Play A Song For Me: Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert Is Expanded On CD and DVD/BD

Since its opening on February 11, 1968, Madison Square Garden at Manhattan’s Pennsylvania Station has hosted some of the most memorable events in music history, from The Concert For Bangla Desh in 1971 to The Concert for New York City in 2001.  For sheer star wattage, one of the most notable of MSG’s many special events was the 1992 evening remembered simply as “Bobfest.”  It was a night for friends, contemporaries and younger artists to pay tribute to an American great for whom a first-name basis was sufficient. Bob Dylan – The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, with appearances from Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, Eric Clapton, and Traveling Wilburys Tom Petty, George Harrison and Bob Dylan himself, was preserved on compact disc, VHS and laserdisc.  Now, on March 4, the program will be reissued on CD (a 2-CD set) as well as on DVD and Blu-ray.

The October 16, 1992 concert marked the 30th anniversary of Dylan’s first Columbia Records album, which had been released on March 19, 1962.  There was no shortage of luminaries in attendance, and befitting the number of artists in all styles of music who have covered Dylan’s catalogue, no shortage of genre-bending.  Soul stars (The O’Jays, Stevie Wonder) shared the bill with country legends (Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Rosanne Cash), folk heroes (Richie Havens) and rockers (Lou Reed, Ronnie Wood, Johnny Winter, Chrissie Hynde, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Neil Young).  A number of the artists had close associations with Dylan, including The Band (sans Robbie Robertson), The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, and of course, George Harrison, who made his first U.S. concert appearance in 18 years.  Dylan took the stage for a four-song finale set including all-star performances of “My Back Pages” with McGuinn, Harrison, Petty, Young and Clapton, and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” with the full ensemble.  Naturally, the house band was A-list all the way, with three members of Booker T. & The M.G.’s joined by musical director G.E. Smith (once lead guitarist of Dylan’s band) on guitar and veterans Jim Keltner and Anton Fig on drums.

After the jump: what extras will you find on these expanded reissues?  Plus: the complete track listing and pre-order links!

Review: Bob Dylan, “The Complete Album Collection Volume One”

Tucked away on Bob Dylan’s 23rd studio album Empire Burlesque, the troubadour sings simply but sternly, “Trust yourself/Trust yourself to do the things that only you know best/Trust yourself/Trust yourself to do what’s right and not be second-guessed…”  Dylan had trusted himself since he first arrived on the scene in 1962, engaging in a series of transformations that enthralled, angered, transfixed and bewildered those that followed his career – from folk troubadour to electric rocker to cowboy crooner to confessional singer-songwriter to born-again song-slinger to distracted artist to grand old man and living legend.  The times they were a-changin’, and Bob Dylan was a-changin’ with them.  He famously titled his fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan – but the hefty new box set from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings The Complete Album Collection Volume One (88691 92431 25 1) offers practically every side of Bob Dylan…all save the private one, which he has worked valiantly to protect and preserve over 50+ years in the public eye.

The term “Dylanologist” was coined by one A.J. Weberman.  His confrontations with the artist whose work he closely parsed for deeper meaning have achieved now-legendary status.  But with the release of this career-spanning 47-disc box set, all who listen can become Dylanologists.  Dylan struggled with the tag of “the voice of a generation,” one which critics and fans alike were all too eager to bestow upon him after he spoke with a wisdom far beyond his years on such songs as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” “Masters of War” and “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.”  Of course, in some respects, it was accurate.  Though he wasn’t the first lyricist to push the envelope on subject matter – theatrical lyricists did it with regularity – Dylan played a major role in freeing popular song from the conventions of moon-june-spoon love songs.  One expects that he would openly credit the likes of E.Y. Harburg and Johnny Mercer from the Broadway-pop tradition as well as Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Pete Seeger from the folk landscape in shaping his craft.  Yet significantly, his early emphasis on impressionistic, oblique and poetic lyrics was a major deviation from folk, blues, country, Broadway or Tin Pan Alley traditions.  And though Dylan was far from the first singer to pick up an instrument and sing, his tremendous success did kick a door wide open.  He empowered every kid without the vocal prowess of a Frank Sinatra or even an Elvis Presley to grab a guitar and a notebook, and give voice to the thoughts, desires and yearnings of their age group.  Dylan’s ascendance dovetailed with the rise of youth culture – and the power of youth to influence spending – via rock-and-roll.  He was initially a folk singer with a rock-and-roll heart, then a rock-and-roller with a folk heart, always with the empathy of the blues running through his veins.

