MULTI-FORMAT SUPER DELUXE EDITION BOX SET INCLUDES NEW MIX BY BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN, PRESENTED IN ORIGINAL PLANNED SEQUENCE; UNRELEASED LIVE AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1971 CONCERT; UNEARTHED FIELD RECORDINGS; ALTERNATE MIXES; AND BLU-RAY AUDIO DISC WITH 5.1 SURROUND SOUND AND HI-RES AUDIO
2CD, DIGITAL, 180G BLACK VINYL AND LIMITED-EDITION 180G COLOR VINYL FORMATS ALSO AVAILABLE
DUE FEBRUARY 12 VIA CAPITOL/UMe
LISTEN TO âTHE SHAPE IâM INâ (2020 REMIX)
By the time The Band was ready to record their third album, Stage Fright, in 1970, they were riding high from having released back-to-back albums that solidified them as one of the most exciting and revolutionary groups of the late 1960s. Seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere in â68, their landmark debut album, Music From Big Pink, drew from the American roots music panoply of country, blues, R&B, gospel, soul, rockabilly, the honking tenor sax tradition, hymns, funeral dirges, brass band music, folk, and rock ânâ roll to forge a timeless new style that forever changed the course of popular music. When they released their seminal eponymous second album the following year, âThe Brown Albumâ as it would lovingly be called, not much more was known about the reclusive group. The band, made up of four Canadians and one American, was still shrouded in mystery, allowing for listeners and the music press to let their imaginations run wild about who these men were and what this music was that sounded unlike anything else happening at the close of the psychedelic â60s. Dressed like 19th century fire-and-brimstone preachers and singing rustic, sepia-toned songs about America and the deep south, The Band â Garth Hudson (keyboards, piano, horn), Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin), Richard Manuel (keyboards, vocals, drums), Rick Danko (bass, vocals, fiddle)and Robbie Robertson (guitar, piano, vocals)â was an enigma, unlike any group that came before or after.
One of the few things known about the elusive band was that, along with neighbor and collaborator Bob Dylan, they called the rural artist community of Woodstock, NY home base, years before the sleepy town became a cultural flashpoint and shorthand for the emerging counterculture in the wake of the massive Woodstock Music & Arts Festival, held 40 miles southwest in Bethel, NY. The one band to actually hail from Woodstock, The Band famously played their second-ever show on the final day of the festival in front of nearly half a million people.
As a result of Woodstock, the small town became a Bohemian mecca of sorts and was overrun by the hordes of people it was now attracting. As a peace offering to their community, The Band rented out the Woodstock Playhouse to host a concert where theyâd debut their new batch of songs they had been workshopping to their neighbors. Fearing that the show would only attract more outsiders and make matters worse it was turned down by the townsfolk. As a result, The Band ended up recording their next album on the playhouse stage, without an audience. Enter:Â Stage Fright.
On February 12, Capitol/UMe will celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Bandâs classic third album, Stage Fright, with a suite of newly remixed, remastered and expanded 50th Anniversary Edition packages, including a multi-format Super Deluxe 2CD/Blu-ray/1LP/7-inch vinyl box set photo booklet; digital, 2CD, 180-gram black vinyl, and limited edition 180-gram color vinyl packages. All the Anniversary Edition releases were overseen by principal songwriter Robbie Robertson and boast a new stereo mix by Bob Clearmountain from the original multi-track masters. For the first time, the album is being presented in the originally planned song order. The box set, CD and digital configurations feature a bevy of unreleased recordings, including Live at the Royal Albert Hall, June 1971, a thrilling full concert captured in the midst of their European tour as the band was at the top of its game; alternate versions of âStrawberry Wineâ and âSleeping;â and seven unearthed field recordings, Calgary Hotel Recordings, 1970, a fun and loose, impromptu late night hotel jam session between Robertson, Danko and Manuel of several Stage Fright songs recorded while the album was in the mixing stage. Â
Exclusively for the box set, Clearmountain has also created a new 5.1 surround mix and a hi-res stereo mix of the album, bonus tracks and the live show, presented on Blu-ray. All the new audio mixes have been mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. The set also includes an exclusive reproduction of the Spanish pressing of The Bandâs 1971 7-inch vinyl single for âTime To Killâ b/w âThe Shape Iâm Inâ in their new stereo mixes and a photo booklet with new notes by Robbie Robertson and touring photographer John Scheele, who recorded the Calgary Hotel Recordings; plus a reprinting of the original Los Angeles Times album review by famed critic Robert Hilburn; three classic photo lithographs; and a wealth of photographs from Scheele and several other photographers.
