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The Band on MFSL

I stumbled upon "The Last Waltz" on PBS the other day and am falling in love all over again with The Band. I've got an early 80s MFSL "Big Pink" which I listened to end to end the other day--magnificent. I'm wondering if/when their self-titled sophomore effort will be released on MFSL. I've seen reference to it in TAS (reviewers using it at shows) and thought I saw a March 31 anticipated release BUT I called Acoustic Sounds today and they don't know anything about this title coming out on MoFi. Does anyone know anything about this release? Also, I'd be interested in hearing what people think about the MoFi "Rock of Ages" LP which captures The Band live. Fremer wrote a positive review but gave it an "8" for sound quality, which is pretty low for him. Anyone care to comment on the sound quality of this LP (and the performance too)?
dodgealum
slaw's avatar
slaw
20,573 posts
 
I've owned The Band "S/T" on MFSL (lp) for over a year.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,551 posts
 

The Bands second album (S/T, "brown") album was once again released on LP by Mobile Fidelity in 2013, catalog no. 1-419; they had already put out a version in the 80’s, around the time of your copy of Music From Big Pink. By the way, MFSL has also redone MFBP, with improved sound compared to the 80’s version. Tim de Paravicini of EAR-Yoshino has worked on MFSL’s playback equipment, one reason for the improvement. What IS new is the brown album on a MFSL SACD. MFBP is also available on an SACD by them.

Both the 1st and 2nd Band albums have had many pressings, the best being the original Capitol "lime green" label ones---look for "RL" scratched into the run-out groove area by the label. Robert Ludwig did the original mastering, and for best sound that’s the version you want. Of course, everyone should have all three--the original Capitol lime green label "RL’s", the new (second version) MFSL LP’s, and the MFSL SACD’s. THAT’S how good the first two Band albums are!

The Last Waltz, being a live recording, and with many guests artists, some of dubious merit (Neil Diamond? Robbie wanted him there because he was producing an album with him at the time. Joni Mitchell---with The Band?!), isn’t worth worrying about imo. They were captured much better at The Academy of Music in 1971, and released on LP as "Rock of Ages", as you mentioned. I haven’t heard and don’t own the MFSL LP version, but there is now an expanded version of that album available as a CD boxset entitled "Live at The Academy of Music 1971". Another must-have is The Band’s double-LP live collaboration with Dylan entitled "Before The Flood", they backing him as well as doing a set by themselves. They are the best band he ever had, and he is spittin’ fire!

You also want the CD boxset entitled "The Band---A Musical History". Lots of previously-unreleased and rare music, as well as regular album tracks.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,551 posts
 
Oh, and the 3rd and 4th Band albums, "Stage Fright" and "Cahoots", are also available on MFSL LP and SACD. Though not up to the level of their first two albums (nothing is!), they are well worth having. Todd Rundgren produced SF, and he was not up to the task. The first two were masterfully produced by John Simon, Cahoots by The Band themselves. "Cahoots" contains a killer duet between Richard Manuel and Van Morrison, "4% Pantomime".
slaw's avatar
slaw
20,573 posts
 
bdp24,

I'm not going to disagree with you, just post my experience.

A couple of years ago I heard Fremer's digital files of several cuts at a stereo shop. One was from his early pressing of The Band "S/T" (RL). It sounded great! Of coarse that was an early pressing of the original and he has better playback equipment than I.

Last evening, I compared sides 1 from my two copies. Overall I preferred the MFSL. of coarse my original is surely not an early pressing. It does have (RL) in the dead wax. My point is that this pressing is most likely one where an earlier original sounds better than a later original.

The horns sounded more natural on my original but the soundstage was more closed in. The MFSL... the soundstage much wider, more involving to me in this way. There is a lot of bass info and one needs a resolving enough set-up to navigate it correctly or it will be dark or muffled.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,551 posts
 
Disagreement welcome slaw! I actually haven’t compared back-to-back my RL lime green Capitol pressings of the 1st and 2nd Band albums to the MFSL ones now available. I just acquired Mint copies of the Capitols, as well as the current LP and SACD versions from MFSL. I’ve been listening to the British pressings of both albums since I bought them new in 1971, only fairly recently learning of the RL-mastered Capitols. Thank God for Michael Fremer! The UK pressings were made from a 1st generation copy of the masters, but I got them because they were SO much better than the U.S. ones, in terms of vinyl. Quiet (low surface noise) and flat, in contrast to the terrible U.S. Capitol pressings of the late 60’s/early 70’s. The Capitol LP’s I just got are at least flat, whether or not they are quiet remains to be heard!
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