Fifty Years of `The Band,` an Album that Didn`t Fit the Mold Then or Now
(WorldNews Music)

In the spring of 1969, The Band were one of the most hyped young rock bands in America -- and nobody really knew who they were. Sure, their names were credited on the sleeve of their 1968 debut Music From Big Pink, which instantly established them as critical darlings to watch. And anyone who caught one of Ronnie Hawkins’ rockabilly shows in the early 1960s (when The Band first came together as his supporting band, The Hawks), or happened to be at Bob Dylan’s 1965–66 tour (when The Band were his band) might’ve already seen them in the flesh, of course. But heading into their highly anticipated second album, The Band had still not played a formal live performance, and...