Yet, it’s important to remember that the man who wrote “Like a Rolling Stone” also wrote “Wiggle Wiggle.”  The same Bob Dylan who offered the world his ravishingly esoteric “Visions of Johanna” also tapped into the pop zeitgeist providing accessible hit songs for The Byrds, The Turtles, and Manfred Mann.  He even co-wrote songs with Carole Bayer Sager (“That’s What Friends Are For,” “A Groovy Kind of Love”) and Michael Bolton.  Journalists will no doubt continue to parse Dylan’s voluminous output for meanings both hidden and obvious, but the real truths about Bob Dylan are present in his music, and those truths resonate differently to each person who listens.

There are few artists whose entire (or near-entire) catalogue can truly justify the existence of a set such as The Complete Album Collection Volume One; Legacy has previously and rightfully bestowed the honor upon such artists as Miles Davis, Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash, Harry Nilsson and Paul Simon.  Barbra Streisand seems a logical next candidate.  Like the catalogues of any of those colleagues, all of whom set a new standard or high watermark for popular music in their genre, Dylan’s output can more than withstand the scrutiny of the box set treatment.  Each and every disc – whether acclaimed or maligned – is an essential piece of the puzzle.

After the jump: what’s here?  What’s not here?  Is it really where it’s at?

Release Round-Up: Week of November 5

David Bowie, The Next Day: Extra (ISO/Columbia)

The year’s biggest comeback album is now available as a 2CD/1DVD set featuring B-sides, remixes, unreleased songs and four music videos. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Bob Dylan, The Complete Album Collection Vol. One (Columbia/Legacy)

Dylan’s “official” albums discography from 1962 to 2012 is collected on this 47-disc set, featuring studio and live titles, 14 newly remastered albums and a two-disc compilation of non-LP material.

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Collector’s USB (features full discography in 320 kbps MP3/FLAC): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Jimi Hendrix Experience, Miami Pop Festival / Hear My Train A Comin’ (Experience Hendrix/Legacy)

A pristine 1968 unreleased performance by the Experience is newly released on CD and LP; video footage from that same performance is on display in a new American Masters documentary, as well.

Miami Pop CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Miami Pop LP:  Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Hear My Train DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Hear My Train BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Buck Owens, Buck ‘Em! The Music of Buck Owens 1955-1967 (Omnivore)

Arriving in stores the same day as his posthumous autobiography, this double-disc anthology collects 50 of the Bakersfield giant’s greatest hits and rarities, from several years of solid catalogue projects at the Omnivore label. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Yes, Close to the Edge: Deluxe Edition (Panegyric)

The legendary prog album (from a potential Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee) is remixed in stereo and surround by Steven Wilson and expanded with all sorts of audio rarities.

CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Sweet Blues: Guitar Legend Mike Bloomfield Celebrated On New Box, Bob Dylan Tracks Debut on Set

The time was 1965, the place was Columbia Records’ studios on Seventh Avenue in New York City between 52nd and 53rd Streets, the occasion was the recording of Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited. Al Kooper – he of the famed organ riff that propelled “Like a Rolling Stone” – recalled, “Suddenly Dylan exploded through the doorway with this bizarre-looking guy carrying a Fender Telecaster guitar without a case. It was weird, because it was storming outside and the guitar was all wet from the rain. But the guy just shuffled over into the corner, wiped it off with a rag, plugged in, and commenced to play some of the most incredible guitar I’ve ever heard. And he was just warming up!”

Kooper recounts the whole story of his first encounter with Michael Bloomfield in his indispensable tome Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards. Kooper’s fateful introduction to “the man who can still make me pack up my guitar whenever his music is played” led to the seminal Super Session record in 1968 and further collaborations. Now, decades later, Kooper has produced and curated what may well be the definitive anthology dedicated to the music of Michael Bloomfield, the guitarist Bob Dylan recognized as “the best.”  On February 4, 2014, Legacy Recordings will unveil From His Head To His Heart To His Hands, a career-spanning 3-CD/1-DVD box set chronicling the life and times of the late artist.  The box premieres a number of unreleased tracks including rare cuts from Bob Dylan like an alternate of “Tombstone Blues” featuring The Chambers Brothers, or a Bloomfield/Dylan live performance of “The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar.”

