Testimony

Starred review from October 10, 2016
Robertson, guitarist and songwriter for the Band, highlights his career, from his early days with Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks to the last waltz of the Band in 1976. A masterly storyteller, Robertson easily draws readers into tales of his youth and of his days with Bob Dylan. He describes the eventual formation of the Band and the group’s quick climb to fame. For the first time, Robertson tells his side of the story regarding his relationship with fellow Band member Levon Helm. In their early days, the two were close friends, but in late 1969, on the way home from a show, Robertson recalls that Helm lied to him about his drug use, and Robertson recalls: “Things changed in that moment. A distance grew between Levon and me that I don’t know if we were ever able to mend.” Throughout, Robertson provides an intimate look at the making of the Band’s farewell concert at Winterland—the Last Waltz—and describes the exhilaration, relief, and sadness of the night and the following days. Though it would have been nice if Robertson had included reflections on life since the Band and his own substantial solo career, this long-awaited and colorfully told memoir paints a masterpiece of a life in rock and roll.

Nothing forges the bonds of brotherhood like life in a band, especially when it's the Band."When you awake, you will remember everything," Robertson once wrote; true to form, this debut memoir--covering the life of Robertson and the Band up to the legendary "Last Waltz" concert in 1976--doesn't miss a thing. Whether running interference for a gangster uncle, taking B12 shots with Edie Sedgwick, or hanging with Bob Dylan at Big Pink, Robertson recalls all the key moments of an eventful life with a songwriter's eye for detail. Part Indian, part Jewish, and a Canadian native who would adopt and reinvent American music, Robertson learned his trade as a barely legal member of the Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly American transplant Ronnie Hawkins. After years of playing together, the Hawks left Hawkins and were soon touring with Dylan. It was a Faustian bargain--the group famously endured nightly boos as Dylan tortured the folkies with his electric guitars and amps--but the association also led to the most productive periods in the lives of everyone involved. Robertson is especially strong at capturing the Band's life with Dylan, where a shared spontaneity would inform both Dylan's legendary "Basement Tapes" and the Band's classic first albums. "Songs poured out of Bob and we tore through them; if lightning struck and you weren't around, the show went on without you," writes the author. What distinguishes the book more than anything is that, besides being Robertson's story, it's also a memoriam for the Band, a deeply felt thanatopsis for a group of renegades who were never better than when they were together. The picture may be a bit too rosy; post-breakup, Robertson was permanently at odds with the late Levon Helm over publishing credits. The author addresses the issue but not the fallout. Essential for any devotee of the Band, Dylan, or rock music in the last half of the 20th century. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2016

Robertson, songwriter and guitarist for the Band, who essentially defined Americana rock with their mixture of folk, blues, country, and rock with lyrics that mined history and timeless themes, has written a fascinating personal memoir. This lyricist with strong storytelling skills writes with an evocative voice that moves the narrative from sweaty Southern clubs to an artistic community in the New York Catskills to venues before huge audiences. Robertson recalls the five men of the Band and the bonds that were formed, tested, and sometimes frayed in the alchemy of creating music. From their early days with Ronnie Hawkins to backing Bob Dylan and creating with him the famous Basement Tapes to massive success on their own with the making of the farewell concert film The Last Waltz, this is a revealing look at a rock life of the 1960s and 1970s, featuring cameos from dozens of celebrities of the time and populated by a carnivalesque cast of supporting characters. VERDICT Writing about both small scene-stealing moments and of major life events with equal vigor, detail, and reflection, Robertson documents a crucially influential band and era. This book will enrich and delight any rock fan.--James Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
Prolific and eclectic Robertson is best known as the lead guitarist for the Band and their legendary The Last Waltz farewell concert, preserved in Martin Scorsese's mesmerizing documentary. On that occasion's fortieth anniversary, Robertson releases a memoir many decades in the making, a thoughtful look back on a remarkable life growing up half-Jewish, half-Mohawk on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and then in Toronto. It was on the Indian reserve that he was introduced to storytelling and traditional music and sacred myths, all of which, he writes, had a powerful impact on me. He discusses his years with rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks; going electric with Bob Dylan on his 1966 world tour; the recording of The Basement Tapes at the Big Pink house in upstate New York; and, of course, the formation of the Band. Robertson also describes the various local scenes he inhabited, from the Hotel Chelsea to Woodstock to the Malibu Colony. But the story ends with the Band's end, leaving fans to savor this rich memoir and wait for the next.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)