The Band Stage Fright on 180g LP

Legendary Canadian-American roots-rock group The Band was a musical institution unlike anything that came before them or since. In the 1960s, they were initially brought together as The Hawks by Ronnie Hawkins and later gained international recognition as Bob Dylan's backing band on his groundbreaking electric tours.

However, it was the original material Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm recorded as The Band such as "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down," "Up On Cripple Creek," "Life is a Carnival," "The Shape I'm In," "Don't Do It," "It Makes No Difference," "Tears of Rage," "Stage Fright" and "Ophelia" that turned them into the highly respected icons they remain to this day.

A sharp stylistic and thematic detour away from their first two albums, the Band's Stage Fright is a compelling snapshot of a group coping with massive success and internal changes. Recorded in 1970 at the Woodstock Playhouse, the set shivers with raw emotions, dark confessionals, and intense singing. Largely devoid of the quintet's trademark all-for-one harmony vocals, Stage Fright is an utterly distinctive piece of the Band's catalog - and a historic landmark that's a necessary part of any music collection.

Splintered camaraderie and personal demons appear in now-famous songs such as the title track, "The Shape I'm In," and "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show." The music is rife with palpable tension, and as a credit to the Band's unique sound, absolutely singular. It's impossible to think of any other group playing these tunes. Robertson's balladic ode to his daughter, "All La Glory," featuring a gorgeous vocal turn from Levon Helm, provides a welcome and sunny contrast to the album's darker themes.