Rock of Ages [Japan Bonus CD] [Limited] [Slipcase]

Performer: The Band
Artist: Bob Dylan
Engineer: Phil Ramone; Mark Harman
Producer: The Band
Distributor: Caroline Distribution

Notes: The Band: Robbie Robertson (vocals, guitar); Richard Manuel (vocals, piano); Rick Danko (vocals, bass instrument); Levon Helm (vocals, drums); Garth Hudson (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, organ). Additional personnel: Bob Dylan (vocals); J.D. Parran (clarinet, alto saxophone); Joe Farrell (English horn, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Howard Johnson (baritone saxophone); Snooky Young (trumpet, flugelhorn); Earl McIntyre (trombone). Liner Note Author: Greil Marcus. Released on the heels of the stilted, static Cahoots, the double-album Rock of Ages occupies a curious yet important place in Band history. Recorded at a spectacular New Years Eve 1971 gig, the show and album were intended to be a farewell of sorts before the Band took an extended break in 1972, but it turned out to be a last hurrah in many different ways, closing the chapter on the first stage of their career, when they were among the biggest and most important rock & roll bands. That sense of importance had started to creep into their music, turning their studio albums after The Band into self-conscious affairs, and even the wildly acclaimed first two albums seemed to float out of time, existing in a sphere of their own and never having the kick of a rock & roll band. Rock of Ages has that kick in spades, and it captures that road warrior side of the band that was yet unheard on record. Since this band -- or more accurately its leader, Robbie Robertson -- was acutely aware of image and myth, this record didn't merely capture an everyday gig, it captured a spectacular, in retrospect almost a dry run for the legendary Last Waltz. New Orleans R&B legend Allen Toussaint was hired to write horn charts and conduct them, helping to open up the familiar tunes, which in turn helped turn this music into a warm, loose, big-hearted party. And that's what's so splendid about Rock of Ages: sure, the tightness of the Band as a performing unit is on display, but there's also a wild, rowdy heart pumping away in the backbeat of this music, something that the otherwise superb studio albums do not have. Simply put, this is a joy to hear, which may have been especially true after the dour, messy Cahoots, but even stripped of that context Rock of Ages has a spirit quite unlike any other Band album. Indeed, it could be argued that it captured the spirit of the Band at the time in a way none of their other albums do. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Long before they became The Band, these four Canadians and one southern rebel rocked the rooftops off Canada as The Hawks, Ronnie Hawkins's fierce back-up band. Their non-stop performing took them through nearly every bar in the region, and the group developed into a tightly wound rock unit. It is therefore interesting that, as The Band, the group was known more for its reluctance in the live arena than for its live prowess. This was in part due to leader Robbie Robertson's stage jitters, which seemed to worsen as The Band's status swelled. ROCK OF AGES provides a telling account of what glorious heights The Band was capable of when it tore loose onstage. Here the five members function as one shifting, interlocking force, summoning Americana, phantom soul, and barroom rockers with ease and freedom. Garth Hudson conjures pure organ voodoo with an impromptu instrumental, "The Genetic Method," before the band launches into the otherworldly "Chest Fever." Elsewhere the live document percolates with similarly inspired fervor. New Orleanian Allen Touissant must receive his share of the credit, as his horn arrangements pump and drive The Band's earth-drenched rock up from the dirt and into the stratosphere.

Entertainment Weekly (5/25/01, p.81) - "...Among the extras for diehards to gorge on: a CD's worth of unreleased live outtakes from 1972's ROCK OF AGES, including 4 songs with Bob Dylan." - Rating: A Q (7/01, p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Slicker and more contemporary [than previous releases]...a farewell to their heyday, bolstered by a superbly haphazard cover of 'Lovin' You Is Sweeter Than Ever'..." Down Beat (10/01, p.66) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...They put across their best songs and a few covers with touches of ecstasy..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/01, p.123) - "...A radically restructred live album, their past glories terrifically enhanced by the presence of Allen Toussaint's crack horn section...Now with an additional 10 tracks, the entire concert is presented as it was..."

The Band began as the Hawks, backing up rockabilly cat Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-1960s, they became Bob Dylan's ensemble of choice, aiding him in his epochal switch to an electric rock-based format. When they emerged as an independent recording entity at the end of the '60s, they helped usher in a move towards earthy roots-rock as a generation shied away from the clamor and excess of the psychedelic era. The mostly Canadian group synthesized a wide variety of traditional American styles in a unique hodgepodge that took full advantage of each member's unique multi-instrumental abilities. THE LAST WALTZ film and album provided their 1978 swan song, but the Band began anew in the '80s without songwriter/guitarist Robbie Robertson.

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