Northern Lights-Southern Cross [Import]

Track Listings

1. Forbidden Fruit

2. Hobo Jungle

3. Ophelia

4. Acadian Driftwood

5. Ring Your Bell

6. It Makes No Difference

7. Jupiter Hollow

8. Rags and Bones

9. Twilight [Early Alternate Version][*]

10. Christmas Must Be Tonight [Alternate Version][*]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Tracks:

Forbidden Fruit
Hobo Jungle
Ophelia
Acadian Driftwood
Ring Your Bell
It Makes No Difference
Jupiter Hollow
Rags & Bones
Twilight (Early Alternate Version)
Christmas Must Be Tonight (Alternate Version)

Amazon.com

Hailed upon its arrival as a significant comeback for the Band, this 1975 collection hasn't aged as well as the likes of Stage Fright, Moondog Matinee, or even the outfit's post-Robbie Robertson output. The eight-song collection (augmented on the 2001 reissue with two agreeable extras--alternate versions of "Twilight" and "Christmas Must Be Tonight") isn't without its delights, foremost being Rick Danko's heavy-hearted reading of the devastating "It Makes No Difference." But for every "Forbidden Fruit" and "Ophelia"--worthy additions to Robertson's credits--there are the somewhat forced likes of "Jupiter Hollow" and "Rags and Bones." Also, Garth Hudson stocked up on the latest technology before heading into the studio, but the layers ARPs and mini-Moogs here contribute to a feeling of busyness. Northern Lights--Southern Cross is very much a '70s album--not a good thing from a quintet whose best music was tough to peg to any era. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

The final classic.......2007-01-10

The Band's sixth and final proper studio album (I don't really count Islands, the collection of half-hearted studio outtakes, as a real album), Northern Lights - Southern Cross is a surprisingly strong comeback in both writing and performance. The Band hadn't released an album of new material since the disappointing Cahoots, and the extracurricular substance-related activities of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko lessened their songwriting output considerably (completely in Manuel's case). However, despite their stumbles and a growing divergence of some members (guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson would be ready to leave the group not long after the album was released), the quintet pull off amazing comeback album, filled with what originally made The Band so classic--great writing, strong playing from Manuel, Danko and Levon Helm, and expert playing, especially from organist/multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson.

The album kicks off with the rocking "Forbidden Fruit," a cautionary tale sung by Helm. One thing I actually like about Robertson's somewhat egotistical prominence in the later Band material is his up-front, gnarly guitar--he starts using the whammy bar on this album, and the results are wicked to say the least. He takes a few blistering solos in "Forbidden Fruit" that make you wonder if he sold his soul for his guitar skills. This song also marks Garth Hudson's introduction of (then) new synthesizers into his arsenal of keyboards. It might off-put you if you're a classic Americana Band fan, but give it a chance--it really grew on me. Regardless of the instrument, it's still being played by the bearded master, Garth Hudson. The second track is a "Hobo Jungle," a mid-tempo narrative that features some excellent acoustic guitar from Robbie and one of the finest vocal melodies on Band record, sung by Richard Manuel. Despite his heavy drinking, his voice still sounds great, though it's become quite weathered. "Ophelia" is one of the more well-known tracks on the album. The Band uses an almost Dixieland horn arrangement and Levon Helm, in addition to singing, pounds the skins with reckless abandon.

The other well-known track is "Acadian Driftwood," a song Robbie wrote about the Acadian Indians who were forced to move from Canada to Louisiana. It's a heartfelt tribute, sung by all three vocalists and featuring a piccolo part by Garth Hudson. "Ring Your Bell" is one of the group's funkiest songs, a pretty humorous outlaw tune and a all-out belter from Danko, who also sings "It Makes No Difference." One of Robbie Robertson's best love ballads, this track became a sort of signature torch tune for Rick, and it's buoyed by some of Robbie's revelatory guitar and Garth on saxophone. "Jupiter Hollow" is a long (for The Band) and experimental song--a great detour, with a lot of mythological and mystical imagery, and a whole lot of synth overdubs from Garth Hudson. It makes for a really cool listen and has a groovy vibe and some creative drumming from Levon. The album closes on a truly classic note with "Rags and Bones," another darkly funky romp through a night-time city with some of Robbie's most lively and creative guitar (check out that left channel--wow!).