Born in Chicago and discovered by Columbia’s John Hammond, Bloomfield participated in sessions for the label in 1964 but soon joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band alongside Butterfield, Elvin Bishop, Sam Lay, Jerome Arnold and Mark Naftalin.  But the same year Butterfield’s group debuted with its first Elektra long-player (1965), Bloomfield was making history with his friend Bob Dylan. In addition to lending his scorching guitar to Highway 61, Bloomfield was among the musicians backing Dylan on his legendary, first-ever electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival.  But there were many other paths for the guitarist with the fire in his soul to pursue.  He joined the genre-bending “horn band” The Electric Flag in 1967, debuting with the group at the Monterey Pop Festival and issuing a 1968 album on Columbia.  Shortly after the album’s release, The Electric Flag imploded, but Bloomfield bounced back that same year.

Super Session was recorded with Al Kooper, the composer-singer-organist behind the original Blood, Sweat and Tears.  David Fricke wrote in 2001, “Bloomfield and Kooper, with pianist Barry Goldberg, bassist Harvey Brooks [both of The Electric Flag] and drummer Eddie Hoh, cut enough music for one whole side of an LP…[but] Bloomfield didn’t play another note on the record.  A chronic insomniac sinking into long-term heroin addiction, he abruptly split for home the next day, leaving Kooper to finish the album with a hastily recruited Steve Stills.  But what Bloomfield left behind is still the best half an album in late-Sixties rock.”  Bloomfield continued making incendiary music until his untimely death in 1981 at the age of 37.  In addition to recording solo albums such as 1969’s debut It’s Not Killing Me, Bloomfield found time to perform and record with Janis Joplin, Dr. John, John Cale, and The KGB Band (with Ray Kennedy and Barry Goldberg) and even sat in again with Dylan in 1980.

What will you find on the new box?  Hit the jump for details and the full track listing, plus pre-order links!

Back to Black: Legacy Unveils Record Store Day Black Friday Exclusives From Simon, Dylan, Davis, Nilsson, Hendrix & More

It’s that time of year again!  Though Black Friday has taken a backseat in recent years to the once-unheard-of Thanksgiving Day sales, the folks at Record Store Day still hold the day after Thanksgiving in high esteem.  News has begun to trickle out about this year’s RSD Back to Black Friday exclusives, and the team at Legacy has certainly put together a collection of special vinyl releases – and a handful of CDs, too – that look back to recent releases from the label and forward to future titles.  All titles are available in participating Record Store Day locations on November 29!

Classic rock releases, naturally, are at the forefront of the Legacy slate:

(*) denotes numbered edition

Cheap Trick, The Classic Albums 1977-1979 * (Epic/Legacy) – A new box set of five 12” 180-gram LPs includes the first five Cheap Trick records: Cheap Trick (1977), In Color (1977), Heaven Tonight (1978), At Budokan (1978) and Dream Police (1979), all newly mastered in 2013 from the original analog tapes and packaged with original album artwork.

The Clash, The Clash / Give ‘Em Enough Rope / London Calling / Sandinista! / Combat Rock (Epic/Legacy) – These five classic Clash albums, included in the Sound System box set, are released separately as vinyl-replica CDs.

Bob Dylan, Side Tracks * (Columbia/Legacy) – The two-disc set of non-album material from The Complete Album Collection Vol. One is available as a numbered, 200-gram vinyl triple-LP set.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fire b/w Foxey Lady (Live at The Miami Pop Festival) * (Experience Hendrix/Legacy) – This 7” single contains two performances from the Experience’s previously-unreleased set at the Miami Pop Festival in 1968, which is coming to CD very soon from Experience Hendrix and Legacy.

Paul Simon, Paul Simon / There Goes Rhymin’ Simon / Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia/Legacy) – Rhymin’ Simon’s first three post-Simon & Garfunkel studio albums, recently on CD as part of The Complete Albums Collection, all arrive in remastered 180-gram LP editions, each also containing a download card.

After the jump: Legacy gets funky with Sly and the Family Stone, plus vintage rock and roll from Roy Orbison, classic pop from the one and only Harry Nilsson, Miles Davis in mono, and more!

Positively Bob Dylan: “Complete Album Collection” Box Set Arrives In November

Is it rolling, Bob?