Pre-order for the Stage Fright 50th anniversary editions is available now and the first taste of the new mix can be heard with todayâs release of âThe Shape Iâm Inâ (2020 Mix), streaming now and available for immediate download with digital album pre-order. Listen to âThe Shape Iâm Inâ and pre-order Stage Fright (50th Anniversary Edition): here: https://TheBand.lnk.to/StageFrightPR
As with the acclaimed 50th anniversary collections for Music From Big Pink and the self-titled record, Clearmountain and Robertsonâs approach to remixing the beloved album was done with the utmost care and respect for the music and what The Band represents. âDoing new mixes on these songs with Bob Clearmountain has been a gift and special opportunity,â Robertson writes in the new liner notes. âGlyn Johns and Todd [Rundgren] did a terrific job on the original mixes in England while The Band was on the Festival Express train tour across Canada with Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. We had always been part of the mixing process before, which left something on this album feeling a little unfinished. Clearmountain has taken this music and given it the sonic lift it deserves. The album has become a whole new listening experience with the original song order and the depth of these mixes.â The result is a new mix that allows listeners to hear these timeless songs clearer than ever before. âThere may be some purists that prefer âthe way it was,â and of course thatâs always readily available,â adds Robertson. âIâm enjoying this new version, this story, this musical journey. It feels like a fulfillment and I know my brothers in The Band would definitely agree.â
In the spring of 1971, The Band set off to Europe where they hadnât played since their tumultuous tour with Bob Dylan in 1966, where they were booed every night as the folk rock purists felt betrayed by Dylan who had gone electric, backed by The Hawks who would soon after become The Band. Not having played there in five years, the guys were understandably weary and didnât know what to expect, but instead of boos they received a rapturous response at their first concert in Hamburg, Germany and would go on to play for one enthusiastic crowd after another. âEach member of The Band was on a musical high. Everybody playing and singing at the top of their game. Each night, from Amsterdam to Paris to Copenhagen, the spirit kept rising,â remarks Robertson. When it came to the bandâs concert at Londonâs Royal Albert Hall, they wanted to document it so EMI taped it on a 4-track machine. For the first time ever, this concert recording is being released as Live At The Royal Albert Hall, 1971, an exhilarating 20-song set that captures the band firing on all cylinders and delivering rousing performances of songs from their then-recently released third album alongside their most popular tracks from Music From Big Pink and âThe Brown Albumâ such as âThe Weight,â âKing Harvest (Has Surely Come),â âUp On Cripple Creek,â âThe Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,â âAcross The Great Divide,â âChest Fever,â and inspired covers of Dylanâs âI Shall Be Releasedâ and the Stevie Wonder-penned, Four Tops hit, âLoving You Is Sweeter Than Ever.â With the help of Clearmountain, these recordings have been restored nearly five decades later, allowing listeners to experience what Robertson call âOne of the greatest live concerts The Band ever played.â
Whereas this electrifying concert showcases The Band playing as good as they ever did, The Calgary Hotel Recordings, 1970 offer a glimpse into a different kind of performance, the kind of fun, spur-of-the-moment jam sessions that were bound to happen whenever the guys were together in a hotel room or backstage on tour. As Robertson started to run through some of The Bandâs new songs recently recorded for Stage Fright, photographer John Scheele, who was traveling with the group on the Festival Express, hit record on his portable cassette recorder and captured the spontaneous performance late at night on July 3, 1970 in Calgary, the last stop of the legendary tour. The field recordings, which feature Robertson on guitar and vocals with Danko harmonizing and playing rhythm and Manuel joining in on vocals and harmonica, are a fascinating document that lets fans hear the friends letting loose and having a good time together doing what they loved to do.
