Discussion of the orgin of Rock of Ages

From the Usenet newsgroup alt.music.the-band.

From: Chris Bell (Chris@chelt.demon.co.uk)
Subject: Rock Of Ages - New Revelation
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 1996 21:45:44 GMT

I have been watching The Band Authorised Documentary video (highly recomended, will post a review on the newsgroup soon). A new revelation about the Rock Of Ages album has surfaced. In the documentry Phil Ramone is interviewed and says that most of the album was taken from the soundcheck on the 30th December, and not New Years Eve as commonly thought. Contradicting Ramone, various sources say that most (80%) of the show came from final night. Here is Phil Ramone's actual quote from the documentary, word for word:

"That album, as it exists, is the -- what we call the soundcheck night and if you listen carefully -- what the evening was planned to do was that the next night which was gonna be New Years Eve, was gonna be THE album. Well, the only thing we ever used from that was Garths solo. The rest of it was all -- it's got mistakes. It's got guys talking, players dropping mutes. It was wonderful but youd never get a spirit like that."

Back in September, during discussions on this newsgroup about the The Night They Drove Dixie Down CD, (which consists of recordings that didn't make the Rock of Ages album) others also noticed the mistakes, etc. and it seems to match what Phil Ramone says. One person had this to say: "On this disc we can hear feedback, breaking voices, miscues in the horns, etc."

So, Is The Night They Drove Dixie Down CD the REAL New Years Eve concert? Is the album we've been listening to all these years just another typical live album, and not really how it happened? If Phil Ramone is correct and it really was taken from a soundcheck then there wouldnt be an audience, so is the audience dubbed on to the final version?!!

Another example of a so called live album? No wonder fans want the original live tapes, huh - when will the record companies ever learn!

Going back to Rock of Ages theres the question of the last show guest appearence of Bob Dylan in which he performed four songs with The Band. So maybe these will surface if they havent already, now that the cobwebs have been dusted off the tapes.

The Documentary also makes the usual claim that there were 3 nights at the Academy of Music, I remember a Rolling Stone review of the album which featured a photo of the front of the Academy at the time, and up in lights was.. The Band , Tue thru to New Years Eve. New Years Eve In 1971 fell on a Friday so that makes 4 nights at the Academy

As Fox Mulder would say, The Truth is Out There!!
-- Chris Bell

From: Rick Churchill (churchill@csusys.ctstateu.edu)
Subject: Re: Rock Of Ages - New Revelation
Date: 2 Jan 1996 13:17:43 GMT

After wearing out several lps of Rock of Ages over 23 years, I just recently picked up The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Although I have only given it one close listening, to these ears it is the same as Rock of Ages, edited of course. Listen to crowd reactions, feedback on Rick's mike ("Stage Fright"), any many other tiny details. If these aren't the exact same takes as RoA, then I don't know what I've been listening to all these years.

Rick
churchill@csusys.ctstateu.edu

From: tappend@husc7.harvard.edu (james tappenden)
Subject: Re: Rock Of Ages - New Revelation
Date: 2 Jan 1996 15:47:02 GMT

Rick Churchill (churchill@csusys.ctstateu.edu) writes:

After wearing out several lps of Rock of Ages over 23 years, I just recently picked up The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Although I have only given it one close listening, to these ears it is the same as Rock of Ages, edited of course. Listen to crowd reactions, feedback on Rick's mike ("Stage Fright"), any many other tiny details. If these aren't the exact same takes as RoA, then I don't know what I've been listening to all these years.

That was my sense too - apart from one piano chord chopped from the end of "Rag Mama Rag" the songs were identical - miscues, feedback and all.

Jamie Tappenden