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings certainly have the ball rolling on the remarkable ouevre of Bob Dylan.  Hot on the heels of Another Self Portrait, the rapturously-received tenth installment of The Bootleg Series, the labels have just confirmed the November 5 release of a Dylanologist’s dream: The Complete Album Collection Volume One.  Yes, they’re all here – each one of the core, full-length live and studio albums released by the former Robert Allen Zimmerman on the Columbia and Asylum labels between 1962 and 2012.  It’s a tour of people and places, real and imagined, all filtered through one singular perspective.  By the numbers, that’s 35 studio albums (including the much-maligned 1973 LP Dylan in its first North American CD reissue), six live albums, and a new 2-CD collection of odds and ends entitled Side Tracks for a total of 47 discs.  It, of course, adds up to a visit with Silvio, Isis, the Jokerman, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, and even the man who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat – by way of Brownsville, Duquesne and Highway 61.

Following similar sets for Tony Bennett and Johnny Cash, Dylan’s whole career arc can be found on The Complete Album Collection Volume One.  And what an arc it’s been, from convention-defying, folk-singing, protest-slinging “voice of a generation” to electric rocker to country crooner to born-again musical preacher to elder statesman to self-described “song and dance man.”   Along the way, Dylan challenged notions of what a song could express, and paved the way for every young kid with a guitar and a dream to make his voice heard.  Even today, there may be “another side of Bob Dylan” waiting to be revealed on record.  Who else would have followed a genuine tribute to the Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths of yore on 2009’s Christmas in the Heart with 2012’s dark, brooding and very appropriately-named Tempest?  Even as he criss-crosses the world over and over again on a so-called “never-ending tour,” Dylan remains the epitome of an enigma.  But if there are answers to be revealed, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better place to start than The Complete Album Collection Volume One.

After the jump, we’ll explore exactly what you’ll find here!  Plus: pre-order links and a complete album listing with discography!

Review: Bob Dylan, “The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait”

Who is Bob Dylan?

Today, he might identify himself as “a song and dance man,” a noble profession if there ever was one.  But for decades, the man born Robert Zimmerman has been much, much more.  Resistant though he might have been to the tag of “spokesman of a generation,” said generation could have done much worse.  To describe Dylan’s role in the 1960s is certainly to paint with broad brushstrokes.  But it can be said with some measure of truth that Dylan liberated popular music from the dominance of conventional love songs, challenged notions of what a singing voice should sound like, and popularized the singer-songwriter before the term even existed.  He also gave voice in those early years to characters – real and imagined, living and dead – who couldn’t speak for themselves, frequently championing those who were oppressed, wronged, or simply downtrodden.  So when Dylan announced an album called Self Portrait, it seemed possible that the songwriter who brought to life sweet Marie, Queen Jane, Maggie (of farm fame), Quinn the Eskimo, Mr. Tambourine Man, and the man who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat might be looking inward.

Instead, when Self Portrait arrived on June 8, 1970, listeners found him warbling Rodgers and Hart (“Blue Moon”), Gordon Lightfoot (“Early Morning Rain”) and most bizarrely, Simon and Garfunkel – as both Paul and Artie (“The Boxer”)!  The sprawling double-LP set mixed these frankly strange pop covers with live tracks, old folk songs and new, seemingly tossed-off originals.  It was also unexplainably awash in overdubs of the kind not usually associated with Dylan – right down to cooing female backing vocals.  But now, the curtains can be drawn to reveal what Self Portrait might have been.  The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971) offers a glimpse into the man’s musical muse during that crucial time period via outtakes, alternate takes and non-overdubbed versions of songs recorded primarily for Self Portrait and its follow-up New Morning, with a handful of other detours including 1967’s The Basement Tapes sessions and 1969’s Nashville Skyline.  Another Self Portrait is available in both a standard 2-CD version, and a 4-CD box also containing a remastered edition of the original Self Portrait and Dylan and The Band’s complete August 31, 1969 concert at the Isle of Wight.  Over the course of these 35 songs traversing country, blues, folk, pop and rock, the period comes into focus with newfound clarity and vibrancy.  The frequently stark arrangements afford a glimpse into a musical soul all but hidden on the original Self Portrait.

There’s plenty more on Bob after the jump!

Release Round-Up: Week of August 27

The Beach Boys, Made in California (Capitol/UMe)

Six discs of career-spanning tunes – hits and rarities aplenty – from the best band to come out of Hawthorne, California. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Bob Dylan, Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (Columbia)

Revisit one of the most polarizing periods of Dylan’s career with the latest Bootleg Series entry, featuring outtakes from Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait and New Morning. A deluxe version includes Dylan and The Band’s complete Isle of Wight performance and a remastered version of Self Portrait, and a vinyl version also exists.

