Music / Studio Albums / Music from Big Pink
Music from Big Pink
Released July 1, 1968, on Capitol Records. Produced by John Simon. Recorded at A&R Studios in New York and Capitol Studios and Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, early 1968. The full story behind the record is covered in Music from Big Pink (1968); this page covers the record itself.
Track listing
| Side | Track | Writer(s) | Lead vocal |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Tears of Rage | Bob Dylan, Richard Manuel | Manuel |
| A | To Kingdom Come | Robbie Robertson | Robertson |
| A | In a Station | Richard Manuel | Manuel |
| A | Caledonia Mission | Robbie Robertson | Danko |
| A | The Weight | Robbie Robertson | Helm, Danko |
| B | We Can Talk | Richard Manuel | Manuel, Helm, Danko |
| B | Long Black Veil | Marijohn Wilkin, Danny Dill | Danko |
| B | Chest Fever | Robbie Robertson | Manuel |
| B | Lonesome Suzie | Richard Manuel | Manuel |
| B | This Wheel's on Fire | Bob Dylan, Rick Danko | Danko |
| B | I Shall Be Released | Bob Dylan | Manuel |
Personnel
- Rick Danko: bass, vocals
- Levon Helm: drums, vocals
- Garth Hudson: organ, piano, saxophone
- Richard Manuel: piano, vocals, drums
- Robbie Robertson: guitar, vocals
- John Simon: piano, tuba, horns (production)
Chart performance
Peaked at No. 30 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in 1968. "The Weight," the only single to chart, stalled at No. 63 on the Hot 100 the same week a competing cover by Jackie DeShannon reached No. 55. Modest sales at the time; the album's reputation grew almost entirely through critical and peer response rather than commercial performance.
Critical standing
Ranked No. 34 on Rolling Stone's 2003 and 2012 lists of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, dropping to No. 100 in the 2020 revision. Al Kooper's Rolling Stone review at the time of release called it "an event and should be treated as one." Widely credited, alongside its follow-up, as a founding document of what later became known as Americana, cited as a direct influence by Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Roger Waters, among many others.
Packaging
The front cover carries no band name, only a loose, six-figure painting by Bob Dylan, who'd offered to sing on the record and been turned down. The back cover is a plain photograph of the actual pink house in West Saugerties, New York, taken by Elliott Landy. Sleeve design by Milton Glaser. An inside photo of the Canadian members' families, taken by Landy at a farm in Simcoe, Ontario, ran alongside a separate photo of Helm's parents, unable to travel from Arkansas, captioned "Next of Kin."