doowad

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Member Since: 5/24/2005
Total Mixes: 161
Total Feedback: 3067

Other Mixes By doowad

Cassette | Singer/Songwriter
CD | Theme
CD | Theme

RR=CM (2 CDs)
Avarice & the Group Mentality

Side A
Artist Song
Garth & Maud Hudson  No Depression in Heaven
The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited, 2006 
The Band  Chest Fever
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
The Band  In a Station
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
The Band  Caledonia Mission
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
The Band  Long Black Veil
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
The Band with the Staples Singers  The Weight
The Last Waltz Rhino Box Set, 2002 
The Hawks  Ain't No More Cane
The Basement Tapes, 1975 
Levon Helm  Quantrill's Guerillas
White Mansions/Legend of Jesse James, 1999 
The Band  The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Rock of Ages, 1972 
Garth & Maud Hudson  Blind Willie McTell
Live At The Wolf, 2003 
Levon Helm  Poor Old Dirt Farmer
Dirt Farmer, 2007 
Rick Danko  New Mexico
Rick Danko, 1975 
The Band  Atlantic City
Jericho, 1993 
Rick Danko  Ripple
Rick Danko, 1975 
Levon Helm  Don't Ya Tell Henry
Ties That Bind: The Best of Levon Helm 1975-1996, 1996 
The Band  Remedy
Jericho, 1993 
Rick Danko  Sip The Wine
Rick Danko, 1975 
The Band  Tears of Rage
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
Side B
ArtistSongBuy
The Hawks  Katie's Been Gone
The Basement Tapes, 1975 
The Band  Crazy Mama
High On The Hog, 1996 
The Hawks  Bessie Smith
The Basement Tapes, 1975 
The Band  She Knows
High On The Hog, 1996 
Levon Helm  Single Girl, Married Girl
Dirt Farmer, 2007 
The Band  Lonesome Suzie
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
The Band  French Girls
Jubilation, 1998 
The Band  Country Boy
Jericho, 1993 
The Band  Stage Fright
Rock of Ages, 1972 
John Martyn & Levon Helm  Rock, Salt & Nails
Couldn't Love You More/No Little Boy, 2000 
Rick Danko & Garth Hudson  Twilight
Best Of Mountain Stage - Volume 1, 1991 
The Band  When I Paint My Masterpiece
Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, 1993 
The Band  I Shall Be Released
Music From Big Pink, 1968 
Levon Helm  Wide River to Cross
Dirt Farmer, 2007 
The Band  The Great Pretender
Moondog Matinee, 1973 
Los Lobos con Levon Helm  Little John of God
The Neighborhood, 1990 
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Levon Helm  When I Get My Rewards
Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 2, 1989 
Ringo Starr with Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson & Charles Manson  Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)
Ringo, 1973 
Muddy Waters with Levon Helm & Garth Hudson  Let The Good Times Roll
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, 1975 
The Band  Shine A Light
Jericho, 1993 

Comment:

Robbie Robertson was to the Band what Charlie Manson was to the Family.

Obviously Robbie was no killer, but he was able to manipulate his drug-addled cohorts much like Charlie did to his girls (and guys). Charlie would dose just a little less than the rest of the Family just to keep the scene under his control. While Rick, Richard & Levon (Garth is not really of this world) were busy building formidable drug habits, Robbie consolidated all the publishing under one name just to "keep things simple". Proof of the Devil's power on Earth is seeing Robbie prosper while Levon battles throat cancer and Richard and Rick lose their own battles. This mix was conceived a while ago, but it is only the release of Dirt Farmer, restoring Levon's true stature, that paved the way.Let's get the history straight, the Hawks were put together by Ronnie Hawkins, unlike Charlie forming the Family. And we must not forget that between the time they worked with Hawkins and Bob, they were known as Levon and the Hawks, not "Robbie and the Hawks". Divinyl's comment serves as the Prosecution's Exhibit A, the fact that Robbie has twisted his "legacy" such that many people believe he is the soul *cough* of the Band.Now I am a firm believer in the Band's mythology, the hard-working group touring behind Ronnie and then Dylan, following Bob up to Woodstock and to the magic of Big Pink. Personally, the release of JWH and MFBP in the span of a few months tore down the psychedelic world. You may ask yourself how I can make a Band single-artist tribute without a tune from the Brown album proper? Well, although that stands as one of the greatest albums of all time in any genre, it is also Exhibit B in the prosecution's case against el Sr. Robertson. It would be very naive to believe that Levon contributed only vocals and drums to a song like Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Proof that Robbie was not the only songwriter in the group is simple. Two of Dylan's greatest songs, Tears of Rage and This Wheel's On Fire, were co-written with Manuel and Danko respectively.


