The Band, “Get Up Jake” from ‘Rock of Ages’ (1972): Across the Great Divide
“Get Up Jake” initially got left off 1969’s ‘The Band,’ apparently because it sounded too much of a piece.
“Get Up Jake” initially got left off 1969’s ‘The Band,’ apparently because it sounded too much of a piece.
The Band’s ‘Stage Fright,’ it seems, could only have ended in one of two ways: Damnation or salvation. “The Rumor” seems to represent the latter.
After a series of very dire warnings about the Band’s new rock-star lifestyle, perhaps this utterly scarifying parable was all but inevitable.
Away from the Band’s circus-like chorus of characters, from faith healers to woman stealers, there’s something else going on here.
“The Shape I’m In,” despite its galloping cadence, finds the Band’s Robbie Robertson desperately attempting to reach out to the badly faltering Richard Manuel. You May Also Like: The Band – ‘Stage Fright: 50th Anniversary Edition’ (2021) A Legacy Reclaimed: Robbie Robertson and the Band How Deep Cuts on ‘MusicRead More
A song of dimly lit, strange salvation, “Just Another Whistle Stop” is a gem worth digging up for those who rarely get past the Band’s first two albums.
The Band begin turning away from the enveloping narrative worlds that defined their first albums to deal with the very real issues of their lives.
Levon Helm once summed up the place that “King Harvest” occupies: “It was like: There, that’s the Band.”
After a mirage of an intro, “Jawbone” – one of the most underrated moments on ‘The Band’ – catches a shambolic groove .
That a group of men in their 20s, as the Band were at this moment, could say so much about the pull of old ways remains simply remarkable.