Album Reviews

You really cant say enough good things about this album.  It is a must have in my opinion.

Picked up my copy yesterday at the Analog Room in San Jose (it's nice to have a local  store that supplies all the new titles from Mofi, Music Matters, Analogue Productions etc).  The clarity and bass response struck me, & I also have an RL original plus the Millennium edition.  The graphics are much improved over the Mofi edition Big Pink, in particular the pictures inside the gatefold. That group picture inside Big Pink seemed blurry and 2nd or 3rd generation. The pictures on this Band album are truer in sharpness to the original.

...who prefer this LP to "Big Pink" - I think they really hit their stride with it and "Stage Fright."  Thanks for the master-tape info on this and the Stevie Wonder MoFi reissues - "Talking Book" really does sound great.

Wow, what a long strange trip it's been.......

Having been born and raised in the DEEP South, I've been listinging to blues, "roots" music and related most of my life, my first exposure being church and gospel music. 

Having heard of The Band for years, I had only had exposure to "The Last Waltz: and related.  Only a year or so ago did someone turn me on to "Big Pink" and within the last 6 months to "The Band".  I was born in '62 -- where have I been the last 40 years!  These are two of the best albums ever made. 

My first "The Band" purchase was one of those "from the Capital Vaults" pressings 6 months ago, not being able to find anything else.  It sounds just OK, although the pressing and vinyl SUCK.  Don't buy this shit.  I'll never buy another new Capitol pressing again, no matter what.  Of course, never having heard a RL original, I don't have a reference.  However, the best I've heard of this is the Audio Fidelity CD made several years ago, and expensive on the used market.  It sounds heavenly, but I wonder how this Mofi compares.  Steve Hoffman is tight-lipped about the tape source of that CD he remastered, but I don't care if the source was a wax cylinder when it sounds so good! 

I'll probably buy this Mofi (or get for Christmas, hint-hint), and if it sounds good as advertised, give my Capitol Vaults copy to my daughter, where at 25 years of age can "discover" this music much earlier than I did. 

And as good as this whole album is, I consider "Whispering Pines" my favorite.  I swear I just told my wife last night that I thought it was my favorite song in the world.  I don't know what it is, but that song just does it for me.  Richard Manuel and Levon Helms' voices are like a choir of angels.  I want this song played at my funeral; enough said.

In the documentary about the making of this (streaming on Netflix), there are scenes where Levon and John Simon are listening to the original tapes and focusing on the various tracks.

Thanks, Mikey.  I have a pristine RL copy on the lime green Capitol label and listen to it all the time; it's one of the best, most "allive" sounding records I own.  Do I want the MoFi?  It sounds like it sacrifices some immediacy and visceral oomph for detail and clarity.  Can you elaborate on the differences?  Many thanks. 

My favorite album from The Band. They would never again be able to capture the magic of this album.

I bought this at my favorite thrift store for 50 cents about a year ago and always thought that it sounded great, especially the bottom end. I just checked and found the RL. Hooray for me! Still looking for Big Pink.

I have the original CD, it's the only Band album I like, I have the Big Pink CD it's blah, I've listened to sound samples from the other albums, again blah but I love the brown album and The Last Waltz film.

FWIW, Trevor.

The recent Mo-Fi SACD of The Band (mastered by Shawn Britton) It's no slouch either.

But I'll be getting the vinyl too.

I still get chills listening to The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - albums don't get any better than this.  Thanks for your usual insane details Mikey.  I just confirmed my original green label Capitol that I bought in September of '69 is an "RL."  What an amazing time to have been a teenager - Beatles, Hendrix, The Band.

I owned a later generation (circa '73) LP of this amazing album -- but last year got my hands on an original RL pressing. Sounds absolutely phenomenal. Love most of MFSL's stuff, but I'll stick with the original. I was always more partial to "Big Pink" -- but together those two albums are all but PERFECT!

If you're over a hundred years old (OK, over 60), you might remember the ad for this album included in the digest-sized programs they used to hand out at the Fillmore East. It said simply:

     "Shhh. The Band is Recording"

I don't have a lime green RL, but my later purple label Capitol sounds really very good. Don't know what tape they were using by then, but like many of those late 70s-early 80s Capitols, it is very transparent, on nice quiet vinyl. 

