On February 20, 1995, a press release was issued by Capitol Records announcing a new live album from The Band. The press release boasted an important discovery of The Band’s performance at the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen.
The event in Upstate New York was held 50 years ago, on July 28, 1973. Drawing a historic 600,000 people, The Band was joined on the lineup by the Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band.
CAPITOL DISCOVERS THE BAND’S LOST PERFORMANCE AT WATKINS GLEN
On July 28, 1973, at Watkins Glen in New York, The Band played one of the biggest outdoor shows in the history of rock, drawing nearly 600,000 fans. For the first time ever, Capitol Records will release this incredible live performance, which is titled The Band Live At Watkins Glen, on April 4 on both CD and cassette formats. Live At Watkins Glen is the only known recording of this spectacular event and it was recently discovered in the Capitol Records vault while compiling material for the critically acclaimed box act of The Band, Across The Great Divide.
After a long absence from touring, The Band returned to the stage in 1973 for this now historic appearance at Watkins Glen, New York. The Band Live At Watkins Glen offers an incredibly powerful stripped down live performance from The Band. This spectacular performance includes staples such as their 1969 hit “Up On cripple Creek,” “Back To Memphis” and “I Shall Be Released,” a song performed by Richard Manuel and co-written by Bob Dylan.
The Band also belts out raw versions of songs such as Dylan’s “Don’t Ya Tell Henry,” Chuck Berry’s “Back To Memphis” and the Four Tops’ 1966 hit “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever.” Live At Watkins Glen also contains an amazing organ solo by Garth Hudson titled “Too Wet To Work,” formerly known as “Organ In The Rain.” Garth Hudson began to improvise this incredible solo while a rainstorm bombarded thousands of screaming fans. Hudson’s solo in “Too Wet To Work” is accented by real claps of thunder all captured on this live recording.
The Band Live At Watkins Glen is the only known live recording of The Band’s Watkins Glen performance and is available for the first time. ls the most complete version of this now legendary concert event and the only documentation of their victorious return to the stage.
What might have seemed odd to any of the 600,000 Summer Jam attendees reading that press release was the mention of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Ya Tell Henry,” which was not played by The Band in Watkins Glen at either the July 27 soundcheck or during their July 28 performance. What also might have confused was the Live At Watkins Glen tracklist’s inclusion of “Time To Kill” and “The Rumor,” which were also not played by The Band at Summer Jam.
In fact, just two tracks on the album, Hudson’s improvisation “Too Wet To Work” and a full band jam, are the only “songs” on the album recorded live at Watkins Glen in 1973. The other eight tracks are a mix of studio outtakes with overdubbed audience noise and live recordings from The Academy of Music in December 1971 and at Woodstock in 1969. Bill Graham’s introduction of The Band at Watkins Glen is the only other part of the Live At Watkins Glen album recorded at Summer Jam.
What Capitol Records likely found in 1995 was not The Band’s lost Watkins Glen recordings but rather remnants of an album tentatively titled ls Everybody Wet? that was slated for released in 1974 but never materialized.
With today being Garth Hudson’s 86th birthday, celebrate the milestone by listening to his mesmerizing “Too Wet To Work” solo and the jam that was actually from Summer Jam below:
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Too Wet To Work
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Jam
