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1. The Last Waltz The Band’s elegant swansong is the ultimate rock concert movie. Director Martin Scorcese’s discreet camerawork and superb sound captures inspired performances from Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and others. Scorcese keeps his focus almost exclusively on the stage. Beneath three massive chandeliers, the Band pays tribute to its influences with such friends as Muddy Water (an explosive “Mannish Boy”), Neil Young (a wistful “Helpless”) and Bob Dylan (a stirring group finale on “I Shall Be Released”). But the highlight is “The Weight,” performed with gospel’s Staples family, which ranks among the most exquisite music sequences ever committed to film.     2....

As a member of the Band, Richard Manuel gave the group its most soulful vocals and its signature bluesy backbone through his gritty, syncopated keyboard work. Although his role was huge, he never received the recognition he deserves, partly due to his own self-effacing nature and because, as his admirer Eric Claption put it, Manuel became "defined by his tragic end." That may change with Stephen Lewis' recent biography of the Band's unsung hero. Drawing from Levon Helm's book This Wheel's On Fire, Robbie Robertson's Testimony and the Daniel Roher-directed documentary Once Were Brothers, as well as interviews with Manuel's family and former bandmates and friends from his t...

For Canada Day, I’m posting this photo of my prized Japanese issued picture sleeve copy of Ian & Sylvia’s classic “Four Strong Winds,” which might well be considered Canada’s unofficial national anthem. The fact that the song travelled all the way to Japan speaks to its power as a brilliant ballad with a universal message. And yet its distinctly Canadian. It’s been covered by many, including The Journeymen, The Seekers, Judy Collins, Chad Mitchell Trio, Marianne Faithfull, The Searchers, John Denver, The Kingston Trio, Trini Lopez, Waylon Jennings, Chad & Jeremy, Blue Rodeo, Joan Baez, Glenn Yarborough, Harry Belafonte, Tony Rice, Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, David Wiffen and Sara...

Today is the 60th anniversary of Bob Dylan plugging in his guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, an event blown up into the book Dylan Goes Electric! The Night That Split the Sixties which, in turn, inspired the recent film A Complete Unknown. While much is made of Dylan’s now mythical July 25, 1965 appearance with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the pairing pales in comparison with the huge role that Toronto’s Levon & the Hawks (later The Band) played in transforming the folk icon into a rock trailblazer.  It began quietly one night that September when Dylan flew up to Toronto to check out a super-tight rock group at Friar’s Tavern recommended to him by Mary Martin, ...

Stepping off a Greyhound bus from Toronto in 1961, a 17-year-old boy found himself in West Helena, Ark., by the banks of the Mississippi River, unable to believe his senses. “It smelled different and moved different,” Robbie Robertson recently recalled. “The people talked and dressed different. And the air was filled with thick and funky music.” The experience left an indelible impression on the budding guitarist and songwriter. Years later, Robertson drew on it to write some of rock’s most evocative songs—including “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” And he performed them with his group, The Band, which critic Greil Marcus has called “the best rock ’n’ roll band...