THE BAND "LAST WALTZ" 1978 ORIGINAL COMPLETE 3-LP VINYL WINTERLAND 1976 LOOK

$

27

THE BAND "LAST WALTZ" 1978 ORIGINAL COMPLETE 3-LP VINYL ~ WINTERLAND 1976
THE BAND & FRIENDS "THE LAST WALTZ" 3-LP SET w/ MATCHING INNER SLLEVES & BOOKLET RECORDED LIVE AT WINTERLAND THANKSGIVING NOVEMBER 25, 1976 LABEL: WARNER BROTHERS RECORDS ~ 3WS 3146  RELEASED: APRIL 16, 1978 EDITION: 1978 FIRST RE-ISSUE ~ LATE 1978 PRESSING  PRESSING: CAPITOL RECORDS WINCHESTER  ( —◁ IN MATRIX) MASTERING/ LACQUERS: CHRIS BELLMAN ('CB' MATRIX) at ALLEN ZENTZ MASTERING ('AZ' MATRIX) PRODUCERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON & BILL GRAHAM ADDITIONAL RECORDING: MGM STUDIOS, SHANGGRI-LA STUDIOS, VILLAGE RECORDERS MATRIX (SIDE 2):  3WS-4-3146  RE1  WW4  —◁  
CONDITION:  VINYL: EX    BOOK/INNERS: EX-    JACKET: VG++ to EX-
I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection recently and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this fantastic, clean copy of the Band's live masterpiece, "The Last Waltz" from 1978.
This is my original copy of the record that I got as a Birthday present in the fall of 1978 when it was a 'new' album. I was young then and could barely afford to buy albums, especially not an expensive 3-LP set.
This is the 2nd US pressing, released shortly after the April first pressing, due to incredible demand. The only real difference is 'Shield' labels instead of 'Palm Tree' labels. Everything else is identical to the first pressing. A very nice, clean, complete, crisp copy from 1978.
This album has always been a favorite, from when I first heard it 45 years ago, to the present day. I played this entire album all the way through, twice, while writing up this listing, and it still sounds amazing. Fantastic, timeless music.
This concert was really a 'who's who' of 'Americana' music, before such a thing even existed. The Band were one of the creators of that style of music, and they made it even better by throwing a party, playing live, and inviting all their friends.
This album is one of the best examples of American roots music, despite few of the performers actually being American. I've always felt that The Band were one of the best American bands, despite being from Canada.
I can’t say enough good things about this album. It's packed with 30-ish songs, each one an amazing live performance. 
I was a huge Dylan, Clapton, Dr. John and Blues fan at the time, still am, and those artist's songs and performances on this album are outstanding.
I think the Blues songs; Muddy, Bobby Charles, Pinetop and Mavis Staples are often overlooked on this release, but they are all fantastic as well.
This is an excellent album and was a fantastic 'package' when it was released in 1978. Three live albums, each in a custom sleeve, and a nice booklet with great color pictures, all in a slightly oversized jacket with a textured cover and gold-foil embossing on the front. The elaborate packaging and cover logo were designed by John Casado.
This was long before all the fancy special releases we get and expect today. This was really something 'special' back in 1978. The recording, mixing and pressings were all excellent on these early Warner releases of the album.
Each of the records come in their own custom tan inner sleeve with the catalog number in the upper right corner.
This pressing comes with the booklet, which features the track listing, album credits, and great photography by Annie Leibovitz, Howard Rosenberg, and Neil Preston.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The amazing songs and the many musical guests on this 3-record set include:
Theme From the Last Waltz Up on Cripple Creek Who Do You Love  with Ronnie Hawkins Helpless  with Neil Young (Joni Mitchell backing vocals) Stagefright w/ Horns Coyote  with Joni Mitchell (Dr John on Percussion) Dry Your Eyes  with Neil Diamond It Makes No Difference Such a Night  with Dr. John The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Mystery Train  with Paul Butterfield Mannish Boy  with Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield & Pinetop Perkins Further on Up the Road  with Eric Clapton Shape I'm In Down South in New Orleans  with Bobby Charles & Dr John Ophelia Tura Lura Lural (That's an Irish Lullaby)  with Van Morrison Caravan  with Van Morrison Life Is a Carnival Baby Let Me Follow You Down  with Bob Dylan I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)  with Bob Dylan Forever Young  with Bob Dylan Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Reprise)  with Bob Dylan I Shall Be Released  with Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood & chorus The Last Waltz Suite: The Well / Evangeline  with Emmylou Harris Out of the Blue / The Weight  with Mavis & Pops Staples  The Last Waltz Refrain/ Theme From the Last Waltz (With Orchestra)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As you know if you're reading this, 'The Last Waltz' was billed as The Band's "farewell concert appearance" and was famously held on Thanksgiving night, November 25th, 1976 at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. 5,000 guests would enjoy both a fantastic historical show and Thanksgiving dinner.
The Band's friend Bill Graham took care of the Theater & Stage and the Band's studio producer John Simon was appointed Musical Director.
For the special night, The Band was joined onstage by more than a dozen specially chosen friends and musicians. Guests on the bill would include Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Neil Young and other greats.
Plans were made to both record and film the whole event for a future album and movie. Director Martin Scorsese was chosen to create the Film, which was released in 1978, the same year as this live triple album.
It was one big giant celebration and big party. Reportedly, the drugs and booze were in abundance. Neil Young famously went onstage with white Cocaine powder smeared on his nose, which had to be edited out of the film.
Despite being a bit of a party, 'The Last Waltz' has been called one of the greatest documentary concert films and albums ever made. 
