The Band are set to release a seriously massive reissue of their 1970 album Stage Fright this month, and as previously reported, the set comes packed with previously unreleased material. Among all that bonus content is a live version of their classic hit "The Weight," which was captured at London's Royal Albert Hall in June 1971, and you can hear that unearthed track now.
The Band brought "The Weight" to the historic UK venue in the spring of '71 following their tumultuous tour with Bob Dylan in '66 — a trek that saw the Band booed basically every night by the folk purists angry that Dylan had gone electric.
So when the Band started their European tour to an actually positive response, they were more than a little shocked.
"Each member of the Band was on a musical high. Everybody playing and singing at the top of their game. Each night, from Amsterdam to Paris to Copenhagen, the spirit kept rising," recalled Robbie Robertson in a statement.
Since the Band wanted to document the good vibes, they had EMI tape their June 1971 at Royal Albert Hall on a 4-track. Now all these decades later, that live recording is finally being released, and you can get an idea of what to expect by hearing this newly shared version of "The Weight" below.
Stage Fright's 50th anniversary reissue will arrive on February 12 via Capitol/UMe/Universal Music Canada in a variety of formats.
Among the versions available is multi-format Super Deluxe 2CD/Blu-ray/1LP/7-inch vinyl box set with a photo booklet. There's also a digital edition, 2-CD version, a 180-gram black vinyl edition and finally a limited-edition 180-gram colour vinyl pressing.
The Band brought "The Weight" to the historic UK venue in the spring of '71 following their tumultuous tour with Bob Dylan in '66 — a trek that saw the Band booed basically every night by the folk purists angry that Dylan had gone electric.
So when the Band started their European tour to an actually positive response, they were more than a little shocked.
"Each member of the Band was on a musical high. Everybody playing and singing at the top of their game. Each night, from Amsterdam to Paris to Copenhagen, the spirit kept rising," recalled Robbie Robertson in a statement.
Since the Band wanted to document the good vibes, they had EMI tape their June 1971 at Royal Albert Hall on a 4-track. Now all these decades later, that live recording is finally being released, and you can get an idea of what to expect by hearing this newly shared version of "The Weight" below.
Stage Fright's 50th anniversary reissue will arrive on February 12 via Capitol/UMe/Universal Music Canada in a variety of formats.
Among the versions available is multi-format Super Deluxe 2CD/Blu-ray/1LP/7-inch vinyl box set with a photo booklet. There's also a digital edition, 2-CD version, a 180-gram black vinyl edition and finally a limited-edition 180-gram colour vinyl pressing.