You know this album. Even if you have somehow managed to miss it over the years, you know it from the countless other albums it has influenced in the 31 years since its release. Music From Big Pink is the closest thing we have to a sacred album in the annals of rock and roll. But let’s put the myth aside for a moment, and discuss the music.
The Band’s debut album was released in 1968, one of the most tumultuous years in the history of this country, and the world for that matter. It was a time of immense social and political change. There was civil unrest, assassination, war raging in Southeast Asia, the rise of the drug culture, and some of the most earth-shaking music ever made as the soundtrack to the whole mess. To say that the Band was unknown would not quite be accurate. They had been slugging it out on the road with Ronnie Hawkins for years, and more recently they had served as Bob Dylan’s backing band. It is fair to say that they weren’t on the radar of most people at the time. So in the midst of all of this change and chaos, what did these four Canadians and one American do? They released an album that took us back to our roots via popular music. Lives were changed. Eric Clapton decided to quit Cream after he heard the album. George Harrison paid close attention to the sound, and became even more disenchanted with the Beatles. (more…)
Do you ever buy something used and wonder about the life of that thing before it came into your possession? I like to think about such things sometimes. The reason I bring it up here is that the album I’m writing about today was apparently once owned by someone named Barb Follett. You can see her name printed in pencil on the label. I can’t help thinking about Barb. Who is she? Where is she? When and why did she sell this album? Barb, if you’re out there, let me hear from you!![road-to-woodstock-cover-image-677x1024[1]](http://popdose.com/wp-content/uploads/road-to-woodstock-cover-image-677x10241.jpg "road-to-woodstock-cover-image-677x1024[1]")
When it comes to telling the true story of Woodstock, more properly known as “An Aquarian Exposition: The Woodstock Music and Art Fair,” it’s hard to imagine anyone better suited for the role than Michael Lang. Now, 40 years after the world-changing event and right on time for the various activities celebrating the anniversary, the man who conceived the festival has decided to tell his story in 
Here are some fun facts about singer-songwriter Jules Shear:
Earlier this month New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo reported that he had sent his staff to 1,000 pharmacies across the state in March, April, and May and found more than 250 that were selling expired milk, eggs, baby formula, and over-the-counter medication. The two biggest culprits were the CVS and Rite Aid chains. So what else have these drugstores not been telling consumers?
Robbie Robertson’s recorded output with his legendary band — that is, The Band — and his solo career would seem like different beasts on the surface. While The Band was known for its exploration of the various forms of American roots music — folk, country, and rhythm and blues — his solo recordings have aimed for a more expansive sound, incorporating electronic instrumentation, prog-rock arrangements, and even dance remixes. But beyond that, Robertson’s solo career actually follows a similar level of output as The Band: two good albums (or in the case of The Band’s first two, great albums), followed by a few more middling works, and then absolutely nothing for at least a decade. Eleven years passed between 