For the 50th anniversary of Cahoots, The Band has revisited the classic 1971 album with an expanded anniversary edition. Available now across streaming services and in a fully-loaded box set, the remastered album features all-new mixes overseen by guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson as well as a partial bootleg concert from Paris, France in 1971.
Coming on the heels of 50th-anniversary reissues of Music From Big Pink, The Band, and Stage Fright, the expanded Cahoots sees Robertson and engineer Bob Clearmountain taking a fresh look at the classic LP. As with the previous reissues, Clearmountain—under Robertson’s supervision and with his full blessing—completely reimagined the original recordings.
“Robbie told me, ‘Just think of the original mixes as rough mixes. Pretty much don’t pay attention to the mixes themselves,’” Clearmountain notes in the box set’s liner notes.
Related: The Band Shares Previously-Unreleased “The Weight” From Royal Albert Hall, 1971 [Listen]
Though The Band’s rustic recording techniques are part of what gives them a unique charm to this day, Robertson elected to bring Cahoots into the 21st century. Clearmountain created new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 stereo surround-sound mixes for each song on the album and the four bonus tracks presented in high resolution on Blu-ray, alongside the new stereo mix.
“I told Bob, ‘There are no rules. So, every mix we do, I want to start from scratch. I don’t even want to listen to the original. I want to listen to the way we hear it now and be fearless and experimental with it,'” Robertson said.
Also included in the Cahoots reissue is Live at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, May 1971. Recorded on The Band’s momentous 1971 European tour, the partial recording captures 11 tracks from the May 25th, 1971 show in The City of Light. The Band’s 1971 return to Europe came five years after their infamous tour of the continent with Bob Dylan as his electric backing band where they were booed every night. Fast forward five years, and The Band returned to Europe at the top of their game and the top of the charts. Live at the Olympia Theatre hosts lively takes on such classics as “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, “Don’t Do It”, “We Can Talk”, “Chest Fever”, “Rag Mama Rag”, and more.
Stream the new 50th-anniversary reissue of The Band’s Cahoots via the player below or on your preferred streaming service. Click here to purchase physical copies of the album.
The Band – Cahoots (Deluxe Edition/2021 Remix)