Northern Lights - Southern Cross is The Band's shortest album, and it's always over too soon. The bonus tracks are OK, but as usual don't add anything (careful they don't spoil the vibe of the original album). This one definitely ranks pretty high up there for me as one of their top albums--worlds better than Cahoots and with moments that transcend a lot of their other material. It's such a pity they had to quit making music when their last album was this great. A lot of people will tell you they didn't make any good music after Stage Fright, but give Northern Lights - Southern Cross a try and I think you might agree with me that that's simply not true. I hope you enjoy The Band's final classic!

One of the Band's Best -- An Elegant Swan Song.......2006-02-14

I disagree with the reviewers who find this album too "70s" -- yes, the production and Garth's use of the Moog and other synths peg the recording date of the record -- but why is that presumed to be a bad thing?

I love the way these songs flow seamlessly from one to another -- the songs all deal with loss, upheaval, movement, endurance, cycles of joy and sadness, all beautifully pieced together. The liner notes on the reissue really add to the significance and enjoyment of these songs; I love the way Robbie wrote "Ophelia" and "Forbidden Fruit" using older, discarded chord progressions. Danko knocks one of the park with his tortured, sensitive reading of "It Makes No Difference," and personally I enjoy Garth's enveloping and intricate synth work on "Jupiter Hollow." Of course Acadian Driftwood is a classic story of uprooting, perseverance, and survival, and even the unadorned and simple Christmas song tacked on to the end works for me.

One of the Band's best and a great way to go out (I prefer to ignore Islands....).

I like the words; the singing is great, some songs outstanding.......2006-01-16

On Junior Day, 2006, I would like to seek lessons from the twentieth century that apply to the situation in the world. Things change, but our grasp of sentimentality can ebb or flow either way, particularly if it is informed by listening to The Band album from 1975, `Northern Lights, Southern Cross.' Someone in The Band might be from Canada, and the song `Acadian Driftwood' pictures a family with a broken-down car trying to get someplace where life was better, as some French Canadians made it all the way to New Orleans after France lost its hold on Quebec. Somehow the music seems a bit more cheerful for the song `Ophelia,' when The Band is singing:

Ashes of laughter, the ghost is clear,
Why do the best things always disappear,
like Ophelia? Please darken my door.

There are a number of songs about drifters. `Hobo Jungle,' `Jupiter Hollow,' and maybe `Rags And Bones.' In the first song, `Forbidden Fruit,' there is an admonition:

You got one life that you better not waste.

The Band had been playing together for years when `Northern Lights, Southern Cross' was recorded. Among the tales of woe that allowed music to explore the depths of the human situation, `It Makes No Difference' by J. R. Robertson took four or five chords to get through the first two lines, added a few more chords for the chorus, then managed to fit in a few more for the part in the middle that declares:

Now there's no love
As true as the love
That dies untold
But the clouds never hung so low before.

Civilization requires certain limits to love, which threatens to uproot the basic standards of stability, but music keeps morphing, as The Band throws in a few more chords near the end with the words:

Without your love I'm nothing at all
Like an empty hall it's a lonely fall
Since you've gone it's a losing battle
Stampeding cattle, they rattle the walls.

Well, I love you so much
It's all I can do
Just to keep myself from telling you
That I never felt so alone before.

The last four lines probably use the same chords as the lines ending with "But the clouds never hung so low before." The hurt of lost love seems to apply to love that never even happened yet, rain or shine, because "The shadow never seems to fade away." And as for songs:

These old love letters
Well, I just can't keep
'Cause like the gambler says
Read 'em and weep
And the dawn don't rescue me no more.

