The Band Expand ‘Cahoots’ For 50th Anniversary

‘Cahoots’, the 1971 fourth album for The Band, has been expanded to mark its 50th anniversary.

‘Cahoots’ was at Bearsville Studios at Woodstock in upstate New York. The studio was built by Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman and opened for business in 1969.

The album featured the first release of Dylan’s ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’. Dylan’s version came out two months later on ‘Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II’. Another track, ‘4% Pantomine’ was co-written with Van Morrison. Morrison also contributed vocals to the track.

Listen to the 2021 mix of ‘Life is A Carnival’

Bob Clearmountain was placed in charge of the project. “Robbie told me, ‘Just think of the original mixes as rough mixes. Pretty much don’t pay attention to the mixes themselves.'” This directive gave Clearmountain the leeway to unclutter some of the album’s original arrangements, all with Robertson’s blessing: “In the beginning of these sessions, we didn’t know if we were making another Basement Tapes where nobody would hear the music or if we were actually making a real record,” Robertson admits. Though Robertson felt the first three Band records wound up sounding better due to a combination of how today’s technology actually enhances the limitations of yesterday’s technology, he doubled down with his instructions to Clearmountain for Cahoots: “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.”

‘Cahoots’ was released on 15 September 1971. The 50th anniversary edition is coming 10 December 2021.

Cahoots (50th Anniversary Edition) Tracklisting
CD1
1. Life Is A Carnival
2. When I Paint My Masterpiece
3. Last Of The Blacksmiths
4. Where Do We Go From Here?
5. 4% Pantomime
6. Shoot Out In Chinatown
7. The Moon Struck One
8. Thinkin’ Out Loud
9. Smoke Signal
10. Volcano
11. The River Hymn
Bonus Tracks
12. Endless Highway
(Early Studio Take, 2021 Mix)
13. When I Paint My Masterpiece
(Alternate Take, 2021 Mix)
14. 4% Pantomime (Takes 1 & 2)
15. Don’t Do It (Outtake – Studio Version, 2021 Mix)
16. Bessie Smith (Outtake)

CD2
Live at The Olympia Theatre, Paris, May 1971 (Bootleg, Partial Concert)*
1. The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
2. We Can Talk
3. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
4. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
5. Across The Great Divide
6. The Unfaithful Servant
7. Don’t Do It
8. The Genetic Method
9. Chest Fever
10. Rag Mama Rag
11. Slippin’ And Slidin’
Bonus Tracks
12. Life Is A Carnival (Instrumental)*
13. Volcano (Instrumental)*
14. Thinkin’ Out Loud (Stripped Down Mix)*

Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Stereo
High Resolution Audio: 96 kHz/24 bit
1. Life Is A Carnival
2. When I Paint My Masterpiece
3. Last Of The Blacksmiths
4. Where Do We Go From Here?
5. 4% Pantomime
6. Shoot Out In Chinatown
7. The Moon Struck One
8. Thinkin’ Out Loud
9. Smoke Signal
10. Volcano
11. The River Hymn
Bonus Tracks
12. Endless Highway
(Early Studio Take, 2021 Mix)
13. When I Paint My Masterpiece
(Alternate Take, 2021 Mix)
14. 4% Pantomime (Takes 1 & 2)
15. Don’t Do It (Outtake – Studio Version, 2021 Mix)

1LP (33 1/3 RPM)
180g black vinyl (included in the box set and available individually); ltd. edition 180g black vinyl with tip-on jacket (available individually)
Side One
1. Life Is A Carnival
2. When I Paint My Masterpiece
3. Last Of The Blacksmiths
4. Where Do We Go From Here?
5. 4% Pantomime
Side Two
1. Shoot Out In Chinatown
2. The Moon Struck One
3. Thinkin’ Out Loud
4. Smoke Signal
5. Volcano
6. The River Hymn
Original 1971 7″ Capitol Single, Japanese Pressing (45 RPM)
A. Life Is A Carnival
B. The Moon Struck One
* Previously unreleased