2008 Woodie Awards
Endless Highway a timeless tribute to The Band
Richard Hughes '09
Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Entertainment
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The timeless music of The Band is finally being celebrated on a tribute album entitled Endless Highway, which was released Jan. 30 on 429 records. The compilation picks out songs that made The Band a legend, and deeper album tracks that are favorites among fans of the Canadian quintet that played behind the likes of Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan.
The artists that came to pay tribute on the album vary in their styles and popularity. Some tried to stay true to The Band's versions, while others tried to give different interpretations. Death Cab for Cutie gives one of the strongest performances on the album with a rendition of "Rocking Chair". It was quite a feat for the indie-band to pull off a song about "pushin' age 73" and a home in Virginia, but they have the ability to create that environment. Like The Band, Death Cab can disguise themselves in their songs by transporting themselves to a different time, with mysterious historical characters in an unfamiliar town. The songs still feel friendly and like a piece of home, though.
Another amazing performance comes from a relatively unknown Canadian-born singer-songwriter, Steve Reynolds. He gives a fitting tribute to Rick Danko's spotlight song, "Stage Fright." He strips it down completely and adds colorful finger picking in the middle of the low-key backing that plays around him. Until you hear the lyrics, it's hard to notice the song at first.
Gov't Mule also tries to take a song in a different direction. On paper, Warren Haynes and company couldn't really have messed up on "The Shape I'm In". They really take the song the extra mile, though, by adding an extended fusion intro complete with horns. Haynes' delicate riffs are balanced with low organ playing. In concert, The Band used to play their songs similarly to the album versions and they rarely stretched them out. Gov't Mule, though, never loses the feeling of the song in the elongated time during "The Shape I'm In."
The Bob Dylan penned song "I Shall Be Released" is done by Hawaii's favorite son, Jack Johnson. He fails to step out of his musical realm, and the version is rather dull. It is not proper to compare the covered version to the original, but The Band version is just so much better. Emotion and feeling can be heard in Richard Manuel's haunting falsetto voice, and the listener really misses out by hearing Jack Johnson's version. It sounds very uninspired and falls short of grabbing the listener. A collaboration between another or multiple artists would have made the song more interesting.
The artists that came to pay tribute on the album vary in their styles and popularity. Some tried to stay true to The Band's versions, while others tried to give different interpretations. Death Cab for Cutie gives one of the strongest performances on the album with a rendition of "Rocking Chair". It was quite a feat for the indie-band to pull off a song about "pushin' age 73" and a home in Virginia, but they have the ability to create that environment. Like The Band, Death Cab can disguise themselves in their songs by transporting themselves to a different time, with mysterious historical characters in an unfamiliar town. The songs still feel friendly and like a piece of home, though.
Another amazing performance comes from a relatively unknown Canadian-born singer-songwriter, Steve Reynolds. He gives a fitting tribute to Rick Danko's spotlight song, "Stage Fright." He strips it down completely and adds colorful finger picking in the middle of the low-key backing that plays around him. Until you hear the lyrics, it's hard to notice the song at first.
Gov't Mule also tries to take a song in a different direction. On paper, Warren Haynes and company couldn't really have messed up on "The Shape I'm In". They really take the song the extra mile, though, by adding an extended fusion intro complete with horns. Haynes' delicate riffs are balanced with low organ playing. In concert, The Band used to play their songs similarly to the album versions and they rarely stretched them out. Gov't Mule, though, never loses the feeling of the song in the elongated time during "The Shape I'm In."
The Bob Dylan penned song "I Shall Be Released" is done by Hawaii's favorite son, Jack Johnson. He fails to step out of his musical realm, and the version is rather dull. It is not proper to compare the covered version to the original, but The Band version is just so much better. Emotion and feeling can be heard in Richard Manuel's haunting falsetto voice, and the listener really misses out by hearing Jack Johnson's version. It sounds very uninspired and falls short of grabbing the listener. A collaboration between another or multiple artists would have made the song more interesting.
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K
posted 2/16/07 @ 3:32 PM EST
Some really great tracks on this record and worth checking out. It's nice to be able to relive memories of the band again.
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