Ranking every musical performance from ‘The Last Waltz’

Thanksgiving traditions don’t get any better than popping in The Last Waltz, the legendary final concert from the classic lineup of American-Canadian roots rockers The Band. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the feeling of Thanksgiving seeps into every aspect of the film, from Bill Graham’s lavish decorations at the Winterland Ballroom to the appreciation felt by all the participants; you can practically smell the turkey and gravy floating around.

The film is a feast for the eyes and ears, featuring some of the biggest musicians of the 1970s at their absolute peak. Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan all give career performances. Underpinning it all is the deft skill of The Band, who play for hours into the night and never flag.

There are some phenomenal parts of the film. From stories about Jack Ruby clubs and paying Garth Hudson a teacher’s pay to crowd shots of 1970s San Francisco at its most charming and dilapidated. But nothing can match the concert footage that Scorsese and his team collected. It was a rare care of catching lightning in a bottle.

For this list, we’re only counting songs captured in the 1978 theatrical cut of the film. No extended edition additions, no exclusive soundtrack album cuts, and no raw footage from the actual concert itself that ended up on the cutting room floor. That means no great performances of ‘Life is a Carnival’ or ‘Rag Mama Rag’, no poetry readings, and no end-of-night jams.

Here are all 22 full performances featured in The Last Waltz, ranked from worst to best.

22. Neil Diamond – ‘Dry Your Eyes’

First off, no, Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond probably didn’t trade barbs backstage after the latter’s performance of ‘Dry Your Eyes’. By the same token, yes, Levon Helm seemed at least slightly put off that Diamond was included in the festivities at all. That’s the lore behind ‘Dry Your Eyes’, but the most baffling thing about it is that Robbie Roberston calls it a “great song” during the show.

He probably should say that: he helped write it. But he’s wrong. ‘Dry Your Eyes’ is nothing more than generic 1970s pap, and it certainly doesn’t help that a limited singer like Diamond was the one behind the mic for it. It remains the most baffling inclusion in the film, especially when so many awesome performances were left on the cutting room floor.

21. The Band – ‘Stage Fright’

Poor Rick Danko. The warbly-voiced bassist of The Band always seemed to get the short end of the stick when it came to Robbie Robertson’s songwriting. His ragged lead vocal adds amazing colour to The Band’s harmony blend, and his solo voice can be a truly mesmerising thing in the right setting, but ‘Stage Fright’ is not the right vehicle for it.

Awkwardly arranged and too cheeky for its own good, ‘Stage Fright’ is what happens when musicians get too confident that audiences are infatuated with their every move. I don’t want to hear The Band sing about their difficulties on stage – I just want to hear The Band on stage. Anything more is too clunky and self-satisfied, which is exactly how I’d describe ‘Stage Fright’.

20. The Band – ‘Theme from The Last Waltz‘

If feel slightly bad for even including ‘Theme from The Last Waltz‘ on this list. Had it just been the opening theme, it would have been a perfectly fine, if very ’70s, introduction to the film that wouldn’t have warranted a spot on this list because it wasn’t played live. But then The Band had to do a live reprise of the song to close out the film.

It’s a nice enough track, but it’s all a bit too Godfather-adjacent for its own good. It’s nice to hear everyone take on a different role, with Garth Hudson on accordion, Rick Danko on violin, Richard Manuel playing dobro slide guitar, and Levon Helm on mandolin. But beyond those curiosities, there’s not much to return to in ‘Theme from The Last Waltz‘.

19. Ronnie Hawkins – ‘Who Do You Love’

Ronnie Hawkins needed to be the first guest at The Last Waltz. For their first-ever gigs playing together, The Band were The Hawks, Hawkins’ backing band travelling across Canada playing old-school blues and rock and roll. That’s exactly what Hawkins dusts off for his one and only contribution to the film, the Bo Diddley classic ‘Who Do You Love’.

