Richard Manuel Quotes

“Whether a tribute to the state or an imaginary woman, Richard squeezes every bit of juice from Ray’s Georgia peach and deep-breathes every single note. Caught in the spotlight, his skin shines like transparent porcelain. The gaze of the unforgiving television eye fixes on Richard’s vulnerability while illuminating his effortless stage presence. The cathartic peak of “Georgia” lays bare the pure, undistilled musicality of Richard Manuel. It’s the same sweet song that shocked Stratford and the Hawk in 1961 at Rock-A-Rama.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, OCTOBER 30, 1976 The Band plays a funky four-song set with a horn section. After stellar versions of “Life Is a Carnival,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “Stage Fright,” the group closes their set with “Georgia.” Richard, buzzing with bruised soul, sits sideways on his piano bench facing the”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“widely available and crystal-clear soundboard recording from the Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Washington, DC, on July 17 captures the Band in masterful musical form. Every song is of official release quality. Unfortunately, on this night, Richard’s greatest gift was but a shadow of its past glories. The constant abuse had taken its toll. The effort was there but his throat was giving out. Charlie”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The Band’s 1976 summer tour kicked off June 26 at the Frost Amphitheater in Palo Alto, California. Richard cut his hair and looked far removed from the pathetic aesthetic he had cultivated in Malibu. A strong-sounding audience recording exists of the stellar opening show at the beautiful venue.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Beautiful Thing” back to life. All it took was a modicum of care and a multitude of patience for the song to end up opening Clapton’s album. Clapton also cowrote “All Our Past Times” with Rick while Richard played piano on the cut.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Tucked away as the last track on the remaster of No Reason to Cry is the core musical essence of the Manuel-Clapton friendship captured in the sway of a Little Walter song. Included as a bonus track, “Last Night” is a boozy duet with Richard and Clapton swapping verses of one of their favorite songs. Richard kicks things off on piano, and the band initiates a slow inebriated jaunt punctuated by his rippling piano work. Rick is playing bass with an unknown drummer and acoustic guitar”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Acadian Driftwood” was the crown jewel of the album and a perfectly constructed Robbie Robertson composition, one of his best. Richard, Rick, and Levon passed around the lead vocal like a peace pipe. Robbie’s story of a people forced from their lands was convincingly told by the return of the Band’s three-way vocal blend.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Northern Lights–Southern Cross was a return to form and a wonderful musical recovery for the group. It took a year to finish, longer than any other Band album. But over that time, they regained a touch of the collaborative alchemy that had been the essential element of the first two albums.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Sticking to their recently reconfigured set list, the Band opens the show with “The Slop” and segues into a galloping version of “Just Another Whistle Stop,” where Richard nails his cues and Rick is all over the choruses. “Endless Highway” continues its run as a concert highlight. “Smoke Signal” burns at a furious pace and concludes in a Garth-and-Robbie-led jam that threatens to combust. A clear-eyed Richard magnificently sings a mighty “I Shall Be Released,” and at its conclusion the group looks his way with smiles on their faces.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The summer tour concluded with a huge show on September 14 at Wembley Stadium featuring Joni Mitchell and CSNY. In what had become the usual practice for big events, Richard somehow pulled through. Looking a bit worse for wear, Richard was jittery, but he did his job, and the Band did theirs and got Wembley up and dancing. Rick had a cast on his hand after Mountain guitarist Leslie West sat on it during a party, and the entire crew looked scrambled. Professionally shot color footage exists of the Band’s set, with two of the songs (“Just Another Whistle Stop” and “Chest Fever”) officially released on A Musical History. The Band, inspired by sharing the bill with their Canadian mates Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, plays a focused show.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Around the same time, guitarist Michael DeTemple, who would later become part of the house band at the Band’s studio, encountered Richard broken down on the Pacific Coast Highway near Trancas.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Richard was escorted to his home on Broad Beach by a CHP officer who”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The January shows settled into a comfortable groove. An audience tape of the Band’s set at Nassau Coliseum on January 28 is stunning in its clarity and captures the group in superior form.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Sally Mann was a rock ’n’ roll fox. Once married to Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden, she was a fixture on the West Coast rock ’n’ roll scene.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The final two nights of the tour in Los Angeles on the 13th and 14th made up most of the resulting live record from the tour, Before the Flood. The concluding concerts were bombastic.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“In February some of the shows were professionally recorded for a prospective live record. In Oakland on February 11, while Richard’s voice was spent from the long tour, he played piano aggressively. Dylan and the Band are charged, and the highlights are many. A soundboard recording of the early show is marked by a vibrant flamenco-style “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” and a fairground version of “It Ain’t Me Babe” that is the best of the tour.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“As a testament to the strength of the New York performances, the high-octane version of “Highway 61” from the same show was officially released on the Band’s A Musical History box set. By the start of February, the shows ascended to another level of controlled chaos.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The January 19 matinee show in Hollywood, Florida, is played with attitude. A monumental “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” peaks with a threatening Robbie solo, and Richard is right there responding to every single lick. The Band swings like a saloon door, and Richard shines on a honky “It Ain’t Me Babe.” The Fort Worth concert on January 25 roars out of the gate with a thrashing version”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“A major feature of the second night is the patient reading of Dylan’s “As I Went Out One Morning,” played for the only time on the tour. Additionally, Richard’s piano graces a beautiful version of “Forever Young.” After the show, Richard reconnected with Hawks groupie Cathy Smith, who had a knack of popping up at the right . . .”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Spectacular performances by Dylan and the Band took place in Toronto on January 9 and 10, with Richard’s family and friends in attendance. Both shows were recorded from the audience, and his piano pours dark and rich off the tape. Every piano lick ends in a curl. A rare and welcome reading of “It Takes”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“In 2024, a complete collection of the available 1974 tour soundboards was released by Sony Music.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“On “Something There Is about You,” the updated Dylan and the Band sonic aesthetic works in perfect harmony: Dylan’s wiry acoustic scrubbing, Robbie’s watery lead lines, and the masterful colors of Richard and Garth’s two-for-one playing. Dylan’s “Forever Young” spotlights sympathetic and poignant playing by the Band. It’s a dramatic reading of the song, a summation of”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Hazel,” considered an underrated love song in Dylan’s canon, is a perfect example of the Band’s sympathetic backing and Richard and Garth’s special synthesis.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“Planet Waves was the first official studio album by Bob Dylan and the Band. Highly underrated, it was a reinvention for both Dylan and the Band. There is a notable excitement in the playing and a looseness to the songs. Dylan’s “Going, Going, Gone” sounds like a distant relative of “I’m Not There,” from the Big Pink basement.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“After Summer Jam, the Band played two additional concerts with the Grateful Dead.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The finished album, Moondog Matinee, was released in November 1973.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“touching the cloudiest falsetto during the lyric “too real when I feel what my heart can’t conceal.”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“He immortalized the song on Moondog Matinee with one of his most”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“If one cut on the album epitomized the shape that Richard Manuel was in, it was the Band’s cover of the Platters’ hit “The Great Pretender,”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band

“The Leiber-Stoller rocker “Saved” is a high-tempo boogie and flippant song of repentance. The tale is about a hard-partying sinner who has finally seen the light of the Lord and celebrates his redemption in song. The Band celebrates in a joyous double-time groove while Richard sings with a grit he hadn’t dug up since 1965. Garth fills the room with a”
― Stephen T. Lewis, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band