Neil Minturn, Michael J. Budds (Editor): The Last Waltz of the Band

[Cover]

In Vol. 2 of this new series, College Music Society Sourcebooks in American Music, Neil Minturn (of the University of Missouri-Columbia) acknowledges the phenomenon of rock and roll with a serious investigation of Martin Scorsese's documentary film The Last Waltz. This celebrated "rockumentary" artfully captures for posterity the final public performance of The Band, a partnership of one American and four Canadians that produced an impressive body of popular song in the rock idiom between 1961 and 1976 . Joining its members for their farewell was a variety of guests who -- like the music of The Band itself -- reflected the rich array of vernacular traditions that have nourished rock and roll since its emergence. Professor Minturn approaches the substance of the performances and the film itself in terms of intimacy and tradition. He presents the San Francisco concert as a summation of an extraordinary musical journey and prefaces his "scene-by-scene" analysis with a cogent introduction to documentary film-making. Selected performances are discussed in detail. --Pendragon Press, September 2005

Neil Minturn: The Last Waltz of the Band - 224 pages - Pendragon Press 2005 - ISBN 1576470938