The Band’s Excellence Isn’t Universal

The Band was one of the most talented and influential rock groups ever to come out of North America, a fact widely noted in scores of reviews last year when Capitol Records re-released the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame quintet’s two most prized albums, 1968’s “Music From Big Pink” and 1969’s “The Band.”

In those albums and on stage, the Band was like a rock ‘n’ roll super group, with strength at every position. It was blessed with a frequently brilliant songwriter (Robbie Robertson), three marvelous lead singers (Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel) and exceptionally tasteful musicianship (keyboardist Garth Hudson rounded out the group).

It was a combination that led them to employ country-folk influences with timeless grace and rock leanings with elegant force. The themes dealt with the American experience, including innocence lost or temporarily misplaced.

But the band didn’t maintain that excellence for long--which means you’d better proceed with caution in examining four more Band albums from Capitol. Only one of the four ranks as essential in the three-tier grading system employed by From the Vaults.

Essential albums deserve a place in a comprehensive pop library, while the “for collectors” group is mostly suited to hard-core collectors who follow a particular artist or style. The “also available” ranking is an acknowledgment of routine or less releases.

Essential Albums

The Band’s “Rock of Ages” (Capitol). After being almost invincible creatively on the first two albums and much of 1970’s “Stage Fright,” the Band became plagued by tensions--involving both personal relationships and musical direction--that would eventually pull them apart in 1976.

As if recognizing the weakness of the studio work in its fourth studio album, “Cahoots,” the band took time out in 1971 to record a live album. This enabled them to revisit its most honored material (including “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “The Weight”) and dress it up in new horn arrangements written by the legendary New Orleans musician-of-all-trades Allen Toussaint.

Whatever problems the group was having, everything came together magnificently in a series of shows at New York’s Academy of Music, mixing the group’s own mythology-rich tales of the American experience with some surprise extras, including a version of Chuck Willis’ ‘50s rocker “(I Don’t Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes.”

This new package also includes 10 previously unreleased tracks from the same New York shows. Bob Dylan, who toured and recorded with the Band in the ‘60s and again in the ‘70s, joined them for four numbers, including “Like a Rolling Stone.”

For Collectors

The Band’s “Moondog Matinee” (Capitol). Before testing themselves again with new material in the market place again, the Band bought themselves more time by having fun with some favorite old tunes, mostly blues and rock numbers. When released in 1973, it was amusing hearing these masters apply themselves to such diverse tunes as “Third Man Theme,” “Mystery Train” and “The Great Pretender.”

Today, the album is little more than a curio, though it offers a revealing glimpse of the Band’s lighter side. This reissue includes six bonus tracks, including “What Am I Living For?,” which was the other side of Chuck Willis’ “Rock and Roll Shoes” single in 1958.

Also Available

The Band’s “Northern Lights-Southern Cross” (Capitol). The Band applied themselves to new material again in this 1975 album, but the music has a familiar sound, as if the musicians were trying to find new sparks in old ideas. Only a few tracks, including the melancholy “It Makes No Difference,” seem memorable today.

The Band’s “Islands” (Capitol). This 1977 set was a last-gasp effort designed chiefly to fulfill its contractual obligation to Capitol, and it seems to retrace steps even more than “Northern Lights.” The Band even turned to outside tunes, including “Georgia on My Mind,” to complete the collection. The Band’s farewell would come a year later with the release of its “The Last Waltz” concert album and film.

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Robert Hilburn, the Times pop music critic, can be reached at robert.hilburn@latimes.com.