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#31
10-11-2017, 07:59 PM
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I feel that Robbie Robertson is a TREMENDOUS guitar player... on records and with the Band live, he rarely "cut loose", choosing instead to support the song, first and foremost, as well as the singer and the arrangement of the tune...
What a lot of folks don't know is that he could RIP IT UP with the best of them... playing long gigs all over Canada and America with Ronnie Hawkins' band, you HAD to be a showman, and you HAD to be able to play... Add to his playing ability his songwriting ability and you have the reason he's one of my all-time favorites. I'm old enough to remember going out to see shows/concerts, and loving hearing the guitarists' wail on and improvise... and Robbie didn't do that, not with the Band. I remember being disappointed in that aspect of the Band's live shows, but the music was SO GOOD and the performances were SO GOOD that I loved seeing them anyway... I also thought that Testimony was a terrific book; regardless of the critics' opinions... especially when juxtaposed with Levon's book, it feels like we're seeing both sides of an unfortunately nasty story. I know it was a lot about songwriting royalties, but I don't know when that happened. Robbie speaks about buying Richard's publishing rights when Richard came to him and said he needed money... subsequently, all the other members of the Band (except Levon) asked to do the same, and Robbie said he had to borrow a bunch of money to pay them. He also makes a point of telling each guy, "Don't do this! NEVER sell your publishing!"... In his book, Robbie only goes up to The Last Waltz, and nothing beyond that, whereas Levon wrote about years afterwards... After reading only Levon's book, I had a very decidedly nasty opinion of Robertson (as do many). I've been in bands where royalties and songwriting credits have been an issue, and it's not a pretty sight, not at all! I was more than a little shocked when I read that Robbie was splitting ALL the songwriting credits with each member, regardless of whether they had anything to do with the composition... that's a very righteous stance to take, and not one that I had heard about before regarding the Band's music. Regarding "Testimony"; I have always marveled at how Robbie (a Canadian Indian) could "get inside" the guts of American life and write tunes like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "King Harvest"!?! I was pleased to read about his upbringing, his family and all the carryings-on of his "Street" education; I always felt that the guys in the Band were sort of tough guys, and it's good to hear how that came about. I thought it was very interesting that the main "tone" of each book (Lee's and Robbie's) was SO DIFFERENT... throughout Robbie's book, the sentiment that comes through the pages most often is just how much he loved those men. Whereas in Levon's book ("This Wheel's on Fire"), what comes through most clearly his his bitterness and anger; most times directed at Robbie, but it is a tone that pervades much of the book. I have, for many decades, referred to the Band as "my Favorite American band" of the 60's and 70's... and of course now I know that only ONE member was from the USA (Lee); the rest were Canadian! (I just have to say, "Thanks, Canada!"). I play their songs when I perform; people who like music should NEVER forget that music, even if they've never heard it before!
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"Home is where I hang my hat, but home is so much more than that. Home is where the ones and the things I hold dear are near... And I always find my way back home." "Home" (working title) J.S, Sherman 
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#32
10-11-2017, 08:09 PM
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#33
10-11-2017, 08:35 PM
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 Likely, most Americans, especially music lovers and musicians, are aware of just how many of the iconic artists, perhaps thought to be American, are Canadian. Neil, Joni, Gordon..........the list is long. Btw, Daniel Lanois is also Canadian. Canadians have surely made a major contribution to the American and Canadian musical identity across many genres.
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Tom '21 Martin D-18 Standard | '02 Taylor 814c | '18 Taylor 214ceDLX | '18 Taylor 150e-12 | '78 Ibanez Dread (First acoustic) | '08 CA Cargo | '02 Fender Strat American '57 RI My original songs
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#35
10-11-2017, 10:03 PM
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Tom '21 Martin D-18 Standard | '02 Taylor 814c | '18 Taylor 214ceDLX | '18 Taylor 150e-12 | '78 Ibanez Dread (First acoustic) | '08 CA Cargo | '02 Fender Strat American '57 RI My original songs
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#36
10-11-2017, 10:43 PM
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Great thread on Robbie Robertson, one the the most influential musicians and songwriters of the past several decades. A strong case can be made that Robertson is THE most influential roots/Americana musician ever (there are far bigger ironies than having a Canadian being the most influential in Americana
 ), with his being the primary songwriter for The Band, whose best music sounds as timeless today as it did almost 50 years ago - what a magical vibe. To me, 'Rock of Ages' is a perfect live recording.As far as RR's guitar playing goes - this early '60s gem with Ronnie Hawkins exemplifies his ability to wring out all the howling emotion from an electric guitar. (Never mind the photo - the guitarist is unmistakably Robertson.)