2CD standard edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
4CD deluxe edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3LP vinyl edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Sly & The Family Stone, Higher! (Epic/Legacy)

A four-disc box celebrating one of the pioneers of funk and R&B. Intriguing tracks from the vault and little-heard mono mixes are complemented by a really striking visual presentation, and a healthy book of liner notes. Amazon U.S. has got a six-track bonus disc with the box, and there’s also a highlights disc for the less curious.

4CD box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
4CD box + bonus disc: Amazon U.S.
8LP box: Amazon U.K.
8LP box + bonus disc: Amazon U.S.
1CD compilation: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Belinda Carlisle, Heaven on Earth / Runaway Horses / Live Your Life Be Free / Real: Deluxe Editions (Edsel)

When The Go-Go’s leader went full-on pop, the music world was all the better for it. Belinda’s Virgin discography has now been expanded as 2CD/1DVD sets, Edsel-style.

Heaven on Earth: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Runaway Horses: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Live Your Life Be Free: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Real: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Robert Palmer, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley/Pressure Drop / Some People Can Do What They Like/Double Fun / Secrets/Clues/Maybe It’s Live / Pride/Riptide (Edsel)

The Robert Palmer Island Records discography is finally remastered and expanded – not as we’d imagine (as two-fers and one three-fer), but at least this late great is getting the attention he so greatly deserves.

Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley/Pressure Drop: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Some People Can Do What They Like/Double Fun: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Secrets/Clues/Maybe It’s Live: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Pride/Riptide: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Mario Lanza, The Toast of Hollywood (Sony Masterworks)

A new two-disc compilation celebrating MGM’s beloved actor-tenor features six previously unreleased recordings. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Oscar Pettiford, Modern Quintet / Chris Connor, Sings Lullabys For Lovers / Dexter Gordon, Daddy Plays The Horn / Charles Mingus, The Jazz Experiments of Charles Mingus / Nina Simone, Little Girl Blue / Booker Ervin, The Book Cooks (Naxos/Bethlehem)

The first of several batches of reissues from the classic Bethlehem label (additional batches are planned through next summer!) are hitting CD, LP and MP3, back in print after too long. (The above link is being updated with full links as they’re available.)

CHIC, The 12″ Singles Collection (Atlantic/Rhino U.K.)

Ten tracks of disco goodness spanning the entire, immortal partnership of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, on five pieces of vinyl. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Naked Eyes, Fuel for the Fire: Expanded Edition (Cherry Pop)

The second and final Naked Eyes LP debuts on CD with rare bonus tracks and unreleased demos for your enjoyment. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

It’s Been Good to Know Yuh: Woody Guthrie Rarities Collected on New Box Set

In the annals of American history, few singer-songwriters were as incisive about our country as Woody Guthrie (1912-1967). He tirelessly dedicated himself and his songcraft to the hard-working, common man of the country, and was as equally vocal about injustices he saw in his many travels across the nation. And lately, as fans recently celebrated what would have been his 100th birthday, several great products came out in celebration of this milestone.

But what many have forgotten about Guthrie is the full extent of his patriotism. Indeed, many of his recordings – those which championed the poor and the hungry, or those who turned to unions and the Communist Party to feel like their voices were heard –  were done in some service of the American government. American Radical Patriot, Rounder Records’ new 85-song 6 CD/1 DVD/1 LP box set, will explore that dichotomy in great detail.

Four of the discs in American Radical Patriot feature, for the first time, the complete Woody Guthrie-Alan Lomax recordings. In 1940, the 27-year-old Guthrie visited the Library of Congress, and allowed researcher/folklorist Lomax to record both original songs, including “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh,” “Do Re Mi,” “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “I Ain’t Got No Home,” and interviews over a five-hour period. Three hours of this historic session were released on Elektra Records in 1964 as The Library of Congress Recordings. Now presented with newly-remastered audio and a full transcript in the box’s 258-page book, this is the first time all of these sensational documents have been available in full.

American Radical Patriot includes even more sensational rarities from Guthrie’s life and career, including:

• 17 songs Guthrie wrote and recorded for the Pacific Northwest’s Bonneville Power Administration
• Five songs composed and performed with the Almanac Singers to support anti-fascist efforts in World War II
• Two radio dramas for the U.S. Office of War Information
• Three songs from broadcasts of Jazz America
• 10 compositions for an anti-venereal disease campaign created by the U.S. Public Health Service, along with a health-themed radio drama commissioned by Columbia University

In addition to a DVD with as-yet unspecified features, American Radical Patriot closes out with a 78-rpm vinyl disc featuring on one side a 1951 home recording of “The Greatest Thing That Man Has Ever Done” by Guthrie, and on another, a 1961 recording of “VD City” by a young Guthrie admirer who went by the name of Bob Dylan.

