Moondog Matinee

[1980 reissue cover] [Reissue Back cover] [Australian Limited Edition LP] [Japanese Limited Edition CD] [Poster] [CD liner notes] [Cashbox ad.] [Charts and ratings]

The Band essentially went back to being the Hawks of the late 1950s and early '60s on this album of cover tunes. They demonstrated considerable expertise on their versions of rock & roll and R&B standards like Clarence "Frogman" Henry's "Ain't Got No Home," Chuck Berry's "The Promised Land," and Fats Domino's "I'm Ready," but of course that didn't do much to satisfy the audience they had established with their original material and that, two years after the disappointing Cahoots, was waiting for something in the same league with their first three albums. --William Ruhlmann, All-Music Guide

For a wealth of information about this album, see Peter Viney's notes on Moondog Matinee.

A limited edition Japanese CD, with very nice artwork and covers, but horrible lyrics transcriptions, came in 1998. The 2001 remastered re-issue of Moondog Matinee from Capitol Records, mixed from the original, first-generation master tapes, has six new bonus tracks from the original sessions: ``Oh, Didn't It Rain,'' ``Crying Heart Blues,'' ``Shakin','' ``What Am I Living For,'' ``Going Back To Memphis'' and the studio version of ``Endless Highway.'' The release feature an expanded booklet with rare photos and liner notes by Grammy award-winner Rob Bowman.

Tracks

1.	Ain't Got No Home (Henry)	(252K)
2.	Holy Cow (Toussaint)	(285K)
3.	Share Your Love (Braggs/Malone)
4.	Mystery Train (Phillips/Parker)	(2.7MB)
5.	The Third Man Theme (Karas)
6.	The Promised Land (Berry)	(248K)
7.	The Great Pretender (Ram)
8.	I'm Ready (Domino/Lewis/Bradford)
9.	Saved (Leiber/Stoller)	(240K)
10.	A Change Is Gonna Come (Cooke)	(158K)
11.*	Oh, Didn't It Rain (outtake)

12.*	Crying Heart Blues (outtake)
13.*	Shakin' (outtake) This is actually a song written by Sam Cooke called "It's Got the Whole World Shakin'." It was posthumously released as a single by Sam in March 1965 and got to No. 41 on Billboard Magazine's singles chart. It was recorded on Nov. 16, 1964 (less than a month before Sam was killed) and is included on "Keep Movin' On," an anthology of Sam Cooke's music that came out in January 2002 on the Abkco label in the United States.
14.*	What Am I Living For (outtake)
15.*	Going Back To Memphis (outtake)
16.*	Endless Highway (studio version)

Credits

• The Band , Producer
• Robbie Robertson , Guitar / Keyboards / Vocals / Producer
• Rick Danko , Bass / Violin / Vocals / Producer
• Ben Keith , Guitar (Steel)
• Levon Helm , Guitar / Drums / Vocals / Producer
• Garth Hudson , Keyboards / Saxophone / Producer
• Bob Ludwig , Mastering
• Richard Manuel , Drums / Keyboards / Vocals / Producer
• Jay Ranellucci ,
• Billy Mundi , drums
• John Wilson , Engineer
• Mark Harman , Engineer / Mixing
• Chris Morris , Liner Notes
• Bob Cato , Design
• Edward Kasper , Artwork

Song-by-song Credits

1. Ain't Got No Home
   Levon Helm: Lead Vocal & Rythm Electric Guitar
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Richard Manuel: Drums
   Robbie Robertson: gLead Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Piano & Tenor Sax

2. Holy Cow
   Rick Danko: 1st Lead Vocal & Bass
   Levon Helm: 2nd Lead Vocal & Drums
   Richard Manuel: Back Vocal & Electric Piano
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Tenor Sax & Lowrey Organ

3. Share Your Love With Me
   Richard Manuel: Lead Vocal & Piano
   Levon Helm: Drums
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar & Acoustic Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Synthesizer & Lowrey Organ

4. Mystery Train
   Levon Helm: Lead Vocal & Stand-up Bass
   Rick Danko: Back Vocal & Acoustic Rhytm Guitar
   Richard Manuel: Drums
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Lowrey Organ & Clavinett
   Billy Mundi: Drums (brushes)

5. The 3rd Man Theme
   Levon Helm: Drums
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Richard Manuel: Electric Piano
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar & Acoustic Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Lowrey Organ & Clavinett & Synthesizer

6. The Promised Land
   Levon Helm: Lead Vocal & Rythm Electric Guitar
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Richard Manuel: Drums
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Piano & Clavinett

7. The Great Pretender
   Richard Manuel: Lead Vocal & Piano
   Levon Helm: Drums
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Lowrey Organ
   John Simon: Bariton Sax

8. I'm Ready
   Levon Helm: Levon Vocal & Drums
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Richard Manuel: Drums
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Lowrey Organ & Tenor Sax

9. Saved
   Richard Manuel: Lead Vocal & Piano
   Levon Helm: Drums
   Rick Danko: Bass
   Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
   Garth Hudson: Lowrey Organ

10. A Change Is Gonna Come
    Rick Danko: Lead Vocal & Acoustic Guitar
    Levon Helm: Bass
    Richard Manuel: Drums
    Robbie Robertson: Electric Guitar
    Garth Hudson: Lowrey Organ & Tenor Sax

Moondog Matinee - The Band - (35:46) - 1973 - Capitol SW-11214
Single sleeve with wraparound poster
Rereleased in 1980 (Capitol SN-16004)
Compact Disc: Capitol C2-93592 (1989)
Limited Edition CD: Capitol Japan M57625 (1998)
Remastered CD with bonus tracks: Capitol Records 72435-25393-2-1 (2001)
Limited Edition "mini-sleeve" CD: Caroline Records 22206, UK (2008)