Across the Great Divide: The Band and America

Hoskyns' biography of one of the most important bands in American rock history is comprehensive and eminently readable. The story of how a bunch of Canadian wannabe rockers and one downhome Southern countryboy created some of the most breathtaking rock music ever committed to vinyl and then squandered their talents in booze, drugs and recriminations is told in four parts, neatly breaking down their career.

Drawing from interviews with all members of the band, as well as managers, collaborators and wives/girlfriends, Hoskyns does a great job of telling their story. Starting out as backing band to a Canadian rocker called Ronnie Hawkins, these five musicians would go on to tour with Dylan, create a handful of great albums (including one stone cold masterpiece), a few clunkers, before going out in the blaze of overblown pretentious glory that was The Last Waltz.

The Band were full of contradictions. Containing one driven songwriter and stellar guitarist in Robbie Robertson, three great singers in Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm and a genius multi-instrumentalist in Garth Hudson, they also suffered from not having a singular front man as a focal point for the audience. This gave rise to allegations of aloofness where they seemed to just be “playing for themselves”. In some cases this was true, but they were still a superb live band, as anyone who saw them backing Dylan, or playing their own music can attest.

They say that those who burn brightest burn half as long, and in the case of the Band the initial burst of three fantastic albums (Big Pink, The Band and Stage Fright) couldn't be maintained. They atrophied, with Robertson's songs becoming more verbose and pretentious, drink and drugs taking their toll as well. The almost mythical status they held is almost deserved, but undermined by less than great albums like Cahoots, Moondog Matinee and Islands.

But they did change the face of Rock music, providing an antidote to tripped out psychedelia with a brew of Southern myth making and potent mix of R&B and country that set them apart. The “back to basics” approach would permeate through the rock glitterati throughout the late 60s and early 70s and that was all down the the music The Band made.

This edition ends in the 1990s just after the tragic death of Richard Manuel. Hoskyns has updated the story a couple of times since. In the intervening years all but Robertson have passed, but the music still stands as a testament to their talent and an extraordinary moment in modern popular music. If you have any interest at all in American rock music, read this.