For fans of Americana and folk, this may be the box set to beat in 2013. American Radical Patriot, limited to 5,000 copies, is due September 24. Order your copy here and check out an unreleased track from the box at Rolling Stone.

Life Is a Carnival with The Band’s Box Set “Live at the Academy of Music: The Rock of Ages Concerts”

The Band’s Rock of Ages has long been a mighty document of a mighty quintet at the height of its powers.  And it’s about to get even mightier.

Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel closed 1971 with four nights at New York City’s Academy of Music, reveling in new horn arrangements by New Orleans’ legendary Allen Toussaint and jamming with old mate Bob Dylan on New Year’s Eve.  Highlights from the concert spawned the Top 10 album Rock of Ages, and a 2001 reissue added ten tracks to the original release’s eighteen.  But on September 17, Capitol Records will unveil Live at the Academy of Music: The Rock of Ages Concerts, a 4-CD/1-DVD box set chronicling these shows in unprecedented detail.  Housed in a 48-page hardbound book, Live at the Academy presents new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes of the music of Rock of Ages, including 19 more previously unreleased performances and newly discovered footage of two songs filmed by Howard Alk and Murray Lerner.  Unlike many so-called “super deluxe” boxes, this set does not include the original album on which it’s based; the 1972 LP version of Rock of Ages is absent with the new box serving more as a companion than a replacement to it.

After Americana/roots-rock trailblazers The Band completed their fourth album, Cahoots, they set out for Europe to play a brief tour in spring 1971.  More live performances followed that summer, culminating in the album’s release in October.  The Band promoted Cahoots with a number of American dates, building up to a December 28-31 stand on Manhattan’s East 14th Street between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue at The Academy of Music.  The 3,000-seat venue (sadly demolished by New York University following its closure in 1997) had filled the gap in New York nightlife recently vacated by Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, and proved the perfect spot for The Band’s brand of musical magic.

The Band had first worked with Allen Toussaint when he contributed horn arrangements to Cahoots’ single “Life is a Carnival.”  When it became clear that the performances at the Academy of Music were to be recorded for a live album, The Band invited the writer of “Mother-in-Law” and “Working in the Coalmine” to beef up the group’s sound with his N’awlins brass.  Horns weren’t new to The Band; multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson had added tuba, euphonium and saxophones on the group’s very first album.  But Toussaint brought a wealth of experience as an arranger and orchestrator, and a distinct funky sound all his own.  “I felt very much at home with The Band,” Toussaint told writer Rob Bowman in 2000.  “There was nothing ‘stock’ about them.  Coming together as a group, that magic that formed from such individual love and interest, I just felt really good.”

The road to the Academy was a bumpy one, though, especially when the unbelievable happened and Toussaint’s bag containing eleven musical scores was lost at the airport!  The famously cool Toussaint took it in stride, telling Bowman, “I’m glad it did happen because what was written in Woodstock [where he traveled to meet the group to rehearse prior to the Manhattan stand] was better than anything I could have come up with at home.  More appropriate at least…I felt so fresh and so much better about it after getting there and seeing the guys and being in that environment.”

The concerts consisted of two sets each night, first with The Band alone, then with the five-man horn section.  The set list was consistent, and nine songs had been added from the dates earlier that fall to beef up the concerts for the album.  Interestingly, the sets were light on songs from Cahoots.  “Shoot Out in Chinatown” had been dropped from the earlier gigs, and only two songs from the LP survived (“Life is a Carnival” and “Smoke Signal,” the latter of which wasn’t even included on the original Rock of Ages release).  In a surprise move, Bob Dylan showed up for the December 31 show to ring in New Year’s 1972.

The late, great Phil Ramone was the recording engineer for Rock of Ages, working with Mark Harman.  Yet as early as the album’s release in late summer 1972, there was confusion as to which tracks were utilized for the LP.  Ramone told the press that most of the album came from the December 30 performance, while Robbie Robertson opined that eighty percent was recorded on December 31.  The Dylan tracks were not included on the original release, but they were added to the 2001 reissue produced by Cheryl Pawelski and Andrew Sandoval.  That included bonus recordings from all four nights as its second disc, with the original album remaining in sequence on Disc One.

Exactly what will you find on Live at the Academy?  Hit the jump, won’t you?