This Wheel's On Fire

After Bob Dylan's motorcycle accident, The Band (minus Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm) found themselves settled into their new home that Rick Danko found called Big Pink. Rick lovingly remembers, "Big Pink was our clubhouse. Richard did all of the cooking, Garth washed all the dishes because he didn't trust anyone else to do them, and I took the garbage to the dump and kept the fireplace going with split logs.". Bob Dylan paid the boys weekly while they settled in, and they saw it as a chance to finally relax after being on the road nonstop from their time in the Hawks and then the Bob tour. During this period, Rick also got a dog from Bob Dylan named Hamlet. Hamlet was a huge dog (thought to have been a poodle mix), and Bob was having a hard time training him and breaking the nippy habit. While he was having a hard time training his Saint Bernard as well, Rick felt a pull towards Hamlet and was sympathetic to his messy fur and living outside since Bob kicked him out. Upon seeing how Rick bonded with the dog, Bob insisted that he take Hamlet off of his hands and back home to Big Pink. Rick didn't want anything bad to happen to Hamlet, so he adopted him, took him to the vet where he happily cooperated, and then to the groomers. Rick recalls that he looked like such a brand new dog that Bob's wife Sara wanted him back, but Rick didn't budge. Hamlet was living a luxurious and happy new life at Big Pink, sleeping on the carpet by the warm stove and listening to the music being made.

Some of this new music happened in the makeshift basement studio that they had cleaned out. It was a typical basement with a washer and dryer but was the perfect spot to move their instruments into. Garth Hudson put together a couple of microphones that were set on top of the Wurlitzer piano and then connected them to a two-track reel-to-reel tape recorder that sat on top of his organ. That was all that they had for recording materials but they made it work. From March-December 1967, they all met in the basement and played for several hours almost every day. There was also a typewriter set up in the kitchen, with Bob Dylan sitting down to work on some of the lyrics whether it be handwritten or typed. Richard, Rick, and even Robbie would also occupy the typewriter to help work on some of Bob's songs in progress. Some of these famous songs that would make up The Basement Tapes and Music From Big Pink were Orange Juice Blues, Yazoo Street Scandal, Katie's Been Gone, Bessie Smith, I Shall Be Released, Tears of Rage, and This Wheel's On Fire. As Band fans know, I Shall Be Released, Tears of Rage and This Wheel's On Fire would be later re-recorded by The Band singing, but the Basement Tapes features Bob Dylan singing them. Bessie Smith was written by Rick and Robbie, and This Wheel's On Fire was musically composed by Rick with Bob writing the lyrics.

While Bob Dylan recovered from his accident, this period of writing became a habit. In the mornings, The Band would meet at his house for more of a working session, and in the afternoons they would go over to Big Pink, to finish work on songs, play for fun, and record. These demo recordings consisted of over a hundred songs and were mostly of a humorous and satirical tone that was inspired by things that were happening around them or even on the television with no intentions of the demos ever being released. In fact, he told Robbie that the tapes should just be destroyed. It was just for pure fun and practice and as a way to pass the time. The more serious songs, however, were going to be sent to Bob's publisher in New York with the hopes of famous musicians wanting to cover them. With all of this music being pushed out by the boys, Rick (who was still on the hunt for a record deal so they could set out on their own) was taking the chance to convince Albert Grossman to help them out. Sally Grossman was a big supporter of The Band and agreed with Rick that this would be an important and worthwhile investment. Albert gave in and he arranged a 10 album record deal with Capitol Records.

Rick was the one who took it upon himself to eagerly call Levon, who was still out of the group. He eagerly told him the news that The Band had gotten together, that Capitol was willing to give them a couple hundred thousand dollars, and that he needed to come up to New York to get his share, Levon was skeptical but gave in and got on the next flight to Woodstock. On the way home from the airport, Rick told him the whole story of everything he missed. From the Bob Dylan tour, everyone they met, working on the movie with Peter Yarrow, Bob's accident, the move to Big Pink, and their current project. Levon realized he had missed a lot, and that he was going to have to find his way back in the band. The day after he got to Woodstock, he jumped right in to work on Yazoo Street Scandal. While he was nervous about being away for so long, he realized that with everyone else working so hard, he didn't have a choice. He added drums, mandolin, electric bass and even managed to sing on some of the songs too, such as Yazoo, Don't Ya Tell Henry, and Ain't No More Cane.

This sabbatical period for The Band was not only relaxing and fun but also a period of discovering themselves and shaping their skills and abilities. They learned how their voices meshed, where they could complement each other, and how to signal off of one another with an added fill, beat, or even a quick harmony. The vocal work was especially developing and you can hear the extreme transition from their rough, untamed rock n roll vocals in The Hawks, to their blended tones and adding a little more soul, blues, and roots sound. Timing and stacking their voices became one of The Band's signature sounds, and the Basement Tapes gives a sneak peek into what this shiny new contract with Capitol Records was about to present to the world.

While the Basement Tapes that Bob Dylan demoed ended up being leaked by his publishers and bootlegged under the name Great White Wonder in 1969, Garth Hudson's two-track tapes eventually would be partially released on a 1975 album, and later editions. Rick Danko believed that the best recordings hadn't even begun to surface, and there continuously seems to be new demos released. The Basement Tapes, however, were not the only recordings being made down in that basement. No one knew except The Band and Bob Dylan what magic was being made, but pretty soon they were going to be shaking things up with even more "Music From Big Pink".