Robbie Robertson was not The Band, no matter what he thinks. He may have written the songs. He may have written the licks. But you can't write the soul of a Southern man - especially not when he's a gaunt, bearded figure hunched over a drum set pounding out soul in double time while wailing Johnny Cash and Wilson Pickett through his pipes all at once.
Robbie Robertson was fascinated by the south. Levon Helm WAS the south. None of those songs would have worked without him to ground them.
Whenever certain artists pass, they leave you with a deep hole. Tonight, I'm gonna fill that hole with Daniel and he Sacred Harp. Those vocals always make me smile.
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