The film featured live concert performances, interviews with members of The Band, and other music created by Robertson for the film soundtrack.
The album collected about 2 hours, 30 songs, of the best of the 4 hour concert.
~~~~~~~~~~ This record, and the film, cover many traditional musical genres; Rock, blues, New Orleans R&B, folk, and soul.
The Band perform their songs backed by a large horn section, arranged by Allen Toussaint, which gives their classic songs a new, fresh, more soulful sound.
There were some great, loose, jams with The Band, Neil Young, Ronnie Wood, and Eric Clapton on guitars, Dr. John on piano, Paul Butterfield on harmonica, and Ringo Starr on drums. Those didn't make the album, but were released much later on the box set.
Robbie Robertson said that at the end of the show "we saluted one another like we had just pulled off one of the best musical celebrations in rock 'n' roll history. It really, really does not get any better than this." I have to completely agree.
The music was then overdubbed at Village Recorders and Shangri-La studios in L.A. to 'fix' some glitches in the live show. The resulting 3-LP album was released in April of 1978, almost a year and a half after the show took place. Every rock fan at the time, myself included, was eagerly awaiting this album's release.
The first 5 sides are made up of songs taken from the concert. 
The last side, side 6, contains Robertson's "The Last Waltz Suite", which were new studio sessions done to include in the Film version. The suite featured Emmylou Harris and Pops & Mavis Staples doing a great version of "The Weight." I'm not a big fan of "The Last Waltz Suite" on side 6, but the other 5 sides more than make up for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures. As I said, I got this album 'new' for my birthday in September of 1978. I've taken great care of it ever since.
VINYL: The vinyl looks great. Clean and Bright. I almost never call non-sealed vinyl Excellent, but this one is close. I'll say conservative EX-, no scuffs, scrapes or hairlines. Visually fine. I know I've played this over the years, but it still almost looks unplayed. I played this album all morning today while writing this and it sounds fantastic. 
It's got the Chris Bellman mastering initials and the Winchester pressing marks in the dead wax. I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. It's been well taken care of.  I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
LABELS: This is pressed with the Warner Brothers 'Shield' labels. The very first April pressings were on the Warner 'Palm Tree' labels. The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling.
JACKET: The Jacket is in very nice condition. This was an unusual packaging for records at the time. The albums are each in 3 identical tan custom sleeves. The original, clean, tight, bright booklet is here. The Jacket is textured and has a special logo on the front with Gold lettering, which doesn't photograph well.
There a few small 'creases' and 1 or 2 mildly bumped corners, but still quite nice for a 45 year old 'soft' custom jacket. The spine is often very worn due to the thick, textured paper, but this one looks pretty good. 
Odd that the spine doesn't say the name of the band, it says 'no unauthorized copying'. This album was so highly anticipated when it was first released that they were very concerned about it being bootlegged.
Overall, it has a very vintage and "antique" look and feel to it. A very cool, unique jacket and a real treasure of an album for your collection. A real classic live album.
The faux-antique tan cover is notorious for showing dirt, scuffs and ringwear, but this has been sleeved and stored properly for years, and is still fantastic. Clean and bright. Some very mild ringwear, like most copies, mostly on the reverse, but not bad. Putting 3 albums and a book into an all-tan sleeve is just begging for damage and ringwear. This copy still looks quite good. You can see from my pictures it's quite nice.
This is a great record to add to any Band, Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, or classic Rock collection. Original 1978 pressings, in good condition, with the booklet and all inners don't turn up for sale often and it's a real gem.
I'm sure you'll love it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,300 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 20 years, so please bid with confidence!
I'm a 0ne-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love music, love collecting vinyl and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time listening, researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any record that I personally would not want in my collection.
As you well know, packing and shipping rare records requires special care and attention, therefore, shipping cost is $6.00 for this 3-LP set. It needs special care and TLC. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Media/Economy Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy!
I will gladly combine multiple records, or other items on my page, and make the shipping much less for you. I don’t inflate the shipping costs; they are what they are. I strive to keep them as low as possible. See my feedback for comments on my quality packing and shipping.
All items are packaged with sturdy cardboard mailers and appropriate padding. I take pride in my packaging and shipping and package all my records as if I were sending them to myself. I refuse to use cheap flimsy packaging material when sending my vinyl. I treat them as if they were my own and mail them the same way. 
All orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days of receipt. We package and ship our vinyl records with the greatest care, using proper packaging to ensure that your rare and collectible vinyl records arrive in pristine condition.
Payments can be made by any of the multiple options that Ebay offers.
I will be happy to exchange feedback with anyone I complete a transaction with.
THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN