The Band will release multiple 50th Anniversary editions of their 1968 debut, “Music From Big Pink”, on August 31.
Generally considered as one of the most influential records of the rock era, the project mixed a variety of styles into a new sound apart from the popular music of the period while being credited, among other things, as the start of the Americana music genre.
"We wanted Music From Big Pink to sound like nothing anyone else was doing,” wrote drummer Levon Helm in his 1993 memoir, “This Wheel's On Fire.” “This was our music, honed in isolation from the radio and contemporary trends."
Produced by John Simon and recorded over two weeks after songwriting sessions at the “Big Pink” house in upstate New York, “Music From Big Pink” included three songs written or co-written by Bob Dylan, who the group previously backed on tour and whose painting was used as the set’s cover art.
"We had all of that gathering – the woodshedding and paying our dues, all of that dripping into the music," explains guitarist Robbie Robertson. "This didn't sound like anything we had done with Ronnie Hawkins, what we had done as Levon and the Hawks, or what we played on the Dylan tour. This was a music that – hopefully – lived in a time and space that you couldn't quite put your finger on."
The newly-remixed and expanded 50th Anniversary Edition packages include a Super Deluxe CD/Blu-ray/2LP/7-inch vinyl box set with a hardbound book; 1CD, digital, 180-gram 2LP black vinyl, and limited edition 180-gram 2LP pink vinyl sets.
All configurations feature a new stereo mix for the album produced by Bob Clearmountain from the original four-track analog masters, achieving a striking clarity and incorporating some previously unreleased chatter from the studio sessions.
The 50th Anniversary Edition's CD, digital, and box set configurations also include five outtakes and alternate recordings from the sessions and a previously unreleased a cappella version of "I Shall Be Released."
Exclusively for the box set, Clearmountain has also produced a new 5.1 surround mix for the album and the bonus tracks, presented on Blu-ray with the new stereo mix in high resolution audio (96kHz/24bit). The box also includes an exclusive reproduction of The Band's 1968 7-inch vinyl single for "The Weight" / "I Shall Be Released" in their new stereo mixes and a hardbound book with a new essay by music journalist David Fricke and classic photos by Elliott Landy.
In 1989, The Band was inducted into Canada's Juno Hall Of Fame and five years later they were accorded the same honor by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame; in 2008, they were honored with The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Band
“Music From Big Pink (50th Anniversary Edition)”
Release date: August 31
01. Tears Of Rage
02. To Kingdom Come
03. In A Station
04. Caledonia Mission
05. The Weight
06. We Can Talk
07. Long Black Veil
08. Chest Fever
09. Lonesome Suzie
10. This Wheel’s On Fire
11. I Shall Be Released
Bonus Tracks
12. Yazoo Street Scandal (Outtake)
13. Tears Of Rage (Alternate Take)
14. Long Distance Operator (Outtake)
15. Lonesome Suzie (Alternate Take)
16. Key To The Highway (Outtake)
17. I Shall Be Released (A Cappella)
See also:
VIDEO: Jimmy Fallon and The Muppets perform classic by The Band
VIDEO: The Black Keys & John Fogerty pay tribute to The Band’s Levon Helm
Robbie Robertson to write autobiography
Search The Band at hennemusic