Hawkins’ personality is what carries him through what amounts to just a generic blues-rock performance. He’s charismatic and engaging, even if his voice is nothing special. Still, he’s an essential part of what makes The Last Waltz such a memorable celebration, and the film would have been incomplete without him.

18. The Band – ‘It Makes No Difference’

Maybe I’m just not much of a fan of Rick Danko. My favourite performance of his in the film isn’t any of his live songs, but rather when he plays ‘Sip the Wine’ for Scorsese while showing off The Band’s studio, Shangri-La. There, Danko sounds grounded and emotional, while live, he sounds just a bit too disjointed for my tastes.

Again, I think the major problem is that Danko doesn’t get a terribly memorable song to work with. ‘It Makes No Difference’ requires quite a bit of soul, which Danko has in spades, but it requires a bit of punch to keep it from getting schlocky. Danko gives it all he has, but he’s let down by the lack of real emotion at the heart of Robertson’s writing.

17. The Band and The Staple Singers – ‘The Weight’

Do me a favour: go back and listen to the version of ‘The Weight’ that The Band plays during the actual Winterland concert. It’s more rock-heavy and uptempo than the studio recording, and it captures Levon Helm in complete control of his iconic voice. Manuel and Danko add their perfect harmonies on top to create a truly rousing performance of the classic track.

So why did they decide to reshoot the song afterwards on a sound stage? The Staple Singers are legendary, but Mavis Staples goes just a bit too hammy with her verse, inspiring Rick Danko to serve up an entire ham sandwich on his. It’s just simply not as good as the concert version, even if it does add more of a gospel edge that the song itself benefits from.

16. Bob Dylan – ‘Forever Young’

Hey, it’s The Band’s most famous boss, Robert Zimmerman. Dylan was a major pain in the ass during The Last Waltz, leaving his participation up in the air until right before the show and even telling the crew that they couldn’t film his portion. Of course, none of that mattered when he eventually took the stage.

My gripe is that the film took two of Dylan’s weaker performances. Dylan’s first version of ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down’, plus his renditions of ‘Hazel’ and ‘I Don’t Believe You’, were much better than his performance of ‘Forever Young’, but the crew wasn’t allowed to use those songs in the film, so ‘Forever Young’ is what we’re left with.

15. The Band and Paul Butterfield – ‘Mystery Train’

Paul Butterfield is a master of blues harmonica. With a deft touch and a boatload of talent, Butterfield could add new dimensions to even the most basic of blues tracks. ‘Mystery Train’ is a song that most musicians could play in their sleep, which means it has an obvious ceiling when it comes to how transcendent it can be.

That being said, the vocal interplay between Butterfield and Helm is perfect, as is Butterfield’s Chicago-style harp playing. It all goes about as well as a basic blues can go, but shout out to Butterfield for putting his unique touch on an instrument that doesn’t get a major spotlight in The Last Waltz (he’ll be back to do the same on Muddy Waters’ ‘Mannish Boy’).

14. The Band and Eric Clapton – ‘Further On Up the Road’

Speaking of basic songs being played about as well as it can, Eric Clapton saunters on stage during the blues portion of the show to bust out a version of Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland’s ‘Further On Up the Road’. Clapton couldn’t be more in his wheelhouse if he were literally playing a song called “Slowhand”, which makes it all a bit obvious and unimpressive.

That is until Clapton’s guitar strap comes undone, and he throws an impromptu solo over to Robertson. Once that happens, all the musicians seem to loosen up and take some more risks in their playing. A possible mishap takes ‘Further On Up the Road’ from a generic blues number and elevates it to a memorable performance.

13. The Band and Emmylou Harris – ‘Evangeline’

Country music was a less notable but equally essential genre in The Band’s signature roots rock sound. For god’s sake, they had Arkansas-born Levon Helm just sitting there, waiting to plug into his honking southern drawl at a moment’s notice. Who better to honk off of than Alabama’s own Emmylou Harris?

