Oakland's Vinyl Vault - The Band

This week I've got another good one for you, reader.  It's the classic eponymous album from The Band.

Release Date: September 22, 1969
Singles: Rag Mama Rag, Up on Cripple Creek

There are very few things where a person can say the [noun], and everybody knows what is being talked about.  There is no "The Car" or "The Sandwich," but there are "The Pill," and "The Catch." So if you're going to go around calling yourself "The Band," you'd better be good.  Luckily for the Band, and us, they are damn good.  And their self-titled album, sometimes referred to as "The Brown Album," is probably their best album.

Musically, it's not your typical 1969 rock 'n' roll album.  It feels older.  It sounds sepia-toned.  It takes you back to a time where things were all black and white, life was simple.  There's influences from country, rag-time, blues, and rock and roll.  The result is spectacular.

This album is a joy to listen to, and it sounds like the Band had a good time making it too.  Each member plays different instruments on different songs, there are three different lead singers throughout the album, there's horns, and a fiddle, and a clavinet.

Rating: 15 thumbs up - This is about as good as an album gets for me.  It's a timeless album.  If I could figure out a way to put my turntable on repeat (and have it automatically flip the album each time), I would listen to this album over and over and over again.  I highly recommend checking it out.

It was hard to pick a song from this album, because I enjoy them all.  But here is "Rockin' Chair," and if you want to go listen to the rest of the album on your own, that's fine by me.



Pat is crazy.