Music From Big Pink

The Weight is an absolute classic and the rest of the album pales in comparison but it’s all still pretty good

Déjà écouté avant.

Top : The Weight
Flop : In a Station

Relaxing way to start my Sunday morning. Good timing. Americana rock.

Another record that I have heard a squillion times, having known a large number of people who like Dylan and The Band in my day.

The slow songs on here drag a bit, but I like the faster tracks that sound a little honky-tonk or Cajun or whatever on here. And then there's "Chest Fever" with its memorable organ bits, and of course "Long Black Veil" - who can resist a folksong sung from beyond the grave.

3 stars - I enjoyed hearing most of this again today, but I feel like I've heard it enough times over the past decades to consider it done at this point.

Not the most interesting thing ever. It's fine. Not amazing but still pretty good.

In the 1960s, The Band was Bob Dylan's backing band, and the five gentlemen present themselves here as a well-rehearsed group. “Music From Big Pink” refers to the house where The Band and Bob Dylan recorded songs in the basement.
So much for the charming background to today's album. The music presented is good, but not particularly exciting. In terms of craftsmanship and production, it is the best that the era had to offer. What is missing are truly distinctive individualists and outstanding song ideas. The folk rock mix with blues and jazz elements is tastefully arranged, but also works well in the background.
I am tempted to say that The Band probably had their best moments under the name Bob Dylan. Nevertheless, this album is a piece of rock history and I think it's worth listening to.

This grew on me the more I listened to it and of course there are a couple of standout classics.

This grew on me the further into it I got. Everything after "The Weight" was alright by me... "Chest Fever" was especially intriguing. No real home runs, and I'm still trying to understand the zealotry this album inspires. Maybe you had to be there? It is very unique for its time I suppose. Technically good musicians but a wee bit sluggish, digging into that rootsy sound... like if the Grateful Dead decided to tune up and drink a cup of coffee.

They are very good musicians, but I was a little bored throughout the album. Got excited when The Weight came on, but there were only a couple of other songs that stood out to me. Cool album cover though.

I enjoy it, specifically the hits.

Music From Big Pink is a remarkably assured debut from The Band, and one that immediately stands out for its breadth and confidence. The album blends country, rock, folk, blues, R&B and soul with an ease that feels completely natural rather than showy. There’s a sense that this band already knew exactly who they were from the outset.

Reading up on the background only deepens the appreciation. I hadn’t realised quite how closely connected they were to Bob Dylan before this record, touring as his backing band and co-writing three of the songs here. His influence is unmistakable throughout, not just in the songwriting but in the album’s loose, rootsy feel and understated confidence.

What really works for me is the variety. Music From Big Pink is an enjoyable, rewarding listen with several standout tracks, and it’s an album I can see myself returning to. It’s also made me keen to dig further into the band’s back catalogue, which feels like a strong endorsement for any debut.

Favourite tracks: There are many excellent tracks. This Wheel’s on Fire is a standout, though I can’t help wondering if I slightly prefer the Absolutely Fabulous cover. To Kingdom Come, Long Black Veil and We Can Talk were also real highlights.

Least favourite tracks: The album does start on a slightly dull note for me. Tears of Rage is a slog, and some of the slower songs elsewhere struggle to hold my attention.

Album artwork: A beautiful cover, painted by Bob Dylan himself. It perfectly suits the feel of the record and adds to its timeless, rustic charm.

Dette er vel brått det mest countryaktige albumet til The Band, og det var en stor innflytelse for både countryrockere og band i helt andre sjangre. Det var motstrøms da hippibevegelsen begynte å ligne hovedstrøms. Da alle skulle gjøre de mest spaca greiene, med lange låter og dilldall, tok The Band det helt ned.

Jeg syns til og med det er modig å starte et album med en låt som "Tears of Rage". Den har ikke starterenergi, men akkurat her er det kanskje poenget? I The Band-katalogen har jeg holdt konsertalbumene høyest, og den selvtitulerte oppfølgeren har flest av favorittene mine.

Men Music From Big Pink er virkelig et flott album. Jeg tror til og med plata kunne klart seg uten "The Weight", men det er selvfølgelig best at den er der. En av all time beste låter.

Selv om The Band på dette tidspunktet var uløselig knyttet med Bob Dylan, så står de helt på egne ben. Joda, han har malt coveret og skrevet "This Wheel's On Fire" og "I Shall Be Released", og er medskribent på "Tears of Rage". Sånn sett hadde de mye å bevise, og de innfrir, og har en enorm selvtillit, spilleglede og kameratskap mens de gjør det. Jeg tror den eneste låta som ødelegger stemningen litt er "To Kingdom Come", som låter fjollete, men som er irriterende catchy også.

Det kan også nevnes at jeg pleide å være med i Facebook-gruppen: The Band is called The Band because they are THE Band

čista solidna trojka. ništa posebno dobro ni loše. uhu niti smeta niti štajaznam koliko godi. raznovrsnost, koju neki ističu kao manu, meni je prije pozitivna strana

It didn't do much for me

The Good: We get to listen to Big Pink’s music!!!
The Bad: They forgot the Floyd…
The Ugly: Forgetting what The Band is called…

You get a little of this, then a little of that, but you never get what you are looking for… that’s the way I feel about listening to this album.

Sure, there are some great hits on this album, and the production is spot on, at least while the sounds are coming through my speakers… Yet there’s something missing… Cohesion, maybe?

Then there’s the vocal shenanigans going on… where I am not a big fan of Dick’s voice, instead wishing that there were more songs involving Helms vocals wizardry…

Yet, for all my bitching and complaining, I will still dish out 4* to this outing, but I know that I want to listen to it again, maybe on a nice relaxed day while I have nothing better to do then take a country road ride, or just sit in a nice recliner while having a nice cold beer...

Very cool and easy to listen to, but not that much more for me.

I’ve had this downloaded for about a month now, ever since I generated their self titled album, so at last I finally gave it a listen and I really enjoyed it. It didn’t blow me away like The Band did but it’s still a great album that I’ll be going back to.

Top Track - The Weight

A classic for a reason. Completely chill & laid back vibes with nice songwriting and pleasant music to go with it. Can't go wrong here.
4

“The Weight” is a classic - how many movies have had their happy ending set to this song? But the rest of this felt very monotonous (in the “monotone” sense more than the “long and tedious” sense). If you’re going to be THE Band, I need you to do more. The other standout for me would be "I Shall Be Released", but the Neil Young-esque falsetto vocals don't work for me here.

For the most part, this is solid (if totally ignorable) background music.

It was whatever. Appreciate that they're from TRONNO though