If you don’t think you like country music, take ‘Evangeline’ for a spin. With a gentle push and pull through 100 years of American music, Danko, Helm, and Harris all give their all to ‘Evangeline’. A classic tale of a riverboat gambler explodes into a chorus of a heartbroken woman, one that sees everyone step up with their A-game (including a rare Helm mandolin solo).

12. Neil Young – ‘Helpless’

Legend has it that Neil Young was so coked up during his on-stage appearances that a gigantic rock had to be rotoscoped out of the final cut of the film. You wouldn’t be able to tell based on Young’s rendition of his classic song ‘Helpless’, which is about as relaxed and patient as Young had ever been on stage.

Really, it’s Young’s easy-going energy that elevates what’s probably a mid-level performance of ‘Helpless’. Sharing a mic with Robertson and Danko is charming as hell, and Young hits all of his marks with poise and confidence. For my money, it’s the best solo ballad performance of the entire concert.

11. The Band – ‘Don’t Do It’

It was 2:15am when The Band returned to the stage for one final song. Promotor Bill Graham had to beg them to come back out: no one in the audience wanted the night to end. Having extinguished all their standard material, the group reached back into their collection of covers and pulled out their version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Don’t Do It’.

If there’s one gripe I have with ‘Don’t Do It’, it’s that it’s too short. The Band were undoubtedly exhausted, but just like the crowd, I didn’t want the song to end. It’s the funkiest that The Band ever got on record, and it makes for a surprisingly fitting opener for the film, despite being the last song that the classic lineup ever played together.

10. Bob Dylan – ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Reprise)’

God, do I wish that the first version of ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down’ was included in the film. C’est la vie, I suppose. But when Dylan and The Band come rocketing out of a rather sleepy ‘Forever Young’ with the muscular drive of ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down’, you can practically feel the energy in the room.

It’s a bit of a shame that Bob Dylan didn’t bring his A-game for The Last Waltz. He wasn’t the centre of attention, and he had his own film (Renaldo and Clara) to worry about, both of which probably affected his performance, but for what it’s worth, the reprise of ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down’ is a short shot of killer rock and roll.

9. The Band – ‘Up On Cripple Creek’

The major appeal of The Band was that they didn’t have any theatrics or histrionics. They weren’t very interesting to look at; they never had elaborate stage shows and operated outside the traditional rock star idiom. These were just five guys who made incredible music together, nothing more and nothing less.

‘Up On Cripple Creek’ is the go-to example for the no-frills appeal of The Band. A funky and driving rock number that features a highly memorable chorus, ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ is just the right amount of everything that makes The Band great. Plus, who doesn’t want to hear Helm yodel a little bit?

8. The Band, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr, and guests – ‘I Shall Be Released’

The monster conclusion to the film (if not the concert itself) was a massive sing-along featuring just about everyone who helped make The Last Waltz so special. It’s a bit of a mess, but one of those big happy messes that hit just the right spot. ‘I Shall Be Released’ is the sloppy joe of The Last Waltz, but it’s a delicious sloppy joe.

It helps that Dylan was at his very peak of songwriting when he penned ‘I Shall Be Released’, and the song hadn’t aged a day when it came to life on stage. Special shoutout to Manuel for doing most of the vocal heavy lifting on the song, even though he doesn’t get a camera on him due to the overcrowded stage.

7. Dr. John – ‘Such a Night’

The spirit of New Orleans was all over The Last Waltz, specifically in the jazzy horn arrangements composed by Allen Toussaint. But if you want some true New Orleans gris-gris party music, there’s only one man for the job: Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John the Night Tripper.

With just one song in the film, Dr. John steals the spotlight and brings the perfect amount of fun to the proceedings with his signature track, ‘Such a Night’. Looking like Elton John and singing like Fats Domino was all part of John’s appeal, and he’s never better than he is twinkling away at the infectious piano runs of ‘Such a Night’.

