The Band enjoys one of the most pristine reputations among all rock bands. But much of that reputation stems from their earliest days, including the unofficial recordings they made with Bob Dylan and their highly regarded first three albums. Not enough people consider their 1975 album Northern Lights-Southern Cross, their unofficial goodbye record, as a masterpiece on its own.
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But we’re here to tell you that it is. Let’s look back at how the album was created and why it’s on a par with anything this legendary quintet ever did.
A New Shangri-La
Personal problems and substance abuse began to eat away at the harmony that once characterized The Band, both in terms of their relationships and their music. They went four years without releasing any original material after 1971’s Cahoots, which itself paled compared to their first three records. While they stayed busy touring and looking back to their early days (particularly with the official release in 1975 of The Basement Tapes, their underground recordings with Dylan from the late ’60s), it seemed to many that their best records were behind them.
To help spur enthusiasm for recording, The Band leased a house in Malibu on a ranch known as Shangri-La. They turned the house into a recording studio in 1974, giving them the chance to record whenever they felt the urge without studio pressure on them. That was how they made their 1969 self-titled album, generally regarded as their masterpiece.
The making of Northern Lights-Southern Cross spread across much of 1975, in part because they weren’t on a ticking clock. Robbie Robertson penned all eight songs on the record, and his creative juices were flowing freely again after the long time between original Band records. When the album was released in November 1975, many critics named it one of the group’s finest records.
Unfortunately, it sold poorly. It was also overshadowed in short time by a new development in The Band’s career. Robertson, weary of the road and of the struggles of the other group members, made the decision to plan a farewell concert.
The Last Waltz, featuring The Band and a whole host of superstars, took place in November 1976, essentially putting an end to the classic lineup’s time together. The 1977 album Islands was pulled together to fulfill a contract, but mostly consisted of leftovers. The Band would reform in the ’80s without Robertson, even recording a pair of albums with the core of Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson. (Richard Manuel died in 1986.) All those later developments helped take the attention away from Northern Lights-Southern Cross as the fitting farewell it should have been.
Last Stab at Greatness
Northern Lights-Southern Cross delivered a final, brilliant artistic statement from these five men, as they reached back to recapture some of the old magic. Of the eight songs, there isn’t one that feels unnecessary. And several tracks rank among The Band’s very best.
“Forbidden Fruit” starts the album off on a rollicking note, with lyrics likely touching on some of the excess in which the group’s members indulged. “Hobo Jungle” offered a touching ode to off-the-grid characters, with Manuel providing an earthy, heartfelt lead vocal. “Ophelia” provoked smiles through its ebullient New Orleans-style horns and Helm’s rabble-rousing vocal.
The album also contains a pair of undeniable epics. On “It Makes No Difference,” Danko offers a heartsick vocal for the ages, while Robertson on guitar and Hudson on saxophone take the song home with a lovely duet. In “Acadian Driftwood,” Robertson uses his story-song skills, formerly focused on the American South, to look back at a tragedy befalling his home country of Canada. The stunning vocal harmonies and the elegiac music will stop you in your tracks.
Northern Lights-Southern Cross explodes the idea that The Band never quite matched the incredible start of their recording career. Listen to it now, and you’ll hear five men rising to the occasion with gusto once more before finally calling it a day.
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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
