Islands is the seventh studio album by the Canadian-American rock group the Band. Released in 1977 to mixed reviews, it is the final studio album from the group's original lineup. Primarily composed of previously unreleased songs from the Band's career (including their 1976 cover of "Georgia on My Mind", which was recorded to aid Jimmy Carter in his presidential bid), Islands was released to fulfill the group's contract with Capitol Records, so that the soundtrack to their film The Last Waltz could be released on Warner Bros. Records. In the CD liner notes, Robbie Robertson compares the album to the Who's Odds & Sods.

For roughly half a decade, from 1968 through 1975, the Band was one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics (and, to a somewhat lesser degree, the public) as seriously as the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Their albums were analyzed and reviewed as intensely as any records by their one-time employer and sometime mentor Bob Dylan. Although the Band retired from touring after The Last Waltz and disbanded several years later, their legacy thrived for decades, perpetuated by the bandmates' respective solo careers as well as the enduring strength of the Band's catalog…

The Band's first album, Music from Big Pink, seemed to come out of nowhere, with its ramshackle musical blend and songs of rural tragedy. The Band, the group's second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit, and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson had taken over the songwriting, writing or co-writing all 12 songs. Though a Canadian, Robertson focused on a series of American archetypes from the union worker in "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and the retired sailor in "Rockin' Chair" to, most famously, the Confederate Civil War observer Virgil Cane in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." The album effectively mixed the kind of mournful songs that had dominated Music from Big Pink, here including "Whispering Pines" and "When You Awake"…

Bob Dylan and the Band both needed the celebrated reunion tour of 1974, since Dylan's fortunes had been floundering since Self Portrait and the Band stumbled with 1971's Cahoots. The tour, with its attendant publicity, definitely returned both artists to center stage, and it definitely succeeded, breaking box office records and earning great reviews. Before the Flood, a double-album souvenir of the tour, suggests that these were generally dynamic shows, but not because they were reveling in the past, but because Dylan was fighting the nostalgia of his audience - nostalgia, it must be noted, that was promoted as the very reason behind these shows. Yet that's what gives this music such kick - Dylan reworks, rearranges, reinterprets these songs in ways that are still disarming, years after its initial release…

The Band’s first album, Music from Big Pink, seemed to come out of nowhere, with its ramshackle musical blend and songs of rural tragedy. The Band, the group’s second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit, and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson had taken over the songwriting, writing or co-writing all 12 songs. Though a Canadian, Robertson focused on a series of American archetypes, from the union worker in “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” and the retired sailor in “Rockin’ Chair” to, most famously, the Confederate Civil War observer Virgil Cane in “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

Recorded live during the European tour. PERFORMED BY STING & THE BAND. MADE IN EEC.

1965-1976. Brings together the band's previously unreleased or rare recordings.

On Thanksgiving Day 1976, The Band (Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robertson) took the stage for the very last time at the Winterland Theatre in San Francisco for The Last Waltz. Joining The Band on stage throughout the evening was an unprecedented group of pioneers in music including Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, and Neil Young, among others. This the 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes all the original audio content the entire concert, as well as rehearsals and outtakes. Among the rarities are performances not featured in the film, such as “Furry Sings The Blues” with Joni Mitchell and “All Our Past Times” with Eric Clapton, plus rehearsals for “Caravan” with Van Morrison, “Such A Night” with Dr. John, and “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” a song that was not performed in concert. The CD version also includes newly-penned liner notes revered music journalists David Fricke and Ben Fong-Torres along with a classic essay from 1977 written by iconic author Emmett Grogan.

