TS: Danko vs. Manuel vs. Levon

I think I like Manuel's singing the best.

But Levon sang on the hits, "Cripple Creek," "Dixie" and "The Weight..."

The two dan mentioned get me as well. And "Rocking Chair" does too.

I love 'em all, but Manuel by a fucking mile.

I met old Greil once at some book fest in Nashville around '90 when the new edition of "Mystery Train" came out. He was walking around looking bemused or whatever he does and we chatted, he signed my copy. It's good, he just tries so damned hard, it's exhausting.

While I'm no censorship fan, you're probably not missing much re: the monologues.

manuel's whispering pines stands alone though. bizarre/beautiful.

and come to think of it, danko's it makes no difference is killer.

like i said, all great.

rick seemed so fragile, goddamn he breaks my heart ;_;

I forget the name of the movie where all the bands took the train across Canada, but you could tell by watching it that Danko was not going to live to a ripe old age.

festival express

On the basis of "Whispering Pines" alone I'd have said Manuel until recently, when I started listening to this performance really closely, esp. to Helm's vocal. Now I think Helm's vocal is a huge part of the masterpiece that it is. Listen to the way they weave together at 1:06 to 1:09, their voices making a double helix. They do this again in the choruses afterward, each time a little different. Then there's the the song from about 2:34 on, beginning with the "standing by your well" part, where Levon leads and Richard comes in each time, as if to say: Levon, I've got your back, no matter what; like the essence of being a brother to someone.

i don't even want to choose, three bros that i wouldn't say a bad word about

levon's voice has the most character. danko does the most with what he's got.

i love levon but i'm going with rick danko <3<3<3, such weird phrasing at times.
richard manuel is a fine singer but i find his stuff slightly less interesting

i think robbie's leads on kingdom come and knockin lost john are good in a strained rock singer sorta way

all gone now : (

still favor danko slightly but there are no losers here

levon -strongest, most consistent
richard -most emotional (and emotionally evocative, usually)
rick -favorite
after years of listening to them, it was not until recently (few years ago) that i felt the need to be able to always pick out who is singing what, and pick a fave.
after seeing some of the footage from festival express... it was all over.
long black veil -nothing beats it.
also didn't realize growing up what a really unique thing they had

kind of a cool danko solo show from the 90s here: http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=1331

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLTZGTlRTus

such a beautiful wreck of a man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYyemLc8ioY