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Across the Great Divide: The Band and America
Barney Hoskyns and The Band, © 1993
non-fiction; 430 pages

As I'm sure many of you are aware, I'm a huge fan of The Band. So, while I personally contend that they were the greatest ensemble of all time (and will argue this point with anyone willing to engage), I feel that I'm discerning enough to look at a dissection of their career with an open and judicious mind.

It was with some excitement that I first began reading Across The Great Divide: The Band and America. Barney Hoskyn's examination of the relation between the great nation and the largely Canadian group is a triumph of music scholarship (I don't buy into the contention that the Pilgrim's Progress essay within the seminal Mystery Train by Greil Marcus is more revelatory at all). While the volume tells the story of The Band, it's greater purpose is its exploration of America revealed through the eyes of these four outsiders from the north and their full-throttle razorback from the Delta. Hoskyns relates how the quintet was able to pull back a curtain and illuminate the essence of America through both their musical arrangements and their lyrics. In addition to this, he also builds on how their elucidation of America changed the shape of modern music and garnered fawning acolytes out of people like George Harrison, Eric Clapton, etc.

Marvelously researched and easily readable. Hands down a must for anyone with a passing interest in (popular) American music and/or the history of its aggregate parts.

Consider it