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Solo Essentials: Robbie Robertson

Robertson's solo career started slow, a full decade after the group's farewell, but it's the most extensive of any former member's.

Robbie Robertson (1987). His self-titled debut, produced by Daniel Lanois with contributions from Peter Gabriel and members of U2. The clearest bridge between the group's sound and where Robertson took his own songwriting afterward, and the best entry point for anyone who wants his solo work specifically.

Storyville (1991). Recorded in New Orleans with local musicians including former bandmates Garth Hudson and Rick Danko, leaning into the city's rhythms more directly than his debut had.

Music for the Native Americans (1994) and Contact from the Underworld of Redboy (1998). Two records exploring Robertson's Mohawk and Cayuga heritage directly, recorded with the Red Road Ensemble, both tied to television documentary projects rather than conventional album cycles.

How to Become Clairvoyant (2011). A later-career highlight, built around an extended collaboration with Eric Clapton.

Sinematic (2019). His final solo album, released a few years before his death, reflecting on Scorsese, mortality, and his own long career in film music.

For anyone interested in Robertson's other major body of work, his film scores for Martin Scorsese, from Raging Bull through Killers of the Flower Moon, are covered on his member page rather than here, since they're scores rather than solo albums in the usual sense.