6. The Band – ‘Ophelia’

The truth was that The Band were just on fire during The Last Waltz. They were working at such a high level that even their lesser songs began to feel like revelations. If anyone else had played ‘Ophelia’ that night, it probably would have been a perfectly fine, if not incredibly memorable, addition to the concert.

Instead, thanks to the rollicking horn section and impassioned vocal performance from Helm, ‘Ophelia’ shines in ways that not even the studio version of the song can match. If nothing else, songs like ‘Ophelia’ prove that The Band were truly going out at the height of their collective powers.

5. Joni Mitchell – ‘Coyote’

Joni Mitchell was working on another level in 1976. Having embraced the mix of pop, folk and jazz that came through on that year’s Hejira, Mitchell brought a string of complex and musically dense tracks for The Band to interpret during The Last Waltz, the top of which was the slinky and predatory ‘Coyote’.

Casually showing off what made them such a reliable backing band for 20 years, The Band gamely take on Mitchell’s jazzy chords and stay right in the pocket. That lets Mitchell emote and explore the song with deft skill, bringing a subtlety that occasionally got lost on the massive stage of Winterland.

4. The Band – ‘The Shape I’m In’

The Band had the benefit of employing three distinct talented vocalists in their ranks. Helm was the southern drawl that was impossible to ignore, while Rick Danko was the ragged master of heart-on-his-sleeve pleas. Over on the keyboard was Richard Manuel, honking and hulking Ray Charles stand in rough-and-ready power to the band’s vocal blend.

Manuel only gets one major spotlight during The Last Waltz, but he makes the most of it. slinking along with equal parts joy and menace, ‘The Shape I’m In’ is a down-and-out tale that can’t help but sound anthemic once Manuel gets his voice around it. It’s pure gritty bliss, and no one but Manuel could have pulled it off.

3. Muddy Waters – ‘Mannish Boy’

The whole point of The Last Waltz was to capture legends at their best. While that was certainly true of the contemporary artists that dominated the lineup, it took an old-school master to show the kids what was up. When you’re talking blues, you can’t get more iconic than Muddy Waters, and Waters showed up to steal the show with his classic rendition of ‘Mannish Boy’.

Rocking and reeling through the one-chord vamp, Waters is as charismatic and captivating as anyone who took the stage the night. ‘Mannish Boy’ is a song that’s completely reliant on the power of whoever sings it, and in The Last Waltz, Waters was a man on fire. You can tell just by how enthralled the rest of the musicians are with Waters – this jam could have gone on for 20 minutes, and it wouldn’t have flagged for even a second.

2. Van Morrison – ‘Caravan’

Say what you will about modern Van Morrison. But whatever you say, leave it at the door as we travel back to 1976. Van the Man had many different guises, from garage rock pioneer to folk icon to jazz practitioner. But in his heart of hearts, Morrison was a showstopping soul song-and-dance man. He picked the perfect vehicle to show off that side of himself on ‘Caravan’.

From the very start, Morrison is clearly in another world, bellowing as though his life depends on it. Halfway through, when Morrison tells the crowd to “turn on your rah-dio”, they erupt in delight. But Morrison saves the best for last, captaining The Band through the most ridiculous and sublime coda that ‘Caravan’ ever had. Morrison nearly demolishes the stage, high kicks and all, until there’s nothing left for anyone else but scraps. To say it’s a career performance is an understatement.

1. The Band – ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’

Despite playing host to some of the most iconic musicians of the era, The Band were still the central focus of The Last Waltz. It’s nearly impossible to distil everything that made The Band great into one song, but ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ is probably the closest thing that you’ll find.

Featuring Levon Helm’s best vocal ever recorded, the version of ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ that appears in The Last Waltz is on the shortlist of the best live performances ever captured. Everything is perfect, from the horns to the harmonies to Garth Hudson’s expert organ. It all combines into the best song in The Last Waltz, one that remains a true testament to the power and legacy of The Band.

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