Band’s 1971 ‘Rock’ live set is one for the ages

Spencer Patterson

Friday, July 1, 2005 | 8:32 a.m.

Ask longtime rock 'n' roll fans what their dream concert would have been, and a fair number will surely mention the Band's "The Last Waltz."

It's perfectly understandable, given the legendary nature of that Thanksgiving Day 1976 event -- the group's farewell show -- which featured such big-name guests as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison.

When I'm in the mood for some live Band music, however, I generally bypass "The Last Waltz" and head directly for "Rock of Ages," a set recorded during four nights in Manhattan in December 1971.

Rather than documenting the quintet's dissolution, "Rock of Ages" presents them at their musical peak, just a few years removed from seminal back-to-back albums, "Music From Big Pink" and "The Band."

From the very first, funky moments of leadoff number "Don't Do it," "Rock of Ages" has a buoyant vibe, a contrast to "The Last Waltz," which I've always found to be something of a chore to sit through.

All five Band members -- drummer Levon Helm, bassist Rick Danko, organist/saxophonist Garth Hudson and pianist Richard Manuel -- contribute moments of instrumental brilliance, and Helm, Danko and Manuel expertly trade lead vocal duties throughout the set.

The group also receives a mammoth boost from a five-piece horn section, for whom R&B arranger Allen Toussaint crafted choice horn charts prior to the New York run.

All of the Band's best rootsy, down-home material is included, from the bouncy "Life is a Carnival" to timeless ballad "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" to stone-cold rock classic "The Weight."

In addition to cleaning up the sound noticeably, Capitol's 2001 reissue also expands the music considerably, adding 10 bonus tracks, including Band standby "Up on Cripple Creek" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released."

Four of the extra cuts also spotlight Dylan's guest appearance on the final night of the New York stand.

The collaboration -- one of many onstage and in the studio between Dylan and the Band -- sounds organic and natural, just one more reason I'd rather "Rock" than "Waltz" to the Band.

Artist: The Band.

Title: "Rock of Ages."

Year of release: 1972 (Capitol Records).

Tracklisting: Disc One: Introduction, "Don't Do it," "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)," "Caledonia Mission," "Get Up Jake," "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show," "Stage Fright," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Across the Great Divide," "This Wheel's On Fire," "Rag Mama Rag," "The Weight," "The Shape I'm in," "Unfaithful Servant," "Life Is a Carnival," "The Genetic Method," "Chest Fever," "(I Don't Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes." Disc Two: "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," "I Shall Be Released," "Up on Cripple Creek," "The Rumor," "Time to Kill," "Down in the Flood," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," "Didn't Ya Tell Henry," "Like a Rolling Stone."