I have what I think is a first vinyl pressing (purchased on the relase day - Sept 22, 1969) at Discount Records in Eastchester, NY.  It's in mint condition with a lime green label and STAO-1-132-F8 etched into the Side 1 run-off groove and STAO-1-132-W8 on Side 2 along with the same symbol etched into on both sides1/4 around from each resembling an upside down triangle with a line.  No RL but not sure what the symbol or the F8 or W8 stand for.

I ordered this and waited 1 year for this amazingly sad Mobile Fidelity release.  This is not even close to a crappy German pressing of this record that I have, much less the original.  Cloudy and congested are just two of the adjectives that are evoked by this record.  Where is the tuba and the organ?

Man up and admit when another Mobile Fidelity release is less than fabulous, as you tend to feel everything is.  Afraid this will stop the flow of free records and merchandise?  I doubt it.  These companies know a shill when they read one.

I'm listening to my new (and cleaned) copy of this and I was a little miffed by the amount of pops & clicks here and there.  Then I remembered the MoFi blurb:

"Once the master lacquer is finished, it is plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the modulated groove.  Due to this process, occasional pops or ticks may be present in initial playback.  But as the disc is played more, a high-quality stylus will actually polish the groove walls and improve the sound."

By "improve the sound," I gather they mean fewer "pops or ticks."  Is this a real thing or a CYA exercise?  Thanks.

Being 60, I "grew up" with this album. I think the lp I bought within the first week of its release had a lime green label. Whether it had RL on it or not, we didnt care back then. We were too busy examining the album cover and listening to the music.

And the music. As was the case with a lot of albums back then, we thought, "What the HELL is this?" I know it sound cliche-ish now but back then, we had never heard anything remotely like some of these albums, The Band being foremost. The back-woodsy (I'm in an upscale New York suburban enclave listening on my trusty Garrard turntable with Radio Shack speakers, remember) Americana we were hearing just did not exist. So different and so great.

In the years since, that LP has washed away in mists of time but its been re-incarnated in several forms in my collection. In 2000, I picked up the Capital Re-Mastered edition. It may be me but it seems to lack the punch and impact of that lime green beauty of yesteryear. Kinda flat is how I would classify it.

BUT the recently released Rock of Ages on iTunes - WHOA. This was always my favorite Band album, hands down. But now, in its current incarnation. You guys owe it to yourselves. The sound is 100% improved and it was no slouch in its original release.

I'll let you go now, back to hopefully Netflix to check out The Making of the Band, and, check this one out: Levon Helm-I Aint In It for My Health.

Mikey, keep up the good work. And dont sweat it-we all get called a Dick once in a while.

Scott

I had to wait a while for my copy to arrive, but this MFSL edition certainly knocks spots off the version I already owned.

Just like the job they did on 'Big Pink', this obviates any need to search for pristine first pressings or other expensive versions. It just sounds great!

Informative article about the "brown" record. I had read about the sammy davis pool house "studio" in Levon Helm's book. I also heard  rumors about the master tape either being lost or being at Levon Helm's house. I like it but never quite understood  the praise that gets heaped on the brown record- partly for the muddy/boomy sonic character you describe and partly because I think some of the songs are represented in better versions on either "The last waltz" or "Rock of ages", so I often find myself listening to those instead of brown. But like you said "whispering pines" really is something.  I've heard enough versions of brown to know that at least sonically I much prefer the spacious acoustic of Big Pink over brown- of course they both contain classic tunes. Your comment about "music from big pink" and the EQ Ludwig used might explain why my 90's UK/EMI reissue has the bass cut off right about where you said- but it is really good in the midrange, think its possible they used same for that reissue?

Hi Michael

I have the Ron McMaster Capitol vault reissue from 2008, which as you said sounds very good. Just wondered if there is that much difference to warrant the upgrade to the Mofi. Do you know what source Capitol Vault used to master the LP.

Cheers

Mobile Fidelity’s reissue of "The Band" captivates audiophiles with its pristine sound quality and detailed remastering, revitalizing the classic album. Listeners are left in awe of the rich instrumentation and vocal warmth. This release highlights the enduring power of great music, while also reminding fans to register sim card dito for the latest updates.