Jericho (The Band album)

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Jericho is the eighth studio album by Canadian-American rock group the Band. It was released on November 2, 1993, through Rhino Entertainment subsidiary Pyramid Records. It was the band's first studio album since Islands (1977) and their first since re-forming without guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson in 1983. Returning from the original lineup were Levon Helm (drums, mandolin and vocals), Rick Danko (bass, guitar and vocals), and Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards and horns), while pianist and vocalist Richard Manuel, who died in 1986, posthumously appears on one track. New to the group were drummer Randy Ciarlante, keyboardist Richard Bell, and guitarist Jim Weider. In addition to the core band lineup, many guest musicians and songwriters contributed to the album.

Jericho consists of new material written by both the original and new members of the band, contributions from outside songwriters, and covers of artists including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Muddy Waters. The album was released to positive reviews and was a steady seller, despite only peaking at number 166 on the Billboard 200. "Remedy" and a cover of Springsteen's "Atlantic City" were released as promotional singles to support the album, with the former reaching number 14 in Canada. Special praise has been directed at the band's ability to successfully proceed despite the absences of Robertson and Manuel, as well as their interpretations of "Atlantic City" and Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell". The Band would release the follow-up album High on the Hog in 1996.

Recording

In 1985, the Band went into the studio for the first time since 1977 with the intent of recording tracks for an eventual album. Richard Manuel had recently expressed interest in writing new material for the group,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and had written "Breaking New Ground" with Gerry Goffin and Carole King.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, on March 4, 1986, Manuel died by suicide,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Band abandoned efforts to make an album for several years.<ref name="demos">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1990, Sony offered the Band a recording contract. The group hired fellow Hawks member Stan Szelest to replace Manuel on keyboards, and proceeded to record new material with songwriter Jules Shear. However, these recordings were rejected by Sony, which suggested the group take submissions from various songwriters. Just as recording continued, Szelest died of a heart attack. The Band then requested release from Sony and found a new contract with Great Pyramid Records. Without Manuel or Robbie Robertson as songwriters, the group relied mostly on outside sources, such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Bruce Springsteen, and their friends Bob Dylan and Artie Traum. A few sessions also involved Champion Jack Dupree. "Country Boy", a song from the 1985 sessions with Manuel on vocals, was also selected for inclusion on the album. John Simon, who had produced the Band's first two albums, was again brought in to produce along with Aaron L. Hurwitz (engineer, record producer),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to form the collection which would ultimately become Jericho. The album was finally completed in 1993, with new members Richard Bell, Randy Ciarlante and Jim Weider on keyboards, second drums and lead guitar respectively.<ref name="demos" />

Among the new material are four new originals written by the group—"Remedy" (written by Weider and producer John Simon), "The Caves of Jericho" (co-written by Helm and Bell with Simon), "Too Soon Gone" (co-written by Szelest with Jules Shear), and "Move to Japan" (written by Helm, Szelest, and Weider with Simon and Joe Flood)—as well as two contributions from outside songwriters, Artie Traum's "Amazon (River of Dreams)" and "Shine a Light", composed by Marty Grebb and Daniel Moore. The rest of the album consists of six covers—Bob Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell", Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", "Country Boy" (originally released as "I'm Just a Country Boy" by Don Williams), Muddy Waters' "Stuff You Gotta Watch", Willie Dixon's "Same Thing", and The Delmore Brothers' "Blues Stay Away from Me".

Cover

The album cover is a painting by Peter Max of the "Big Pink" house in West Saugerties, New York, where Bob Dylan and the Band recorded music during the mid to late 1960s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The albums The Basement Tapes and Music from Big Pink both originated from the music created in this house.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The painting depicts the same view of the house used in the photographs on the cover of Music from Big Pink.

Reception

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Mark Deming of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5. He wrote that while Robertson's strong songwriting and stinging lead guitar were sorely missed, the remaining musicians and guests performed well and Jericho "did unexpectedly prove that the Band could function very well without Robertson".<ref name="AllMusic" /> Rolling Stone called their version of "Atlantic City" a "clear highlight".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> "Stuff You Gotta Watch" was included in the 1994 film Little Big League.

Track listing

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Personnel

The Band
Guest musicians
Production

References

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