Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXIII--The Band: Acadian Driftwood

 There's something happening here, but what it is ain't exactly clear, there's a man with a gun over there, telling me...I'm (only one day!) late again....

My introduction to this week's tune, amazingly enough, did not occur with my viewing of their classic rockumentary The Last Waltz.  For whatever reason, though The Band did play the song on that magical night of their final concert (of sorts), director Martin Scorsese chose to not include the song on his film, as did those who assembled the soundtrack album.  Nope, I first heard it on an early greatest hits package of theirs, and while I wouldn't say it was love at first listen, as time wore on it became one of my favorites....

I wrote about The Band in Vol. CLXXXVI, and if I do say so myself, it was a hell of a bio paragraph so I won't be adding much here.  I also wrote about them backing Bob Dylan in Vol. CDLXIX, which means I've written about the songs of one of my favorite bands of all-time only twice (though they've been referenced in nine posts).  Yikes, I've a little work to do.  Sadly, The Band's career was permanently closed last year with the death of Garth Hudson, their only remaining survivor.  Luckily for me, their music lives on forever.

"Acadian Driftwood" was the fourth song on what would be their originals incatnation's final studio album, the rather polar oppositely named Northern Lights-Southern Cross.  The song was released as the B-side of their track "Twilight," which did not chart.  The album peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  "Acadian Driftwood" is an historical account (songwriter Robbie Robertson had a few inaccuracies) of the Expulsion of the Acadians, an ethnic cleansing by Great Britain from 1755 to 1764 from what is now known as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the state of Maine.  Robertson drew from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem, Evangeline (itself an account of the Acadian expulsion), for inspiration.

One of the (many) musical elements The Band excelled at was illuminating the exquisite vocals of Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Ricard Manuel, and "Acadian Driftwood" is an example par excellence of that ability.  Each gives his vocal take on the tragedy of the Acadians and propels the deep emotion behind the song.  Lyrically, Robertson captures the sorrow and perseverance of the Acadians with a soft eloquence.  Finally, musically the band plays with an understated ambiance, except for the fiddling of Byron Berline which carries the song from beginning to end.  The song closes with some singsong lyrics sung in French, akin to a lullaby.  A masterwork from one of America's finest bands ever, says the guy who's been worshipping them for the last fifty-some-odd years....

Lyric Sheet:  "We had kin livin' south of the border/They're a little older and they been around/They wrote in a letter life is a whole lot better/So pull up your stakes, children, and come on down..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLXXXVI--The Band: It Makes No Difference

Like many folks, my introduction to The Band came from Martin Scorsese's seminal rockumentary, The Last Waltz.  I've watched it as much as I've listened to any album by any artist (helped along by the fact that my youngest son loves it as well and when he was younger he could watch it on an endless loop), and lo, these forty some odd years since I first saw it on HBO when HBO was some newfangled TV oddity, I enjoy it--and The Band--as much as ever.  Much like I noted last week with Johnny Cash and other solo artists, there are few bands (The Beatles, The Who, The Replacements, The Jam) whose music I admire as much as The Band's.

In the early 1960's, four Canadians (Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson) got together with one American (Levon Helm) and worked around Toronto as the backup musicians for Ronnie Hawkins.  Eventually they tired of both Hawkins and playing cover versions and broke away on their own.  They became Bob Dylan's backing band for a few albums and tours before becoming The Band in 1969 and setting the critical world on fire. Over the next eight years, The Band would release seven albums (their first two show up on many best of all time lists), tour incessantly, have some decent commercial success (but nothing like some of their peers), and become critical darlings.  Tired of touring, Robbie Robertson conceived of The Last Waltz in 1976 as a farewell concert and stepped away from the group.  The Band would reunite sans Robertson and resume touring in 1983, eventually releasing three more albums.  Sadly, Richard Manuel committed suicide in 1986, and Rick Danko would die in his sleep in 1999 (after many years of hard living), and The Band ceased to exist.  Through the years, there was much vitriol aimed at Robertson over songwriting credits (see also, money), so much so that Levon Helm refused to reunite with him at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1994 (in fairness, some of what Robertson did does sound just a tad hinky).  In the end, I think The Band ranks with the Beach Boys as American's greatest rock and roll band (actually they would be the greatest in my estimation), but time has not been as kind to them (at least to your average music fan) as bands such as the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, and the aforementioned Beach Boys.  Which is a damn shame--they were really a hell of a group.

Released in 1975 on their Northern Lights--Southern Cross LP, "It Makes No Difference" was never released as a single, so there's no shout out to Billboard magazine this week.  Many consider it to be Robertson's magnum song opus (just trying to keep it interesting), and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that claim, though "Acadian Driftwood" from the same album would stand right alongside it as far as best song he's ever written.

I've noted often here on FNJ that there are few things rock and roll does better than create songs for the brokenhearted (and you only need one broken heart over the course of your lifetime--and how many of us haven't had at least one of those?--to appreciate such songs), and "It Makes No Difference" is a fine addition to the pantheon of songs devoted to a broken heart.  The song is also a testament to the greatness that can emerge when there is a confluence of all the musical elements--from Robertson's heartfelt lyrics to the backing vocals of Helm and Manuel, from Robertson's subtle yet mimicking guitar to Hudson's saxophone solo.  But truly the wonder of this song is Rick Danko's vocals--Danko captures the heartache of lost love without becoming maudlin and probably delivers the performance of his career. 

Lyric Sheet:  "Without your love, I'm nothing at all/Like an empty hall, it's a lonely fall/Since you've gone it's a losing battle/Stampeding cattle, they rattle the walls..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee