THE BAND Rock Of Ages MFSL 2-348 Mobile Fidelity (2) 180g AUDIOPHILE vinyl set

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THE BAND Rock Of Ages MFSL 2-348 Mobile Fidelity 180g double AUDIOPHILE vinyl set

Tracklist

A1 Don't Do It A2 King Harvest (Has Surely Come) A3 Caledonia Mission A4 Get Up Jake A5 W. S. Walcott Medicine Show

B1 Stage Fright B2 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down B3 Across The Great Divide B4 Wheels On Fire B5 Rag Mama Rag

C1 The Weight C2 The Shape I'm In C3 Unfaithful Servant C4 Life Is A Carnival

D1 The Genetic Method D2 Chest Fever D3 (I Don't Want To) Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes

*(all photos are of the actual item)

• Mastered By – Krieg Wunderlich
• • Mixed At – Bearsville Studios

  Credits

  • Alto Saxophone, Clarinet [E Flat] – J.D. Parron*
  • Arranged By [Horns] – Allen Toussaint
  • Baritone Saxophone, Tuba, Euphonium – Howard Johnson (3)
  • Tenor Saxophone [Solo], Soprano Saxophone [Solo] – Garth Hudson
  • Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, English Horn – Joe Farrell
  • Trombone – Earl McIntyre
  • Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Snooky Young
  • Written-By – J.R. Robertson* (tracks: A2 to B3, B5 to C3, D2)

  Notes

  Recorded at the Academy of Music, New York on the eclipse of the New Year 1971-1972 

Notes

Remastered at half-speed from original Capitol Records tapes. 

Original lp recorded on New Years Eve 1971 at the Academy of Music in New York City. 

Original release date 1972.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Barcode: 821797234818

Numbered, Limited Edition! Half-Speed Mastered From Original Master Tapes! 

The Band's Ultimate Live Album Recorded at Its Career Peak! 

Legendary Live Set Features Horn Arrangements by Allen Toussaint

Incredible Sound and Virtuosic Performances

The Last Waltz gets bigger billing, but The Band’s 1972 live album Rock of Ages is actually the better representation of a live Band album. Recorded at the tail end of the group’s Cahoots tour and over the course of four nights at New York’s Academy of Music at the end of December 1971, the incendiary concert set bookmarks the close of the first phase of the collective’s career.

Rather than follow the lead of most other live records made at the time (and many since), The Band resists any temptation to improvise or extend its material. Instead, the group plays with an intensity, chemistry, and spirit that’s nearly unrivaled by any other live album. The quintet also draws on a secret weapon: One Allen Toussaint, who tailors expert horn arrangements for multiple songs, a move that spices renditions of classics such as “Don’t Do It” and “Chest Fever.” To top it all off, the horn charts are performed by the Rock of Ages Horn Section—a five-piece ensemble that includes legendary trumpeter Snooky Young (Count Basie, Lionel Hampton) and saxophonist Joe Farrell (Charles Mingus, Elvin Jones).

“I felt very much at home with The Band. You could tell in their music they know where they’re coming from and they know where they’re going. Each one had an extremely special interest in what they were doing.” –Toussaint, as told to Rob Bowman

Do they ever. Unencumbered by the myriad guests and grandiose sense that define The Last Waltz, and energized by Toussaint’s invaluable work, Rock of Ages is the sound of a great band pulling out all the stops. Robbie Robertson’s guitar solos take “Unfaithful Servant” to a higher ground; “The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show” kicks with raunchy R&B abandon; Garth Hudson delivers a show-stealing performance on “The Genetic Method,” a thrilling organ piece that incorporates elements of Anglican church music, folk, classical, and pop—as well as “Auld Lang Syne,” due to its being recorded on New Year’s Eve.

After various inferior editions and reissues, Rock of Ages is finally presented on an immaculate-sounding 180g 2LP set from Mobile Fidelity that lets Toussaint’s contributions, horn section’s energy, and the Band’s feverish interplay shine like never before. Mastered from the original tapes, the open, airy, natural, and balanced sound will have you returning to Rock of Ages again and again.

"Live albums tend to gloss over the depth, mystery and emotional intensity found on studio versions of the same songs, particularly when the group speeds things up to cover its inability to produce the desired results live. Here, The Band slows everything down, producing even more intense, deliberate and emotionally satisfying versions of familiar songs. Each play reveals more gems hidden within the musical folds. Be sure to crank it up! " - Michael Fremer, www.analogplanet.com, Music 10/10, Sound 8/10! 

"Allen Toussaint's sympathetic horn arrangements, performed by top jazz musicians, propel this 'greatest hits live' recital taken at breathtakingly deliberate tempos before an adoring, raucous crowd at the Academy of Music in New York City, on New Year's Eve 1971... some of the best vocalizing this or any rock group has ever achieved on stage. MoFi's mastering beats Bob Ludwig's original, and that's saying a lot; plus, the vinyl is dead quiet." - Michael Fremer, Stereophile Magazine, February 2013, p. 66 

Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• 1/2 Speed Mastered from the Original Master Tapes!
• Specially Plated and Pressed on 180 Grams of High Definition Vinyl
• Heavy Duty Protective Packaging
• Double LP
• Special Static Free/Dust Free Inner Sleeves
• Gatefold Jacket