The Band – The Last Waltz (1978) [MFSL 2015] {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

As a film, The Last Waltz was a triumph — one of the first (and still one of the few) rock concert documentaries that was directed by a filmmaker who understood both the look and the sound of rock & roll, and executed with enough technical craft to capture all the nooks and crannies of a great live show. But as an album, The Last Waltz soundtrack had to compete with the Band’s earlier live album, Rock of Ages, with which it bears a certain superficial resemblance — both found the group trying to create something grander than the standard-issue live double, and both featured the group beefed up by additional musicians. While Rock of Ages found the Band swinging along with the help of a horn section arranged by Allen Toussaint, The Last Waltz boasts a horn section (using Toussaint’s earlier arrangements on a few cuts) and more than a baker’s dozen guest stars, ranging from old cohorts Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan to contemporaries Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Van Morrison. the Band are in fine if not exceptional form here; on most cuts, they don’t sound quite as fiery as they did on Rock of Ages, though their performances are never less than expert, and the high points are dazzling, especially an impassioned version of “It Makes No Difference” and blazing readings of “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (Levon Helm has made no secret that he felt breaking up the Band was a bad idea, and here it sounds if he was determined to prove how much they still had to offer). Ultimately, it’s the Band’s “special guests” who really make this set stand out — Muddy Waters’ ferocious version of “Mannish Boy” would have been a wonder from a man half his age, Van Morrison sounds positively joyous on “Caravan,” Neil Young and Joni Mitchell do well for their Canadian brethren, and Bob Dylan’s closing set finds him in admirably loose and rollicking form. (One question remains — what exactly is Neil Diamond doing here?) And while the closing studio-recorded “Last Waltz Suite” sounds like padding, the contributions from Emmylou Harris and the Staple Singers are beautiful indeed.

Tracklist:
Disc 1
01. Theme From The Last Waltz
02. Up On Cripple Creek
03. Who Do You Love – with Ronnie Hawkins
04. Helpless – with Neil Young
05. Stagefright
06. Coyote – with Joni Mitchell
07. Dry Your Eyes – with Neil Diamond
08. It Makes No Difference
09. Such A Night – with Dr. John
10. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
11. Mystery Train – with Paul Butterfield
12. Mannish Boy – with Muddy Waters
13. Further On Up The Road – with Eric Clapton

Disc 2
01. Shape I’m In
02. Down South In New Orleans – with Bobby Charles
03. Ophelia
04. Tura-Lura-Lural (That’s An Irish Lullaby) – with Van Morrison
05. Caravan – with Van Morrison
06. Life Is A Carnival
07. Baby Let Me Follow You Down – with Bob Dylan
08. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) – with Bob Dylan
09. Forever Young – with Bob Dylan
10. Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Reprise) – with Bob Dylan
11. I Shall Be Released (Finale)
12. The Well
13. Evangeline – with Emmylou Harris
14. Out Of The Blue
15. The Weight – with The Staples
16. The Last Waltz Refrain
17. Theme From The Last Waltz – With Orchestra