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#37
10-12-2017, 12:15 AM
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#39
10-12-2017, 03:06 AM
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I have recently "rediscovered" The Band. I am, at times, nearly overwhelmed by the manner in which these five men were able to mesh their considerable talents. As others have said previously, the sum was greater than the parts. In my humble opinion, in the last 50 years, nobody has captured the simplistic/complex/soulful/harmonious/Americana sound that The Band produced.
As for Robbie Robertson, I agree that his guitar is underrated by many because of his lack of flash. His song writing is on the top shelf. His book will be next in queue. It is incredibly sad how Richard Manual, Rick Danko, and Levon Helm's lives devolved after The Last Waltz.
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Santa Cruz D12-12 string, Ger. Maple/Ger. Spruce Froggy Bottom SJ12 Custom Spalted Maple/ Adirondack Petros GC Cocobolo/ German Spruce Emerald X-20 Custom SS Life's been good to me so far....
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#40
10-12-2017, 06:00 AM
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Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster
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#41
10-12-2017, 06:10 AM
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I LOVE The Band. My band in the 70's was not a dance band, we covered a LOT of Band songs, and as a group saw them live at least a half dozen times, they had the best live sound of any group I saw back them.
Robbie Robertson is a "tasty" guitar player, as mentioned he didn't waste notes, nobody in The Band showboated, they complemented each other's musicianship. No problem with him being mentioned in the top 100 guitar players, near the lower part of that list. On a personal level he does have the jerk reputation, my brother and I got to sit down with Rick Danko a couple years before he died, not much nice to say about Robbie or how he screwed them financially after the band broke up. Good player, not good guy.......
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Rich - rmyAddison Rich Macklin Soundclick Website http://www.youtube.com/rmyaddison Martin OM-18 Authentic '33 Adirondack/Mahogany Martin CS OM-28 Alpine/Madagascar Martin CS 00-42 Adirondack/Madagascar Martin OM-45TB (2005) Engelmann/Tasmanian Blackwood (#23 of 29) Last edited by Kerbie; 10-12-2017 at 07:18 AM. Reason: Removed masked profanity
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#42
10-12-2017, 06:22 AM
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I grew up with Clapton, Beck and Hendrix - and he's not on that level for me. Perhaps he is more of a George Harrison type of player - more supporting the song being played than an impressive soloist.
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Keith Martin 000-42 Marquis Taylor Classical Alvarez 12 String Gibson ES345s Fender P-Bass Gibson tenor banjo
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#43
10-12-2017, 07:03 AM
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A couple of Halcyons and a Canadian made Larrivee "Wish I had more time to hear your reasons, but I have to go get a beer." 00-28 
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#44
10-12-2017, 07:10 AM
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I like RR's playing very much, but how do you grade musicians of this caliber? Most have excellent technical skills moving up and down the neck, but then you have to take into account their interpretation of other's music and their own original work. Personal taste comes into the evaluation and a pure rock and roller may may not have the appreciation of a great blue grass or classical player because it's not his style of music...and vice versa. Enjoy the music you love and put your favorites at the top of your own list and you won't go wrong.
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#45
10-12-2017, 11:53 AM
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Martin 000-17SM Supro 2030 Hampton Taylor 562ce 12 X 12 Taylor GS Mini-e Spruce/Rosewood Waterloo WL-S Wechter TO-8418 Cordoba 24T tenor ukulele Kanile'a Islander MST-4 tenor ukulele Kiwaya KTC-1 concert ukulele Kolohe concert ukulele Mainland Mahogany soprano ukulele Ohana SK-28 soprano ukulele Brüko No. 6 soprano ukulele
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