In honor of the 15-year anniversary of the Vault, the longest continuously running vinyl subscription club in the world, Third Man Records in conjunction with Columbia Records / Legacy Recordings is proud to announce its 61st Vault package, Bob Dylan’s The 1974 Live Recordings: The Missing Songs From Before The Flood. The box set chronicles Dylan’s legendary 1974 tour with The Band, a pivotal moment that saw them performing for their largest crowds to date. With a variety of full show performances available to cull from in the compiling of Before The Flood it was natural that some songs, no matter how compelling and powerful, would not fit on the original 2xLP release in 1974. Pressed at Third Man Pressing in Detroit on three charming green LPs, this configuration is the only vinyl release of any of the archived 1974 live recordings. As an added bonus, Third Man has designed a classic 1970’s-styled souvenir tour book. Comprising photos taken during this momentous tour and of-the-era graphics and archival material, this 8.5 x 11 inch, 20 page book is the perfect visual accompaniment to the moving, powerful audio it is paired with. To top it all off, included here is a 7-inch single featuring the inimitable “Blowin' In The Wind” as originally included on Before The Flood backed with an incendiary take of “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)” recorded at Madison Square Garden on January 30th, 1974.

Time Life Music’s Singers & Songwriters: Troubadours offers up 34 rock, folk, and pop cuts from the '60s and '70s. The two-disc set, which is part of Time Life’s Singers & Songwriters series, hits mostly high notes, covering everything from soft rock (Dan Fogelberg's “Longer”) to hippie folk (Scott McKenzie's “San Francisco [Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair]”) to classic rock radio staples (Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way").

None of the Band's previous work gave much of a clue about how they would sound when they released their first album in July 1968. As it was, Music from Big Pink came as a surprise. At first blush, the group seemed to affect the sound of a loose jam session, alternating emphasis on different instruments, while the lead and harmony vocals passed back and forth as if the singers were making up their blend on the spot. In retrospect, especially as the lyrics sank in, the arrangements seemed far more considered and crafted to support a group of songs that took family, faith, and rural life as their subjects and proceeded to imbue their values with uncertainty. Some songs took on the theme of declining institutions less clearly than others, but the points were made musically as much as lyrically…

This superb live recording, taken from an FM radio broadcast of The Band playing at the Mandel Hall - a seated concert venue holding 750 situated within the University of Chicago - during their first re-union tour following the group s split in 1976, subsequent to their Last Waltz concert - was nothing short of a roaring success. Despite the absence of Robbie Robertson who, following some perhaps unfortunate remarks made by Rick Danko after the initial split, had declined to take part , which some critics saw as blasphemous. Robbie had also, by this juncture, all but turned his back on the worlds of pop and rock music and was concentrating largely on movies, in which he would sometimes feature in an acting role, sometimes provide some or all of the soundtrack for, and sometimes do both. The other four however were hungry to get back on the road and did just that in July 1983; this CD is an excellent illustration of what went down during these initial re-union gigs.

The 1974 live recordings celebrates the 50th anniversary of bob dylan’s return to touring that year. Featuring all professionally recorded shows from the artist’s 1974 performances backed by the band, the collection will be available as a deluxe box set across 27 cds. The 1974 live recordings offers fans 417 previously-unreleased bob dylan live tracks – including 133 recordings newly mixed from 16-track tape, and every single surviving soundboard recording – along with new liner notes by journalist and critic elizabeth nelson.

The 1974 live recordings celebrates the 50th anniversary of bob dylan’s return to touring that year. Featuring all professionally recorded shows from the artist’s 1974 performances backed by the band, the collection will be available as a deluxe box set across 27 cds. The 1974 live recordings offers fans 417 previously-unreleased bob dylan live tracks – including 133 recordings newly mixed from 16-track tape, and every single surviving soundboard recording – along with new liner notes by journalist and critic elizabeth nelson.

Released in the fall of 1989, To Kingdom Come is a double-disc set that purports to be "The Definitive Collection" and, in a sense, it does provide a good overview of the band's career. Over the course of 31 songs, the collection works its way through the hits and album tracks, adding such rarities as "Get Up Jake," "Back to Memphis," and "Lovin' You Is Sweeter Than Ever," even if it never touches on The Basement Tapes. All the predictable items are here and the album tracks are well-chosen, and it is a good representation of the band, worth the time of listeners who want a smartly assembled anthology. The 2000 Greatest Hits gets the edge for casual fans, since it has 20 tracks on one disc, yet this remains worthwhile for listeners who want a fairly comprehensive, thorough anthology.