3rd Best Band Album, Still one of the Top 100 ever.......2005-06-19

It is well known that by 1975 when this album was recorded, The Band was much less a band than they used to be, not due to loss of talent, but loss of the easygoing friendships that had fueled the first two albums. What a showing they still make.

To me Richard Manuel sang some of the greatest performances of his life on this album, for instance check out: Hobo Jungle, Rags & Bones, Acadian Driftwood. Levon and Rick also hand in some fine performances, Levon particularly on Forbidden Fruit, Rick's Swan Song is most definately It Makes No Difference. Robbie provides some very good lyrics for the whole album. Garth is brilliant of course, "ain't it easy when you know how" .

My only complaint is it is just not long enough, 8 songs on the original, 10 on the remastered edition. I grew up in a house full of Classic Rock "N Roll. When I heard The Band, I was mesmerized by how each song can sound so different from each other but they never lose that tight ensemble sound. To me Richard Manuel is the greatest singer in the History of Popular Music.

A must purchase for any fan of The Band, or any fan of Truly Soulful, meaningful Roots Music.

****1/4. The Band's last great record.......2004-08-03

The strongest Band album since "Stage Fright", "Northern Lights, Southern Cross" was The Band's first studio album in four years. Better than "Cahoots" and "Moondog Matinee", it is really The Band's last hurrah, although the mediocre "Islands" did come out in 1977, after the Canadian-American outfit had stopped touring for good. (Robbie Robertson says about "Islands": "It wasn't even an album, we were just trying to get out of a contract!")

"Northern Lights, Southern Cross" features the same dense, muscular arrangements as previous albums, anchored by Levon Helm's supple, versatile drumming, and the role of lead vocalist is still passed around between Helm, Danko, and Manuel. The only notable difference is that Garth Hudson had partially abandoned his Lowrey organ in favour of synthesizers (that may sound ominous, but it really isn't).

Robbie Robertson is credited as the sole composer on all eight tracks on the original LP, as well as the newly added bonus cuts, and the many highlights include the rollicking "Ophelia", Rick Danko's excellent performance of the mournful ballad "It Makes No Difference", and the lyrical, acoustic folk-rock of "Hobo Jungle".
But the album's centrepiece has to be the epic "Acadian Driftwood", a nearly seven minute folkish narrative which chronicles the story of the Acadians, a people exiled from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the 1750s. It is a superbly evocative masterpiece, one of Robbie Robertson's very best songs.

Not as highly touted as "Music From Big Pink" or "The Band", "Northern Lights, Southern Cross" is nevertheless one of The Band's classic albums. Being the Band's fourth best record really isn't half bad, you know.

Average customer rating:

Northern Lights-Southern Cross
The Band
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Stage Fright
The Band

ASIN: B00000DRAV
Release Date: 1994-01-25

Tracks:

Forbidden Fruit
Hobo Jungle
Ophelia
Acadian Driftwood
Ring Your Bell
It Makes No Difference
Jupiter Hollow
Rags and Bones
Twilight [Early Alternate Version][*]
Christmas Must Be Tonight [Alternate Version][*]

Average customer rating:

Great Songs - Great Vocalists
Vastly underrated
The best of The Band's later albums, with some classic songs

Northern Lights-Southern Cross
The Band
Manufacturer: Indent Series
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Canada | North America | International | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000005JN8
Release Date: 1996-07-23

Tracks:

Forbidden Fruit
Hobo Jungle
Ophelia
Acadian Driftwood
Ring Your Bell
Rags And Bones
It Makes No Difference
Jupiter Hollow

Customer Reviews:

