Film review and podcast by c d kaplan
As unassuming as Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm and Rick Danko were, it still was a smidge audacious naming their group, The Band.
What the rock and roll universe soon understood, from the release of their debut album, “Music From Big Pink,” was not only how incredibly gifted the ensemble was, but that they were deserving of such a simple, iconic name.
The Band in its original form played its last gig at the famous Last Waltz concert on Thanksgiving night, 1976. Manuel, Danko and Helm have all passed away. Hudson lives a private life with his family in upstate New York.
So, it is the ever upfront Robertson’s view of the group’s history we get.
Fortunately that singleness of perspective doesn’t diminish the experience of seeing this documentary.
Which I heartily recommend to anyone who cares about rock & roll.
For more, listen to the podcast above.
Ready for more great music? wfpk.org/stream