Released on August 17, 1970, Stage Fright features two of The Bandâs best-known songs, âThe Shape Iâm Inâ and the title track, both of which showcased inspired lead vocal performances by Manuel and Danko, respectively and became staples in the groupâs live shows. Recorded over 12 days on the stage of the Woodstock Playhouse, the album was self-produced by The Band for the first time and engineered and mixed by Todd Rundgren with additional mixing by Glyn Johns. Coming off the heels of the bandâs monumental debut and sophomore records, Stage Fright cemented The Band as one of the most exciting and important musical acts of the â60s and â70s. As noted music critic Robert Hilburn wrote in his glowing review for the Los Angeles Times, âLike the first two albums, the new one features a staggering display of musical prowess â superb instrumentation, precise vocals and rich, timeless lyrics,â adding, âAt least five of the songs, including âThe Rumor,â âDaniel and the Sacred Harp, âThe Shape Iâm Inâ and âTime to Killâ rank comfortably alongside âThe Weight,â The Night They Drove Old Dixie Downâ and a few others as the best things the group has ever done.â Stage Fright peaked at #5 on Billboard, surpassing The Bandâs first two albums, and went gold.Â
For the 50th Anniversary collection, the sequence has been changed to present Stage Fright with the originally planned song order. âOn the album, we used a different sequence to feature and encourage Richard and Levonâs songwriting participation,â Robertson reveals. âOver time, I pined for our first song order, because it pulls you right into the Stage Fright scenario.â
Fifty years on, lifelong fans and those just discovering The Band can experience the album in a whole new way, sounding better than ever, or for the first time.
Stage Fright (50th Anniversary Edition) Tracklisting
CD1; Digital
1. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
2. The Shape Iâm In
3. Daniel And The Sacred Harp
4. Stage Fright
5. The Rumor
6. Time To Kill
7. Just Another Whistle Stop
8. All La Glory
9. Strawberry Wine
10. Sleeping
Bonus Tracks
11. Strawberry Wine (Alternate Mix) *
12. Sleeping (Alternate Mix) *
Calgary Hotel Room Recordings, 1970 *
13. Get Up Jake (#1) *
14. Get Up Jake (#2) *
15. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show *
16. Rockinâ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu *
17. Calgary Blues *
18. Before You Accuse Me *
19. Mojo Hannah *
* Previously unreleased
CD2; Digital
Live At Royal Albert Hall, June 1971
(Previously Unreleased)
1. The Shape Iâm In
2. Time To Kill
3. The Weight
4. King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
5. Strawberry Wine
6. Rockinâ Chair
7. Look Out Cleveland
8. I Shall Be Released
9. Stage Fright
10. Up On Cripple Creek
11. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
12. We Can Talk
13. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
14. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
15. Across the Great Divide
16. The Unfaithful Servant
17. Donât Do It
18. The Genetic Method
19. Chest Fever
20. Rag Mama Rag
Blu-ray
Stereo and 5.1 Surround
High Resolution Audio: 96 kHz/24 bit
DISC 1
1. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
2. The Shape Iâm In
3. Daniel And The Sacred Harp
4. Stage Fright
5. The Rumor
6. Time To Kill
7. Just Another Whistle Stop
8. All La Glory
9. Strawberry Wine
10. Sleeping
Bonus Tracks
11. Strawberry Wine (Alternate Mix) *
12. Sleeping (Alternate Mix) *
* Previously unreleased
DISC 2
Live At Royal Albert Hall, June 1971
(Previously Unreleased)
1. The Shape Iâm In
2. Time To Kill
3. The Weight
4. King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
5. Strawberry Wine
6. Rockinâ Chair
7. Look Out Cleveland
8. I Shall Be Released
9. Stage Fright
10. Up On Cripple Creek
11. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
12. We Can Talk
13. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
14. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
15. Across the Great Divide
16. The Unfaithful Servant
17. Donât Do It
18. The Genetic Method
19. Chest Fever
20. Rag Mama Rag
1LP (33 1/3 RPM)
180g black vinyl (included in the box set and available individually); ltd. edition 180g multi-colored vinyl (available individually)
Side One
1. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
2. The Shape Iâm In
3. Daniel And The Sacred Harp
4. Stage Fright
5. The Rumor
Side Two
1. Time To Kill
2. Just Another Whistle Stop
3. All La Glory
4. Strawberry Wine
5. Sleeping
âTime To Killâ (Original 1971 7â Capitol Single, Spanish Pressing)
A. Time To Kill
B. The Shape Iâm In