Islands (The Band album)

Islands
Studio album by the Band
Released	March 15, 1977 (1977-03-15)
Recorded	December 1972 – January 1977
Studio	Shangri-la Studios; Village Recorders, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Rock
Length	35:15
Label	Capitol
Producer	The Band
The Band chronology
The Best of the Band (1976) Islands (1977) Anthology (1978)

Islands is the seventh studio album by the Canadian-American rock group the Band. Released in 1977 to mixed reviews, it is the final studio album from the group's original lineup.^[1]

Primarily composed of previously unreleased songs from the Band's career (including their 1976 cover of "Georgia on My Mind", which was recorded to aid Jimmy Carter in his presidential bid),^[2] Islands was released to fulfill the group's contract with Capitol Records, so that the soundtrack to their film The Last Waltz could be released on Warner Bros. Records.^[1] In the CD liner notes, Robbie Robertson compares the album to the Who's Odds & Sods.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+[4]
MusicHound Rock	woof![5]
Q	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

John Bauldie in Q called the album "a ragbag of old outtakes and otherwise unplaceable new numbers."^[1]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Right as Rain"	Robbie Robertson	Richard Manuel	3:52
2.	"Street Walker"	Robertson Rick Danko	Danko	3:16
3.	"Let the Night Fall"	Robertson	Manuel	3:11
4.	"Ain't That a Lot of Love"	Homer Banks Willia Dean Parker	Levon Helm	3:09
5.	"Christmas Must Be Tonight"	Robertson	Danko	3:38

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Islands"	Robertson Garth Hudson Danko	instrumental	3:54
2.	"The Saga of Pepote Rouge"	Robertson	Danko	4:14
3.	"Georgia on My Mind"	Hoagy Carmichael Stuart Gorrell	Manuel	3:09
4.	"Knockin' Lost John"	Robertson	Robertson	3:50
5.	"Livin' in a Dream"	Robertson	Helm	2:52

• Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.

Bonus tracks from 2001 CD re-release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Twilight" (Single version)	Robertson	3:17
12.	"Georgia on My Mind" (Alternate take)	Carmichael, Gorrell	3:51

Personnel

The Band

• Rick Danko – bass guitar, vocals
• Levon Helm – drums, vocals
• Garth Hudson – organ, synthesizers, saxophones, accordion, piccolo on "Islands"
• Richard Manuel – piano, electric piano, vocals
• Robbie Robertson – guitars, lead vocal on "Knockin' Lost John"

Additional musicians

• Jim Gordon – flute on "Islands"
• Tom Malone – trombone on "Islands"
• John Simon – alto saxophone on "Islands"
• Larry Packer – violin on "Islands"

Production

• Ed Anderson – engineering
• Neil Brody – engineering
• Rob Fraboni – engineering
• Nat Jeffrey – engineering

References

1. Bauldie, John (March 5, 1991). "Review of Islands re-issue". Q. Vol. 84. p. 10.
2. Morris, Chris, Liner Notes to Islands CD release
3. Islands at AllMusic
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
5. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 72. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
6. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside. p. 42. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.