OK guys; I'm a new mando player and I saw this group on the site so I thought I'd give it a shot. These days my exposure to The Band is my The Last Waltz DVD that I watch when my wife is out of town. There are a lot of clips from the show on YouTube but on the DVD sound is much better and pretty darn good for the age of the recording. The video has Levon Helm agonizingly playing Evangeline on a mandolin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOAT0AocD1c&feature=fvsr. It is so sad to see what cancer did to that once classic rock singing voice. Here is a recent BBC interview. He still loves his music. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15134736 . Anyway guys, see you around the forum.
I am very much a fan of The Band, and the projects that Levon has done later on. In particular, Dirt Farmer. I have also enjoyed Electric Dirt, and Ramble at the Ryman, but not as much as Dirt Farmer. Yes, the cancer had a big effect on his voice, but I still enjoy hearing him sing. Will keep an eye out here.
Much of the audio in The Last Waltz was re-recorded after the show, so that might account for some of the exceptional fidelity.
Saw Levon and his group 2 years ago in Minneapolis right after Electric Dirt was released. He can still sing like he did before cancer, he hasn't lost his voice. He (and his daughter, Amy) played a mando on a couple of songs. One of the best concerts I have ever seen.
Two players sent me to mando and Levon was one of them..
i'd pay anything to sit in third row center again and hear danko, levon & manuel harmonize. i still get chills when i hear some of their stuff. saw them several times in 60's & 70's and then most of them solo. great stuff.
My fav is "Rockin' Chair".
I saw Levon and Rick, solo acoustic set in Atlanta. Could have counted everyone there on 2 hands. Levon lived in Atlanta for a while.
