Once Were Brothers in theaters Friday, February 28th


The new documentary on the greatest self-contained (songs, instruments, vocals) Rock ’n’ Roll band in the music’s history---The Band, is in theaters tomorrow. Quotations from the movie:

John Hammond Jr.: "Bob Dylan thought they were phenomenal. So he hired the guys."

Taj Mahal: "If there was any American musicians that were comparable to what The Beatles were, it woulda been them."

Bruce Springsteen: "There is no band that emphasizes becoming greater than the sum of their parts than The Band. (I disagree; even taken individually, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manual, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson are master musicians, singers, and songwriters).

Bruce continues: "When they came together, something miraculous occurred."

Eric Clapton: (upon hearing Music From Big Pink) "I thought, this is huge. It changed my life."

Mine too, along with every good musician I knew then and have known since.

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Showing 3 responses by rpeluso

Thank you for the info bdp.  I find it a little disconcerting that one surviving member seems to have a slightly different view of the collective known as The Band.  Recent interviews, statements, make me much more sympathetic to Levon's views on this person (very clearly exposed in his book) than they ever were.  And I was always in Levon's camp.  The Band was just that, a band, rather than a collection of backing musicians supporting the vision of a leader.  I miss Levon, Richard, Rick, and wonder what Garth is doing and feeling these days.  Levon, at his barn, was pure love and magic.  
I, for one, always appreciate/look forward to (but rarely agree with) Schubert's posts.  He is nothing if not consistent in his views/criticisms.  I find them refreshing in their consistency and honesty, even though I agree with him nearly never.  

Well, okay, never.  

I may be Schubert for next Halloween.  
Eric, happy to see you can forgive and forget!  

We all will be old (er) some day

I hope.  

His predictability I find charming.  And amusing.  I am always looking for things to make me smile, or laugh out loud.  Schubert seems to do that with his words, short, terse, and biting.  I wonder how he is in real life, in person.  I have a mental picture that I am certain bears little in common with reality.