The Last Waltz (album)

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The Last Waltz
Live album by The Band
Released	April 16, 1978
Recorded	November 25, 1976
Genre	Rock
Length	129:06
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer	Robbie Robertson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone (Not Rated) link
The Band chronology
Anthology (1978) The Last Waltz (1978) To Kingdom Come (1989)

The Last Waltz was the 1978 soundtrack to the film The Last Waltz, documenting the "farewell" concert of the classic line-up of Canadian-American rockers The Band, which took place at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.

The soundtrack, featuring numerous other musicians whom the Band had either played with or influenced throughout their career, was a sampling of the full concert set occupying the first five sides of the 3-LP set, and "The Last Waltz Suite", five new songs and a new version of "The Weight", occupying the sixth side. (In 2002, a four-CD set also titled The Last Waltz featuring more of the concert than before—but not the entire concert—was released.)

Like the music in the film itself, parts of it were overdubbed in post-production, owing to many faults during the concert. There would be three more albums years later without Robertson, but for the original quintet, it ended with the release of this album and the film of the same name.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one

1. "Theme from the Last Waltz" (Robertson) – 3:28
2. "Up on Cripple Creek" (Robertson) – 4:44
3. "Who Do You Love" (McDaniel) – 4:16
   • With Ronnie Hawkins, vocals
4. "Helpless" (Young) – 5:47
   • With Neil Young, vocals, guitar and harmonica; additional vocals by Joni Mitchell
5. "Stage Fright" (Robertson) – 4:25
6. "Coyote" (Mitchell) – 5:50
   • With Joni Mitchell
7. "Dry Your Eyes" (Diamond-Robertson) – 3:57
   • With Neil Diamond, vocals and guitar; additional drums by Dennis St. John
8. "It Makes No Difference" (Robertson) – 6:48
9. "Such a Night" (Rebennack) – 4:00
   • With Dr. John, vocals and piano
10. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Robertson) – 4:34
11. "Mystery Train" (Parker-Phillips) – 4:59
    • With Paul Butterfield, harmonica and vocals
12. "Mannish Boy" (London-McDaniel-Morganfield) – 6:54
    • With Muddy Waters, vocals; Bob Margolin, electric guitar; Pinetop Perkins, piano; Paul Butterfield, harmonica
13. "Further on up the Road" (Robey-Veasey) – 5:08
    • With Eric Clapton, guitar and vocals

[edit] Disc two

1. "The Shape I'm In" (Robertson) – 4:06
2. "Down South in New Orleans"* (Anglin-Anglin-Wright) – 3:06
   • With Bobby Charles, vocals; Dr. John, guitar and vocals
3. "Ophelia" (Robertson) – 3:53
4. "Tura Lura Lural (That's An Irish Lullaby)"* (Shannon) – 4:15
   • With Van Morrison, vocals; John Simon, piano
5. "Caravan" (Morrison) – 6:02
   • With Van Morrison, vocals
6. "Life Is a Carnival"* (Danko-Helm-Robertson) – 4:32
7. "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" (Davis) – 3:00
   • With Bob Dylan, vocals and electric guitar
8. "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)"* (Dylan) – 3:23
   • With Bob Dylan, vocals and electric guitar
9. "Forever Young" (Dylan) – 4:42
   • With Bob Dylan, vocals and electric guitar
10. "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (reprise)" (Davis) – 2:46
    • With Bob Dylan, vocals and electric guitar
11. "I Shall Be Released" (Dylan) – 3:53 / Jam – 1:29
    • With all guests, with the addition of Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood
12. "The Last Waltz Suite: The Well"* (Robertson) – 3:27
13. "The Last Waltz Suite: Evangeline" (Robertson) – 3:17
    • With Emmylou Harris, vocals and acoustic guitar
14. "The Last Waltz Suite: Out of the Blue"* (Robertson) – 3:03
15. "The Last Waltz Suite: The Weight" (Robertson) – 4:38
    • With the Staple Singers
16. "The Last Waltz Suite: The Last Waltz Refrain"* (Robertson) – 1:28
17. "The Last Waltz Suite: Theme from The Last Waltz" (Robertson) – 3:22

* indicates song not in the film.

[edit] Group members and other participants

[edit] The Band

• Rick Danko – bass, fiddle, vocals
• Levon Helm – drums, mandolin, vocals
• Garth Hudson – organ, accordion, synthesizer, horns
• Richard Manuel – piano, drums, organ, clavinet, keyboards, dobro, vocals
• Robbie Robertson – guitars, piano, vocals

[edit] The horn section

• Rich Cooper – trumpet, flugelhorn
• James Gordon – flute, tenor saxophone, clarinet
• Jerry Hay – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Howard Johnson – tuba, baritone saxophone, flugelhorn, bass clarinet
• Charlie Keagle – clarinet, flute, alto, tenor and soprano saxophones
• Tom Malone – trombone, euphonium, alto flute, bass trombone
• Larry Packer – electric violin
• Horns arranged by Henry Glover, Garth Hudson, Howard Johnson, Tom Malone, John Simon and Allen Toussaint

[edit] The guests

• Paul Butterfield – harmonica, vocals
• Bobby Charles – vocals
• Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
• Neil Diamond – guitar, vocals
• Dr. John – piano, guitar, congas, vocals
• Bob Dylan – guitar, vocals
• Emmylou Harris – guitar, vocals
• Ronnie Hawkins – vocals
• Alison Hormel – harmony vocal
• Bob Margolin – guitar
• Joni Mitchell – guitar, vocals
• Van Morrison – vocals
• Pinetop Perkins – piano
• Dennis St. John – drums
• John Simon – piano
• Cleotha Staples – harmony vocal
• Mavis Staples – vocals
• Roebuck "Pops" Staples – guitar, vocals
• Yvonne Staples – harmony vocal
• Ringo Starr – drums
• Muddy Waters – vocals
• Ronnie Wood – guitar
• Neil Young – guitar, harmonica, vocals

[edit] Production

• Robbie Robertson – Producer
• John Simon and Rob Fraboni – co-producers
• Ed Anderson – recording and mixing engineer
• Terry Becker, Neil Brody, Tim Kramer, Elliot Mazer and Wayne Neuendorf – recording engineers
• Baker Bigsby, Tony Bustos and Jeremy Zatkin – mixing engineers

[edit] Other credits

• Bill Graham – concert production
• John Simon – string arrangements