Rick Danko Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
The double-disc One More Shot includes a remastered version of Danko/Fjeld/Andersen's self-titled album from 1991 along with a newly available live performance from the same year. Upon its original release, Danko/Fjeld/Andersen quietly won much acclaim, most notably the 1992 Spellemans Pris, which is Norway's version of a Grammy. All three artists trade singing and songwriting duties over the course of the album's 12 tracks, and the mood is often gentle, one of melancholy and reflection. Of the standout moments, Rick Danko's rendition of Eric Andersen's "Blue River" deserves recognition. The second disc of One More Shot features the trio's performance at the 1991 Molde International Jazz Festival, which took place shortly after Danko/Fjeld/Andersen recorded their album. During the course of the 16-song performance, each of the three artists gets some time in the solo spotlight, and the trio revisits songs from their respective pasts as well as a few songs from Danko/Fjeld/Andersen. A small backing band joins the trio for the performance, which sounds intimate and stripped down. Though Danko/Fjeld/Andersen has been readily available, this live performance has not, which makes One More Shot the preferred choice over the studio album on its own. Besides the great live performance, it also features remastered sound quality and liner notes by Robert Palmer. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Times Like These'
Release Date 8/22/2000
Tracks 10
Label Breeze Hill
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What The Critics Say
Times Like These, released posthumously, is Rick Danko's last studio album. There's a tendency for fans to under-appreciate the singer/bassist's later work, opting instead for some sepia-toned memory of the Ontario farm boy amidst his original Band colleagues in the '60s and '70s -- but that's only part of the story of a 40-year career. Later in life, Danko's voice, while remaining the distinctly mournful instrument of his youth, mellowed to equal parts milk and whiskey. Here, a less urgent and wiser artist wraps his pipes around his signature tune "This Wheel's on Fire," which is drawn out on both ends by elegant instrumental passages. This version of the song is a fitting coda to Danko's life, lingered over lovingly and masterfully by the Crowmatix with Band cohort Garth Hudson, a veritable one-man Fellini soundtrack on accordion. "Let the Four Winds Blow," a Fats Domino/Dave Bartholomew cover recorded live, showcases Levon Helm on harmonica and longtime Danko and Band associate Professor "Louie" on piano and vocals, rolling and stomping in the finest spirit of the Band. "All Our Past Times," a return to a song the artist co-wrote with Eric Clapton in 1976, is wistfully gorgeous and heart-wrenchingly appropriate. And a cover of The Grateful Dead's "Ripple" -- with Hudson and Helm once again making appearances -- is delivered with the rustic charm of a back porch session (albeit a highly skilled one). While the album can drip with sentimentality or sound too polished at times, ultimately Times Like These, co-produced by Danko and Professor "Louie" (aka Aaron Hurwitz), is a thoughtfully rendered reflection on a great musical life. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Perhaps the least heralded of the three great vernacular singers that made up the front line of the Band (Robbie Robertson doesn't count, at least not as a singer), Rick Danko may well have been the glue and the heart of the whole enterprise. If Levon Helm's Arkansas drawl brought a kind of historical authenticity to the character studies he sang, and gave the Band the closest thing to a frontman, while Richard Manuel's gospel-tinged vocals, sung like a ragged angel desperately down on his luck, gave the Band its soul, then Danko's beautifully unsteady voice gave the Band its unabashed honesty, and particularly on his signature tune, "Makes No Difference," its very heart. Danko always seemed bare, open and naked when he sang this song in the Band's standard live set, and his solo career, in a way, mirrored it, with Danko sounding like an increasingly frayed nerve. This collection was drawn from two live performances just a couple of weeks apart in 1997, and features Danko in a loose trio format with late-era Band associates Randy Ciarlante on drums and Aaron Hurwitz on piano and accordion. Opening with an admirable version of J.J. Cale's "Crazy Mama" and climaxing in a particularly fragile take on "Makes No Difference," Danko works his limited palette well, and while nothing here replaces the original versions by the Band, neither does anything here diminish that legacy. Danko's death in 1999 makes this a particularly precious document of one of the most unique and unsung voices in rock. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While this second effort by this supergroup does not reach the strength of the first, there are many fine moments, such as a cover of Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day." ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide
'Danko/Fjeld/Andersen'
Release Date 1/1/1992
Tracks 12
Label Rykodisc
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What The Critics Say
Danko is Rick Danko, vocalist/bassist with the Band, Fjeld is Norwegian folksinger Jonas Fjeld, and Andersen is American folksinger Eric Andersen, who spends a lot of time in Norway these days. The album by this casual triumvirate is a sort of late night song swap that finds Danko taking a shot at Andersen's classic "Blue River," and Andersen trying Tom Paxton's "Last Thing On My Mind," and Fjeld handling some excellent originals, such as "Blue Hotel." This is folk, blues, rock 'n' roll, and country music, played with an easy authority. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Recorded after the breakup of the Band in 1977, Danko's debut featured guest shots from Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Doug Sahm, Tim Drummond, and Gerry Beckley. Even with all the extra firepower, it's an uneven effort at best with "Java Blues," "Shake It," and "Brainwash" being particular standouts. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