Great Songs - Great Vocalists.......2004-06-26

"Northern Light, Southern Cross" was the last Band album that I really got into. Their first 3 albums were immediate favourites, but "Cahoots" was a disappointment and I did not like "Moondog Matinee" ( all old covers ) at all, when it was released in 1973; later I have come to appreciate that album too. I actually thought it was over with the Band. So I guess I never really gave "Northern Light, Southern Cross" the chance it needed and deserved, when I was first introduced to it around 1978. The songs somehow did not appeal to me at the time.
Luckily with the re-releases of all the Band`s original albums ( with bonus-tracks and great informative booklets ) I chose to give this album a new chance. Now I realize that this album is really among the Band`s finest; which says a lot!!
The original album consisted of only 8 tracks, which was due to the relatively long playing time of the songs. They recorded 9 songs for the album, but the great track "Twilight" never made it to the album, but was released as a 1976 single instead. The version included here is not the finished version, but an early take of it. "Christmas Must Be Tonight" is also an early version of the song; to get these 2 great songs in their finished shape, go for the re-release of
"Islands".
The opener "Forbidden Fruit" is a typical Band-rocker sung by Levon Helm, in his best "Stage Fright" style; this is one of the longest tracks and it features some of Robertson`s rare guitar-solo work. Sadly some Band members did not take the warning in the song seriously enough.
The ballad "Hobo Jungle" is beautifully sung by Richard Manuel; a song that is somehow often overlooked. One of my favourites on the album.
"Ophelia" was also released as a single and was actually a minor hit (#73) - it`s a song written in 1920-30`s style.
"Acadian Driftwood" is one the standouts. Great melody and the blend of the three great Band voices is a thrill. On their early albums this was one of their trademarks. The song tells the story of the Acadians, a native people, who was removed from their home to another place in America. A moving story told over many verses.
"Ring Your Bell" is sung by Manuel with Danko and Helm helping on the chorus.
"It Makes No Difference" is another standout. Danke delivers one his best vocal performances on a Band record. Again all three great voices join in the chorus.
"Jupiter Hollow" is the one track that I never really got. It`s a kind of funky tune sung by Helm.
"Rags and Bones" again, sung by Manuel, features another original Robertson guitar-solo.
Both bonus-tracks are good, though especially "Christmas Must Be Tonight" is not as good as the finished version that can be found on the "Islands" re-issue.
A great album, where all three great vocalists show to their best advantage, both individually and collectively

Vastly underrated.......1999-04-04

The Band was so good that everything they released after their second album was beset by expectations that no one could reach.. This, their next-to-last, is easily their third best, right behind Big Pink and the brown album and "It Makes No Difference'' is right up there with the best they ever did. Danko's vocal, Robertson's guitar and Hudson's sax make it unforgettable.

The best of The Band's later albums, with some classic songs.......1998-12-11

This is clearly The Band's best studio album since the self-titled "The Band." The liner notes are absolutely on the money where the author remarks that The Band "never sounded so plain gorgeous." See "Jupiter Hollow." There are some classic songs, including the great Rick Danko vocal, "It Makes No Difference" and "Acadian Driftwood." The latter is for those who like the historical, e.g. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," side of The Band. The vocals on this album are tremendous, with The Band getting back to the vocal interplay they had largely dissappeared from their studio albums. There are no bad songs.

Average customer rating:

Northern Lights-Southern Cross
The Band
Manufacturer: Toshiba EMI Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Canada | North America | International | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Classic Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0001GAW56
Release Date: 2004-05-03

Tracks:

Forbidden Fruit
Hobo Jungle
Ophelia
Acadian Driftwood
Ring Your Bell
It Makes No Difference
Jupiter Hollow
Rags and Bones
Twilight [Early Alternate Version][*]
Christmas Must Be Tonight [Alternate Version][*]

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Forbidden Fruit
2. Hobo Jungle
3. Ophelia
4. Acadian Driftwood
5. Ring Your Bell
6. It Makes No Difference
7. Jupiter Hollow
8. Rags and Bones
9. Twilight [Early Alternate Version][*]
10. Christmas Must Be Tonight [Alternate Version][*]