Music From Big Pink

I can hear how influential this is and it kinda grooves sometimes. But I find the vocals a bit grating and overall it’s just not for me.

And yet another album by The Band. I don't mind this kind of country rock. It's actually quite nice to listen to it. I'm sure it's nice to listen to them on long drives through the USA, but I'm not looking for this kind of music and probably won't listen to this album again.
3/5

I officially hate The Band. I'll give them The Weight just because "Take a load off, Fanny," is kind of funny. Oh and the going rumor is that "Fanny" was a woman who slept with three members of The Band and gave John Belushi his lethal overdose? I no nothing about The Band and am surprised Bob Dylan made the cover artwork and they toured with Dylan before making this album. Still, this music doesn't do it for me. I was driving and it put me to sleep. A little later in the album it picks up a bit and switches from country to a more rock kind of sound - We Can Talk, Chest Fever, and This Wheel's on Fire all piqued my interest, but that's not enough to make me rate this album highly. 2 stars because I didn't hate everything but I hated more than I enjoyed.

Nice chill songs

3 ⭐️

Given everything about this I feel as though I should love it much more than I do. It’s just fine to me. I understand the influence it had, but the pieces don’t seem to come together for me. Favorite songs were The Weight, We Can Talk, and Chest Fever.

The Weight and Long Back Veil are both great. The rest is good 60's rock. Feels pretty laid back and easy going. Music for lounging more than activities, but I would definitely throw it on for sitting on a dock on a hot day.

Surprisingly, I’m gonna go with a 5.

This album feels way way ahead of schedule for 1968 in terms of the general folksy sound that would come to pass by the mid-70s and early 80s; I think the percussion and guitar work are off the charts here. There’s not a single “bad” track on this album either; there are a few that go a little long, but they’re all great listens as far as catching the ear and keeping it engaged.

In general, despite being Bob Dylan’s backing band for a bit, it speaks to the talent that Bob Dylan surrounded himself with for them to produce something that feels this sort of influential and groundbreaking with only a small (but still sizable) portion of his musical DNA scattered throughout the record. There’s just some incredibly cool soundscapes here that have aged fabulously for the 55 years since this album came out, and I think that’ll give it a 5 from me.

This album is proof to me that I've gone soft whennit comes to music. That, or I've broadened my horizons when it comes to the medium, but I'd be surprised something like that happened so quickly. I say that because I used to quite dislike this album, and as recently as Autumn of 2023, I still didn't get the Band. However, this listen I found myself quite enjoying this. Sure, its got a lot of dull moments, especially in the middle of the album, but it has a feeling of amateur, fireside music with some true passion behind the music, and I found a lot of the songs sticking with me more than I would have ever expected it to. Its repetitive tonally, I don't think all the hits are zingers, and I still totally see why I disliked this only half a year ago, but there was just something nice about this go around. Perhaps that's the power of a good set of headphones, or maybe I'm getting soft suddenly, but I enioyed this. I'm actually quite happy about that, as I've always enjoyed Bob Dylan's artwork as the cover, so I was sad all that time that this didn't live up to the hype for me. Still just an alright album, but I'll say I'm certainly pleasantly surprised. Suppose that should tell you to check in with the music you don't like every now and then, you may just change your mind.

Something something the weight? Ellers ikke superduper

I enjoyed listening to most of this, though there were one or two songs that the vocals made me cringe a little. But I can ignore that since the rest of the album is so strong. The Weight is one that's just fun to listen to and sing along with.

I find this album frustrating. Every track has a spark of something I would be extremely interested in listening to, but - with very few exceptions - no track ever really get there.

Eerder kregen we het album The Band van deze band. Dat sprak aan. Lekker swingende rock of rockende blues. Hier had ik dus wel zin in. Maar dit album zit veel dichter bij country. Niet mijn stijl. Het is veel minder enerverend. Het houdt wel zijn kwaliteit, dus ik houd het op 3 sterren.

Kinda boring

A lovely warm hug of an album, as comforting as a bowl of soup on a winter day. Washes over you like the ocean on a shore, but further listens really show the skill of the band. I loved it, even more than the other album of theirs that i had a few weeks ago.

Pretty enjoyable. The weight is a classic.

Not bad for a backing band. Struggling with this rating some absolute classic songs which I enjoyed but also got a bit too cheesy harmony at points it reminded me of the eagles. So been swaying for the last few days between a 3 & 4. It’s an important early rock album with a good mix of music and a couple of key great songs edges it to a 4 star album.

It's The Band again. Mostly ok album. I liked this better than their second album, but it's still not really my thing

To Kingdom Come borderline unlistenable. By track 4 I'm trying to white knuckle my way through the rest of this. Sorry, couldn't do it. Bailed at track 7.

Solid easy listening music. Love The Weight. 4/5

The Band are a psychadelic folk rock/blues band from the 60's. They formed in Canada, and included both Canadian, and American artists. This is their debut album, and the song The Weight launched them into stardom. They came from humble beginnings, as Ronnie Hawkins' backup band "The Hawks", then later, Bob Dylan's backup band, "The Band".

After Dylan had his motorcycle crash, and was finished touring while he healed, these guys spent time in rural NY, just living that rural lifestyle, smoking pot, and writing beautiful music. The harmonies reached by the band members is awesome! These guys have a way of sounding like a bunch of lads having a jam session, while also sounding polished. Levon Helm has a great singing voice (as seen on The Weight). The fact that he can play drums so cleanly while also singing flawlessly is awesome.

Apparently this album is so good, it made Eric Clapton disband Cream and persue his solo career instead.

Overall, a great album. Nothing wrong with it, but just not necessarily something I would actively seek out either. A lot of folk rock/Americana that followed can trace its roots to these guys, and this record.

Favourite songs: The Weight, Long Black Veil, To Kingdom Come, We Can Talk, Chest Fever, The Wheel's On Fire

Least favourite songs: Lonesome Suzie

3/5