Music From Big Pink

Take a Load Off is good the rest not so much

*Like the use of jazz organ and it has some moments with some funky riffs
*Just too slow/mid tempo for me to truly enjoy all the way through

Fun record, country rock jams that have a feel of americana future to them.

The first track started out promisingly through carving out a wonderful atmosphere for itself, however it very quickly began to feel a bit laborious and drawn out (a common thread throughout the rest of the album, despite the relatively modest track lengths). The piano arrangements and rumbling bass work are the MVPs here, but something about the vocal style didn't quite do it for me, and the album plods on at a very pedestrian pace which didn't satisfy what I was after today. Nothing egregious here, but I can't see this forming a part of my regular rotation.

A fairly enjoyable album from the 60s? Crazy! Very fun piano and organ parts on this one, which give it an almost jazzy feel. I had a good time.

Standout: Lonesome Suzie

Although I slightly prefer the follow-up, this one is still absolutely perfect. Magical, even. Many groups tried to copy this record, but it's impossible to duplicate.

5/5

"The Band" - both very familiar and simultaneously hard to name any of their tracks. Ah yes, the one about dropping my load on Sally, that's right.

Surely only on this list for being Dylan adjacent - nothing radically different from any other folky, daydreamy, harmonies, let's listen to at a campfire as the sun goes down 60s vibe.

why does the lead vocalist sound on the verge of tears??? I like The Weight but otherwise, meh.

The Weight is such a great song, but the rest was very mid.

It's pretty chill, and I like some of the different instruments they use, but it's a bit boring

3.5

I expected to like this, and I just kind of don't. It's almost frustrating, like I can't really articulate why. I think I'm finding out that the style of blues rock that runs through this isn't really my thing. That being said, I honestly can't say its bad per say. I like a lot of the lyrics across this, and I see the appeal of these songs. Despite this, the parts of this album that appeal most to me are the little detours, the more folk or country moments mostly work for me, but that also may have something to do with the greasy Bob Dylan fingerprints that seem to be all over these songs in particular. Of the bluesy-er songs here, I will say I do like Chest Fever quite a bit, and I think the New Orleans blues passage comes out of no where, but really works. Regardless, this whole thing has moments, but it doesn't really work for me as a whole.

The birth of Americana, taking rock, blues, folk, R&B, soul, country, and swirling it all together in a pot. Everyone comes together and gets their chance to shine, nothing is wasted.

"Tears Of Rage" and "The Weight" stand out, but don't sleep on "Caledonia Mission" and "This Wheels On Fire"

Better than Coldplay

'Now you look out the window tell me / What do you see? / I see a golden calf pointing / Back at me.' The Band, at bottom, is gospel-rock, tho they may be completely secular for all I know. It has more to do with their lyrics, which center on the philosophical and parabolic, and their sermonic vocal style and instrumentation. Formed in Toronto, they sure feel like they hail from Modoc, Arkansas ('Caledonia Mission'). Unlike John Fogerty, keening for the unfortunate sons, The Band, organ-driven, proffers an adventure in unconscious religiosity. Their songs are not exactly catchy, tho everyone knows 'The Weight.' More accurately, they grab hold of you, as any deft preacher would. A bit uneven, but mostly an excellent, sui generis affair.

Whoa ! the Band! Great love this band. But I would not say this is my favorite albums of theirs so sorry 4* I will make it up with Stagefright/Brown album though.

Not a bad album, certainly one worth having on in the background. But it's not one that I think I could dive into. At least, I couldn't dive into it today.

The Weight is a classic. Having looked into the history I can see why this is an important album and I like how it sounds but it doesn't stand out to me, maybe it did at the time. 3/5

Finds top. Das andere self-titled Album aber ggf. noch einen Tacken besser.

Another pretty over-rated classic. Hugely influential in orienting 60s rock towards a folksy Americana sound, this album is full of traditional melodies, soul crooning, gospel tinged RnB arrangements and rootsy instrumentation, capturing a bucolic hippy mood. Some good songs, some nice guitar playing, too much organ vamping and a thin voice that I've never felt properly occupies the space created for it. There's also a lot more going on here than the stripped down barn-core aestheics suggest, the proto synth sounding keyboard stuff in particular.