Well written, entertaining. I didn't realize quite how old this was. Contemporaneous events are Clinton's inauguration and the R&R HoF hadn't been built yet. There were a lot of hard feelings expressed in here, and I'm not sure Levon is the innocent in all of it. Still, Robbie Robertson is made to be kind of an ass. Perhaps he was. ( )

Late musician Levon Helm tells the story of his career, from the cotton fields of Arkansas to success with The Band, to his post-Band second act in this slow memoir. On the plus side, I don’t doubt that Helm’s co-writer captured the musician’s authentic narrative voice. Everything is told rather than shown, however, and the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle of sex and drugs is only suggested, not dramatized. There are a lot of extended quotes from secondary sources, as well as set lists from long-ago concerts and mentions of musicians whom Helm played with or admired. Even Helm’s understandable bitterness toward band mate Robbie Robertson (whom Helm accuses of causing the financial ruin of his fellow Band members by claiming all the songwriting credits for himself), makes for less than compelling reading. For fans only. ( )

I love Levon Helm. His ability to sing and play drums at the same time just fascinates me to no end. The Band is also in my top five favourite bands of all time (duh) so I had to read this book.

I really enjoyed reading about Levon's life on the farm as a young boy. The stories about The Band early on were interesting. Overall it was an entertaining read. And there's pictures :-) ( )

Has the ring of truth, as authentic as Helm himself. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, a nice look into what a band goes over the years. The only drawback was several times other people would state the way they remembered things and it got a little confusing on who I was hearing from. Levon Helm can be bitter about things without letting it overcome him and actually saying nice things about people he really didn't like, unusual to see someone this well grounded. Dylan Folks - a good bit of the material in the book will appeal to you. ( )

If you are a fan of The Band, this is a must-read. If not, I still highly recommend this one; it's the best rock memoir I've read. ( )

Fantastic autobiography from the great Levon Helm. I was surprised at how candid he was in discussing Richard Manuel's death. He was also scathing towards Robbie Robertson, which makes for a juicy read. A must-read for any fan of The Band. ( )

Gift from Dad (Kindle). Started reading on my phone but didn't like the experience, so I set it aside for almost 5 months before just requesting a library copy, which I read in only a few days. It's organized chronologically, from Levon's childhood through his early musical experiences, joining Ronnie and the Hawks in Canada, and touring in Canada and through the South before The Band was finally assembled. Then there was Woodstock, and Bob Dylan, success and good reviews, before Robbie Robertson decided he didn't want to continue and The Band was forcibly disbanded after The Last Waltz. Most of The Band continued to work as musicians (or actors), but Levon felt that Robbie was responsible for breaking up The Band, first by taking most of the song credits, then by quitting and not allowing them to continue without him. Though it's necessarily a one-sided account, it does seem like a justifiable grievance. This Wheel's on Fire (alternative title: The Best Seat in the House) was an engaging read that provided a good history, insight from other Band members and associated folks, many anecdotes, and some who-wrote-what for many of the songs. A good read for any fan of The Band.

Quotes

No drums. There was a law that said you couldn't have a drummer in a place where drinks were served. (36)

Levon [by then the boys had changed my name from Lavon because it was easier to say] (76)

Once I asked him where he learned to play so good and he explained in all seriousness that he was half wolf. (83)

"That's when i realized there were people over there having more fun than I was." -Garth (92)

Everybody around Woodstock in those days loved the [Bengali] Bauls. They were close to the bone of what music should be all about: ecstatic, unrelenting. They told us they loved Woodstock too because there was all this forest and no tigers to eat the children and goats. (158)

And this is what's so important about The Band: Everybody played something that was meaningful and that meshed. There were hardly any solos, and nothing was gratuitous. -John Simon (164)

The main thing was the spirit. We worked so hard on that music that no matter what the song credits say - who supposedly wrote what - you'd have to call it a full-bore effort by the group to show what we were all about. (166)

We didn't care about being stars. We just wanted to survive with our integrity. (175)

We discovered the songs themselves dictated who would sing and who would play the supporting roles. That was the real pleasure we got out of playing as a group. (187)

"Out of all the idle scheming, they gave us something to feel." -Ralph J. (194)

"Levon Helm is the only drummer that can make you cry." -Rolling Stone (202)

"Those first royalty checks almost killed some of us...We were all shocked at these windfalls we never dreamed existed. Dealing with this wasn't in the fuckin' manual, man! If you've enver made a million dollars overnight...you have no concept of what it can do. We saw it ruin people..." -Rick Danko (208)

None of us ever thought to write a song about all the shit that was going on back then: war, revolution, civil war, turmoil. Our songs were trying to take you someplace else. (220)

"For anyone other than The Band, Cahoots would be hailed as a splendid album. But the expectancy level will keep the enthusiasm level down. That's the price you pay for recording two masterpieces." -Robert Hilburn (225)

Bob Dylan had stood his ground, and the world had gone round a couple of times since then. (241)

We were a good team, and it was a shame to destroy it. (272)

Garth Hudson was right when he described music as medicine and musicians as possessing the power to heal. (272)

None of us is as important as he wishes he was. (278)

We never thought our 'career' was more important than the music. That's our whole story right there. (304) ( )