Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.
The Last Waltz
Warner Bros. (1978)
Selected by Steven Ovadia
This is a wonderful stand-alone album that's in my regular rotation. The mix of The Band and their guests make it feel like the party that it was. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese, is part concert film and part psychodrama. Levon Helm covers it brilliantly in his autobiography, This Wheel's On Fire, which features an absurd number of hilariously catty anecdotes about the production, including the alleged rationale for the inclusion of Neil Diamond in the show: because Band guitarist Robbie Robertson had recently produced Diamond's album. "What the hell does Neil Diamond have to do with us?" Helm wonders, speaking for anyone who's ever listened to the album or watched the film. Or heard "Sweet Caroline."
Despite the chaos behind the scenes, the performances are all stellar. As good as The Band were in the studio, they were also a top-notch live band, and knew how to back an artist. The Band solo performances are as great as one might expect, but hearing the band support other performers, like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell (and even Diamond), actually shows off just how special a group they were. What they lacked as film subjects they more than made up for as musicians.
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