Rock of Ages | ||||
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Live album by The Band | ||||
Released | August 15, 1972 | |||
Recorded | December 28–31, 1971 | |||
Venue | Academy of Music, New York City | |||
Genre | Roots rock | |||
Length | 78:19 | |||
Label | Capitol SABB 11045 | |||
Producer | The Band | |||
The Band chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Robert Christgau | B |
Down Beat | |
Entertainment Weekly | A |
MusicHound | 5/5 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | (not rated) |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert is a live album by the Band, released in 1972. It was compiled from recordings made during their series of shows at the Academy of Music in New York City, from December 28 through December 31, 1971. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified a gold record by the RIAA. A more comprehensive release of recordings taken from the same series of shows was released in 2013.
The Band booked a residency at the Academy of Music for the last week of 1971, culminating in a New Year's Eve performance. Robbie Robertson had commissioned New Orleans songwriter and arranger Allen Toussaint to compose horn charts for their recent single "Life Is a Carnival" from the album Cahoots, and decided to have Toussaint write special charts for a five-man horn section to augment the group on their upcoming concerts. Charts written by Toussaint in New Orleans were in luggage lost at the airport, and a new set was composed in a cabin near Robertson's house in . Robertson selected eleven songs to receive horn charts, and all are included on the released album. The horns do not play on "Get Up Jake", "Stage Fright", "This Wheel's on Fire", "The Weight", "The Shape I'm In", and "The Genetic Method." Selections on the bonus disc also do not feature horn arrangements, although the horn section added spontaneous flourishes to "Down in the Flood" and "Rolling Stone."