Anyway, this is a mish-mash of my favorite pre-Band, Band and post-Band tunes, as Robbie-less as possible, but since they were such an integral, cohesive group, it is of course impossible to leave him out altogether. The fact that his overwhelming ego could make every effort to dominate such an egoless collective force, the whole reason they are simply "The Band", is the Prosecution's Exhibit C. To answer Rupert's comment below, the are not The Band standing above all others, but they are simply the band, that is to say the essence of a true group, beyond individual ego (in theory, that is, which further proves my point). And of course they became The Band because they were Dylan's Band.
The Prosecution's Exhibit D is Neil Diamond's presence at the Last Waltz. Now I am a closeted fan of Mr. Diamond, but I fully admit that he does not belong on the same stage as Joni, Neil Young, Van the Man, Dylan, Muddy, etc., but since Robbie was producing Beautiful Noise at the time, Neil got the chance to plug his new album in the Martin Scorcese film.

Further evidence related to the Last Waltz is the Prosecution's Final Exhibit, which is the fact that Levon actually had to wake out of his stupor and throw his weight around just for the legendary Muddy Waters to get a chance to share the stage with Mr. Diamond and his leisure suit. Case closed.




Feedback:

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njr
Date: 5/23/2008
Wow! A negative-polarity single artist mix! Always a surprise or two in store with your submissions.
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mahdishain
Date: 5/23/2008
It's this kind of analysis that you can only find on AofM. Bravo!
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The Cat Mandu
Date: 5/23/2008
now there is a conspiracy theory. I'm impressed.
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divinyl
Date: 5/23/2008
If Robbie was that sharp, I say more power to him. He did know how to put a band together.
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KathrynandRupert
Date: 5/23/2008
They're very worthy The Band, you can tell by all the facial hair, and the fact that they call themselves The Band as if to imply they have no equal. So I've always done my best to avoid them as I find megalomania tiresome and smugness repellant. I'm sure their music is excellent, faultless etc. but sometimes perfection persuades me to look away. I maybe depriving myself of an uplifting experience but your examplary notes Doowad may encourage me to explore their work.
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hemizen
Date: 5/24/2008
Love this, love the Band, love Levon Helm and love Katie's Been Gone.
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sport !
Date: 5/24/2008
GREAT notes, great mix. I think Robbie actually re-shot some live scenes with Scorcese in the Last Waltz because he a. wanted more camera time and b. he wanted to look better. I don't think Levon has talked to him in decades. That being said; he is an outstanding songwriter, guitarist and I even like his fairly weak voice.
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Texas Hobart
Date: 5/24/2008
This is really great.I would love to hear this.
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anthony lombardi
Date: 5/24/2008
great notes & great mix, derek - my favorite are of course the basement tape tracks, but i love everything here that i know
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Rob Conroy
Date: 5/25/2008
This is a great, worthy mix, and I'm with you 100% re: Robertson, although I absolutely love his guitar-playing and some of his songwriting.
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Curtis_Burns
Date: 5/25/2008
Brilliant.
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Funky Ratchet
Date: 5/27/2008
That's some compelling evidence. I say he's guilty.
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p the swede
Date: 5/27/2008
fantastic
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Media Vixen: Radio Sally
Date: 5/28/2008
Interesting, at the very least. I was a huge fan of RR and loved his Telecaster. On the other hand, I have wondered how he managed to do so well and poor Richard and Levon, clearly brilliant, did not.
No matter what, the Band's story will make one hell of a bio-pic someday. In general, though, I agree with Rob.