a bunch of performances you've probably never seen (though you've heard the version of "King Harvest" as a bonus track on The Band-The Band), and if all you're looking for is a visual treat without the trappings of the expensive box set, this might be a good option for you (though it seems like they could have fit a few more performances on there). \n\nTo sum it up, I don't recommend buying this disc unless you're primarily interested in the DVD. If you're new to The Band and are looking for a 'greatest hits,' I'd buy their actual greatest hits album, which is a more complete and well-rounded collection of hits, or I'd recommend getting (at least) their first three albums, which are all classics and full of hits as well as strong non-hits in their original album form (they're pretty cheap too). If you're an old fan and are in the market for the rarities only, unfortunately there's no good option right now, unless all you want is a smattering of unreleased tracks and the DVD at a more affordable price. This disc is pretty pathetic on the unreleased side, so your only option for complete rarities is the expensive box set. If you're willing to shell out the cash, though, you might find that the color booklet, DVD, and wealth of unreleased material is worth the money. As it stands, this disc is basically just another example of the label and Robbie Robertson attempting to squeeze some more money out of loyal fans.\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Andrew Sandoval (Compilation), Bob Johnson, Cheryl Pawelski (Compilation), Henry Glover, John Simon, Robbie Robertson (Compilation), The Band \n\nAlbum Notes\nThe Band: Robbie Robertson (guitar); Garth Hudson (accordion); Rick Danko (bass instrument); Levon Helm, Richard Manuel (drums).\n\nAdditional personnel: Ronnie Hawkins, Van Morrison (vocals); Bob Dylan (guitar); Allen Toussaint (horns); John Simon (electric piano); Roy Buchanan (bass instrument).\n\nThe sprawling and beautiful 2005 box set A MUSICAL HISTORY featured five CDs as well as video footage of the Band, and remains the definitive documentation of the beloved folk/rock/country ensemble. This one-disc heavily truncated version of the box set functions as a perfectly acceptable retrospective in its own right, with 19 chronologically ordered tracks (including songs by the proto-Band outfit the Hawks, and a few sung by Bob Dylan) and five video clips dating between 1970 and 1974. All the hits are here, as well some live tracks and song sketches.\n\nDVD features include:\n1. Jam/King Harvest (Has Surely Come)\n2. Long Black Veil\n3. Rockin' Chair\n4. Don't Do It\n5. Hard Times (The Slop)/Just Another Whistle Stop
This data cd contains 19 tracks and runs 72min 8sec.
Freedb: 0510e613

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