The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down

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Monday, August 27. 2007

The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down

Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 17:16 | Comments (19) | Trackbacks (0)

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The best BAND ever!! And a big Canadian connection....it's great to see Levon Helm has another CD out/about to be released (from the Big Pink house (??) I believe) outside "Woodstock".

It's hard to believe "The Last Waltz" was made in 1976, their last performance.

Great music!

#1 Garry on 2007-08-27 18:16 (Reply)

Garry, you took the words right out of my mouth. A uniquely American sound, even though four of the five members were Canadian. Their second albumn could be accurately described as Civil War era rock.
I heard that in the late 60's after Clapton had left Cream and Blind Faith that he asked to join the Band. They said no to his request. Even though Clapton is obviously great in his own right, I'm glad they refused him because it would have ruined the special chemistry they had.

#2 sean on 2007-08-27 19:21 (Reply)

Sean,

I can certainly compliment you on your taste in music...The Band was/is my favourite and, as I think about it, I can still not think of another I could put as #1. I have a lot of #2's but THE BAND is #1 !

I'm an ol' folkie (follically challenged version from way back) and do tend towards the acoustic genre (Tom Rush is a favourtie as is my friend and associate, Performimg Artist Frank Trainor ( www.franktrainor.com ) ...there are many #3's as well. I simply enjoy good music!

Cheers,

Garry

#2.1 Garry on 2007-08-27 22:56 (Reply)

"what's the name of the band?"

"The Band."

"Yes, the band."

"oh, you already knew."

"Knew WHAT?"

"The name of the band!"

"The band is 'You Already Knew'?"

"Hell, I've known for years."

#3 buddy larsen on 2007-08-27 19:31 (Reply)

geez, i grew up listening to joan baez sing this song. robertson said when he visited the south he kept hearing the phrase,"the south will rise again" and at first thought it was funny, then realized the sadness and the pain behind the words. i am normally pretty apathetic about my southern heritage, but this song does something to me. it's hard to be defeated and proud at the same time. saw levon at the ryman this summer, but the fool didn't play it! i'm still kind of peeved about that.

#4 kab on 2007-08-27 20:49 (Reply)

May have been driven down, but it rose, again. We're past Faulkner's shell of the aristocracy stories and into sunny real estate brochures for a prosperous middle class.

Worst are the casinos ruining townscapes across the South; best is how many localities still remember their heritage, sense of community and manners (and always the gossip).

Love The Band.

#5 Dem R. Awl on 2007-08-27 21:24 (Reply)

I thought you posted this a few days ago, BD! Ah, it's a different version. Doesn't matter, man. It's such a cool song.

Dem, As I Lay Dying wasn't shell of aristocracy, though. Eh?

Buddy, did you really write the book of Genesis? Oh yeah, BL, check out my Bozo Gets an Education post...
http://www.jephnol.com/2007/08/post_1.html
It's a hoot. Some people, man...

#6 Jephnol (Link) on 2007-08-27 22:44 (Reply)

LOL --that's really funny --the prudently speeding truck, the stick, the gravel variety of poison ivy. Some people, you're right --she must've associated you with...POISON IVY!

#6.1 buddy larsen on 2007-08-27 23:59 (Reply)

Heh. My personal favorite is, "My dogs mouth is itching like crazy because he's stoopid, too".

#6.1.1 Jephnol (Link) on 2007-08-28 00:17 (Reply)

"...she must've associated you with...POISON IVY"!

Crap! I was just thinking about what you said. Do I make people itch?

Years ago I was up Northern NH with three sophisticated NY, NY beauties. They were having a conversation about their material... Like one was satin, one was lace, and of course one was leather. I rolled my eyes and made the mistake of asking what my fabric was... All three said "burlap" at the same time. Well, yeah!

#6.1.2 Jephnol (Link) on 2007-08-28 00:43 (Reply)

Jephnol,

As I Lay Dying: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gKXvtXQCU9U

#7 Dem R. on 2007-08-28 00:02 (Reply)

Holy cow! I almost got whiplash when I went to there web site. It's not the Faulkner we all know and some love.

I have this idea for a video, which will be in the public domain now, but this is the kind of music I'd use... A woman talks her boyfriend into getting a puppy. It's so cute. She coos to it and hugs it. It's innocent and oh so happy. Then she leaves him alone with the puppy and the pup goes Beserker--cue the metal. Get all sorts of low angle shots of the puppy going ballistic and the guy trying to control him. Quick cut aways with interspersed slow frame rates to get a lot of blur in the action. Music fades. Girls comes home to a destroyed house. The guy is in tatters on the floor and the puppy is a puppy again. She smiles and says, "Did you have fun?" The guy smiles and says, "You were right. I do like him." Fade to black.

Baack to the music. And these guys are Christians. Heh. They're pretty good.

#7.1 Jephnol (Link) on 2007-08-28 00:29 (Reply)

Damn. For all you editors out there that's B-e-r-s-e-r-k-e-r.

#7.1.1 Jephnol (Link) on 2007-08-28 00:33 (Reply)

You'll be hearing from our lawyer.

#7.1.1.1 Beserker Anti-Defamatipn League on 2007-08-28 22:06 (Reply)

BD, you guys are sure putting up some great music. Keep it coming and thanks.

#8 sean on 2007-08-28 00:18 (Reply)

Best band ever? You're forgetting these guys (though it's about twenty years before The Band):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DqUnonwSxa8

And they're Kentucky boys.

#9 rightwingprof (Link) on 2007-08-28 13:01 (Reply)

Personally I consider the EB's a duo as opposed to a band. That being said, they weren't on my list. I always enjoyed them but, they aren't The Band.

#9.1 Garry on 2007-08-28 16:38 (Reply)

The Band were playing around the same time as the Everly Brothers. They were backing up Ronnie Hawkins and they were called the Hawks back then. The Everly Bros would also be on my list of greats. They influenced many groups coming after them.
There is something special about the Band thats hard to put into words. A combination of great lyrics, music, musicianship and mixing that with a historical blend of music from times past. They have their own style of music that mixes rock, gospel, dixieland, blues, folk and carney into a unique sound.
Whenever I saw them live they were always great, but at times I would have to saw that they were the only group that on occassion achieved perfection.

#10 sean on 2007-08-28 20:21 (Reply)

sean --you is a FAN!

#11 buddy larsen on 2007-08-28 22:12 (Reply)

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Monday, August 27. 2007

The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down