Across the Great Divide

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Capitol's 1989 Band compilation To Kingdom Come was subtitled "The Definitive Collection," so what is this? Well, you see, the other one was only a two-disc set, and this is a three-disc set. As the CD reissue/boxed set boom goes on, record companies have taken to redoing acts they've already done once (it's easier than really digging into those vaults for the valuable stuff that's now out of print due to the CD boom), so even though the Band has one classy CD anthology (and a few tacky ones), Capitol gives us another. In this case, they've divided it into two discs' worth of the greatest hits, followed by a disc of rarities (some not so rare) and unreleased tracks that includes pre-Band recordings by the Hawks, collaborations with Bob Dylan, live tracks from the Woodstock and Watkins Glen festivals, and the like. All of which pushes this set up a price point or two from the earlier one, without adding anything substantial to the story. If you're a collector or a hard-core fan, you'll want to add this to your collection, of course (that will be at least seven copies of "The Weight," won't it?), but it remains possible to get the Band's essence, in coherent form, by buying Music From Big Pink, The Band, and The Best Of The Band, and the three of them together probably will cost you less than Across The Great Divide. --William Ruhlmann, All-Music Guide The 1994 box set of The Band, Across The Great Divide, is exquisitely produced (box, booklet, CD cases, etc.) but is somewhat shy on rarities, including only 7 previously unreleased items. The only new Dylan-related item is the live 1975 Watkins Glen, previously unreleased performance of "Don't Ya Tell Henry" (B. Dylan). The tracks are digitally remastered. --Rudi Schmid

A rather extatic review of Across the Great Divide appeared in issue 1.4 of the magazine Urban Desires.

In 1994, Capitol also released a 16-track CD with selections from this 3 CD box-set, titled The Best of Across the Great Divide.

Tracks

Disc 1

1.	Tears of Rage	(285K)
2.	The Weight	(287K)	(123K)
3.	I Shall Be Released	(234K)	(123K)
4.	Chest Fever	(122K)
5.	In a Station
6.	To Kingdom Come	(188K)
7.	Lonesome Suzie

8 tracks from The Band:

8.	Rag Mama Rag	(246K)
9.	The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down	(210K)
10.	King Harvest [Has Surely Come]	(145K)
11.	Rockin' Chair
12.	Whispering Pines
13.	Up On Cripple Creek	(242K)	(122K)
14.	Across the Great Divide	(253K)
15.	The Unfaithful Servant

4 tracks from Stage Fright:

16.	The Shape I'm In	(319K)
17.	Daniel & The Sacred Harp
18.	All La Glory	(233K)
19.	Stage Fright	(222K)

Disk 2

1.	When I Paint My Masterpiece	(229K)
2.	The Moon Struck One
3.	Life Is a Carnival	(282K)	(122K)
4.	The River Hymn

5 tracks from the live album Rock of Ages:

5.	Don't Do It	(245K)
6.	Caledonia Mission
7.	W.S. Walcott Medicine Show	(122K)
8.	Get Up, Jake
9.	This Wheel's on Fire	(228K)

2 tracks from Moondog Matinee:

10.	Share Your Love with Me
11.	Mystery Train	(2.7MB)

3 tracks from Northern Lights - Southern Cross:

12.	Acadian Driftwood	(206K)	(122K)
13.	Ophelia	(166K)	(121K)
14.	It Makes No Difference	(285K)	(120K)

3 tracks from Islands:

15.	Livin' in a Dream	(164K)
16.	The Saga of Pepote Rouge	(2.0MB)
17.	Right as Rain	(203K)

Disk 3

1.	Who Do You Love (B.Diddley)	(245K)
	By Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks, previously released as a single, 3/1963.
2.	Do the Honky Tonk (D.Robey)
	By Levon Helm & The Hawks, live 7/64 Port Dover, Ontario, previously unreleased
3.	He Don't Love You	(140K)
	Robertson song with Levon Helm & The Hawks, 1964, previously released as a single, first time on CD
4.	Katie's Been Gone	(143K)
	From The Basement Tapes.
5.	Bessie Smith	(248K)
	From The Basement Tapes.
6.	Orange Juice Blues [Blues for Breakfast]
	By The Hawks, 9/1967, demo, previously unreleased
7.	Ain't No Cane on the Brazos
	The Band, live 1969 Woodstock, previously unreleased
8.	Slippin' & Slidin' (R.Penniman)	(118K)
	The Band, live 1970 St. Louis, previously unreleased
9.	Twilight
	The Band, 6/1976, from The Best of The Band
10.	Back to Memphis	(122K)
	From Live at Watkins Glen
11.	Too Wet to Work
	From Live at Watkins Glen. Formerly as "Organ in the Rain", organ solo by Garth Hudson, previously unreleased
12.	Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
	From Live at Watkins Glen
13.	Don't Ya Tell Henry
	From Live at Watkins Glen. Previously unreleased.
14.	Endless Highway	(2.5MB)
	From Live at Watkins Glen. Previously unreleased.
15.	She Knows	(324K)
	Richard Manuel, live 1/86 Lone Star Cafe, New York, previously unreleased

5 tracks from The Last Waltz:

16.	Evangeline	(123K)
	The Band and Emmylou Harris
17.	Out of the Blue
18.	The Weight	(242K)
	The Band and The Staple Singers
19.	Last Waltz Refrain
20.	Theme from the Last Waltz	(245K)
	The Band and orchestra

Across the Great Divide - The Band - 1994 - Capitol 89565 2
3 CD boxed set with 48 page booklet, liner notes by Chet Flippo.

AMG Rating: 7 (out of 9)

Details about the tracks by Rudi Schmid.