Robbie Robertson Albums (4)
'Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy'
Release Date 3/10/1998
Tracks 11
Label Capitol
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What The Critics Say
Throughout his solo career, Robbie Robertson has been as fascinated with sonics as he was with songwriting, so perhaps it wasn't entirely surprising that he collaborated with techno DJ/producer Howie B and remixer Marius de Vries on his fourth album, Contact From the Underworld of Redboy. Anyone familiar with his moody, atmospheric solo efforts will realize that there's a bigger jump between Music From Big Pink and Robbie Robertson than there is between the Daniel Lanois-produced Robbie Robertson and the ambient-flavored Contact, but the electronic textures and dance beats still may come as a shock to some. The electronics are interwoven with blues, folk, country, and rock, as well as American Indian music. And, as on Music for the Native Americans, Robertson is primarily concerned with American Indians throughout Contact, whether it's through the chants of "Peyote Healing" or the protest of "Sacrifice," which features Leonard Peltier -- a Native American who has been imprisoned since 1976 on charges of murder many believe are fabricated -- on a telephone call. Both his lyrical and musical concerns can get bogged down in their own pretensions, but often, the results are provocative and unique. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Music for the Native Americans'
Release Date 10/4/1994
Tracks 12
Label Capitol
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With Storyville, Robbie Robertson's music began to directly incorporate more world music influences; Music for the Native Americans makes that connection more explicit. Most of the album is quite evocative, recalling an American version of Peter Gabriel's Mediterranean exploration Passion. Robertson writes some fully formed songs, but most of the record is devoted to instrumental, incidental film music, and that's where he fully explores new musical territory. Music for the Native Americans is a soundtrack, yet contains some of Robertson's most challenging and complex music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Robbie Robertson's 1987 solo debut was an ambitious but only intermittently successful attempt to chart a new musical direction for himself 11 years after the Band had publicly called it quits. Four years later, Robertson's second solo set, Storyville, found him in much more familiar musical territory, as he steeped himself in both the music and the lore of New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz and home to many of the R&B masters who had been a primal influence on Robertson and the other members of the Band. Anyone hoping for a blowing session with Robbie Robertson leading a team of the Big Easy's finest through the Huey "Piano" Smith and Professor Longhair songbooks will have to keep on dreaming; noted perfectionist Robertson polished these sessions to a high gloss (with the help of co-producers Stephen Hague and Gary Gersh), and the funk and good humor of Crescent City R&B generally takes a back burner to more sophisticated lyrical conceits (moody character-based narratives and meditations on the hard edges of love dominate) and gracefully moody musical structures not entirely unlike the sophisticated melodies of his first album. But the material on Storyville does have a lighter step and a freer swing than the songs on Robertson's debut, and his vocals are in far better shape this time out, boasting a lot more body and nuance than the sometimes fragile rasp that dominated his first time at bat. And Robertson had the good sense to bring Art Neville, his brother Aaron, Ziggyboo Modeleste, and Chief Bo Dollis on board; if the New Orleans presence in these songs is more often felt than heard, it still snakes powerfully through the music and honors the spirits that helped influence this music. If Robbie Robertson was about taking his music to a new and different place, Storyville found him taking his music back home and still finding new room to move within it, and if it's a more subtle album, in many ways it's also more satisfying. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Robbie Robertson was once asked why he waited 11 years after the breakup of the Band to release a solo project, and he replied, "I wasn't so sure I had something to say." One can hear a bit of this thinking in Robertson's self-titled solo debut; it's obvious that he didn't care to revisit the country- and blues-flavored roots rock that had been his bread and butter with the Band, and at the same time Robertson seemed determined to make an album that had something important to say, and could stand alongside his legendary earlier work. Looking for a moody and atmospheric sound, Robertson teamed up with producer Daniel Lanois, who had previously worked with U2 and Peter Gabriel, two artists whose work obviously influenced Robertson's musical thinking while he was making the album (they both appear on the album as well). As a result, Robbie Robertson is an album that represents both a clear break from his past, and an ambitious attempt to take his fascination with American culture and music in a new and contemporary direction. It's highly ambitious stuff, and the album's ambitions sometimes prove to be its Achilles' heel. Robertson's collaboration with U2, "Sweet Fire of Love," sounds like a rather unremarkable outtake from The Joshua Tree, with the group's aural bombast subsuming the ostensive leader of the session, while "Fallen Angel," "American Roulette," and "Somewhere Down the Crazy River" find Robertson exploring the same iconography of the Band's best work, but without the same grace or subtle wit. And it doesn't take long to realize why Robbie only took two lead vocals during his tenure with the Band; his dry, reedy voice isn't bad, but it lacks the force and authority to communicate the big themes Robertson wants to bring across. Despite all this, Robbie Robertson does have its share of pearly moments, especially on the bitter "Hell's Half Acre," "Sonny Got Caught in the Moonlight," and "Broken Arrow" (a performance more subtle and effective than Rod Stewart's better-known cover). Robbie Robertson isn't the masterpiece its creator was obviously striving towards, but it's an intelligent and often compelling set from an inarguably important artist, and it comes a good bit closer to capturing what made the Band's work so memorable than the latter-day efforts from Levon Helm and company. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
