Capitol/UMe has released the massive 50th-anniversary box set reissue of The Band‘s 1970 album Stage Fright. Supervised by Robbie Robertson, the remixed, remastered, and expanded edition of The Band’s third album is now available for fans to purchase on 33PRM vinyl and also comes with a previously-unreleased live album captured at London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 3rd, 1971, field recordings of the album’s tracks, alternate versions, and more.
While the remixed and remastered versions of the original recordings courtesy of veteran engineer Bob Clearmountain offer a strong sonic reminder of The Band’s third album all these years later, the additional live album included in the reissue is the bonus that fans should be just as excited about. The previously-unreleased June 1971 concert in London features 20 live tracks, including the previously-shared “Time To Kill” and “The Weight”.
As for the album’s field recordings, they were tracked on a hazy night at the Calgary Hotel, and hears Roberston, Rick Danko, and keyboardist Richard Manuel workshop “The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show”, in addition to jamming through other songs ideas that didn’t make the final record.
“This sequence is the story of ‘Stage Fright’,” Robertson told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. “This is what it was supposed to be. I got thrown off track because it was a particular period with the guys. And I lived with that. It was stuck inside me.”
Stream the 50th-anniversary deluxe reissue of Stage Fright via the Spotify player below. Click here to purchase the reissue.
The Band – Stage Fright (Deluxe Remix 2020)