This is the first The Band recording I ever purchased back in 1973. It remains my favorite from these guys. Describing The Band in musical terms is not easy. They are a blend of hillbilly folk, country rock and pop music with a great proficiency for story telling! Stage Fright will remain as one of the top recordings of all time, produced by Todd Rundgren and finished in only a two week period! If you love colorful music with great story telling, then you need to buy this CD!
This is adored by many, which I find baffling, as it's real let-down, compared to the preceding "brown album"-- not so much in terms of the material but very much so in terms of performance. As disclosed by R. Robertson in his autobiography, the Band at this point was splintering due to the pressures of ego-inflation and drug use and it shows. It's highly inconsistent. Personally, I much prefer the live versions available on the 2 cd Rock of Ages set. Caveat emptor !