The Band: The Shape I'm In (Drum Cover)

If I had to make a top ten list of my favorite drummers, I would definitely have to put Levon Helm in the top five. He could play a mean groove, had great feel, and could sing without losing his feel. Incredible musician that is sadly no longer with us.
The song for today’s video is “The Shape I’m In” by one of my all time favorite bands, The Band. Taken from their third album Stage Fright from 1970, “The Shape I’m In” was written by guitarist Robbie Robertson about the group’s pianist Richard Manuel who suffered from depression throughout his life ultimately leading to his suicide by hanging in March of 1986. The song’s lineup consists of Manuel on lead vocals and clavinet, Robertson on guitar, Garth Hudson on Lowrey Organ, Rick Danko on bass, and Levon Helm on drums. Danko and Helm also provide backing vocals.
“The Shape I’m In” was recorded from May to June in 1970 at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York which was owned by Band manager Albert Grossman. It was positioned as the opening track on side 2 of the original album, as was released as the B-side to the album’s second single with “Time to Kill '' as the A-side. The B-side came to be more popular and was a staple of The Band’s live performances and can be found on the live albums Rock of Ages, Before the Flood, and The Last Waltz. It remains one of The Band’s most covered songs, and appears on many compilation albums.
Helm’s drumming is something else. Not just on this song, but every song he plays on really. He really gives the song its pulsing feel with his driving cymbal groove. In live performances, Helm likes to ride on the crash cymbal and switches over to the ride in more intense parts of the songs. In the video, you can see ride on the crash during the verses, solos, and outro while moving over to the ride during the bridges and instrumental interludes. And to really get into the Levon Helm feel, I switched over to traditional grip as opposed to matched grip. He can be seen playing both grips in live videos, but he’s mainly known for traditional grip.
As for the rest of the members' contributions, they all knocked it out of the park. Rick’s bass locks in with Levon’s groove, Robbie ties it together with his guitar, Richard with his stellar vocals and clavinet take the front, all laid overtop a wonderful organ part thanks to Garth who takes a solo in the middle of the song, as well as during the outro. With Robbie’s death back in August, Garth, who is the oldest of the group, now remains the last living member of The Band currently at the age of 86.
That’s pretty much it for the song. It's one of my favorite Band songs. I plan on covering some more songs from The Band come the New Year along with The Beatles of course, but just wanted to give the spotlight to another one of my favorite groups. Take care!

[@RickHardcore]

Another great performance my friend!! Love your bass sound!!🎸

[@davidmontis7259]

Thank you very much!

[@JacobKMusics]

Well, this is different. Great way to ring in Christmas. Thanks, David, I needed that.

[@davidmontis7259]

Thank you very much Jacob!

[@sampopkin]

Hell yeah! I’m gonna do some Band covers soon

[@davidmontis7259]

Right on Sam! I’m excited to see what songs you’ll be covering!