Music from Big Pink

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Professional reviews
Music from Big Pink

Studio album by The Band
Released	July 1, 1968
Recorded	Early 1968
Genre	Rock
Length	42:22
Label	Capitol
Producer(s)	John Simon
All Music Guide link
The Band chronology
	Music from Big Pink (1968)	The Band (1969)

Music from Big Pink is the 1968 debut album by folk-rock band The Band. It features one of their best known songs, "The Weight."

1 Reception
2 Track listing
3 Personnel
4 Charts
5 External links

[edit] Reception

With a rough sound, seemingly chaotic arrangements, and a distinctive blend of country, rock, folk, classical, R&B, soul and americana, Music From Big Pink is generally considered one of the best albums by the Band, along with their 1969 sophomore release The Band. The album follows the band's backing of Bob Dylan on his 1966 tour (as The Hawks) and time spent at a shared house in upstate New York recording what would become the Basement Tapes, also with Dylan. The shared house, in Saugerties near Woodstock, was painted pink, providing the title for the album. To see a photo of Big Pink,click here:[1]

The initial critical reception of the album was generally positive, though sales were slim; Al Kooper's rave review of the LP in Rolling Stone helped draw public attention to it. The fact that Bob Dylan had composed three of the songs also helped to increase sales.

At the time, "The Weight" peaked at #63 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart (North America). The album peaked at #30 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in 1968, and then recharted as a #8 hit on the Top Internet Albums chart in 2000 (see 2000 in music). The song "The Weight" has gained widespread popularity, in spite of its dismal chart ranking, due partially to its inclusion in the cult favorite film Easy Rider, though it was left off of the soundtrack.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 34 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The laid-back feel of the album drew the attention of many other artists. For example, Eric Clapton cites the album's roots rock style as what convinced him to quit Cream, and pursue the styles of Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and his debut album.