THE BAND Cahoots - Live At The Olymmpia Theatre, Paris, May 1971 (2-CD)

(Capitol Records) 30 tracks 50th Anniversary Edition

The birthday reissue with lots of extras

“Cahoots”, The Band's fourth album, will be reissued in 2021 to mark its 50th anniversary in four physical formats: LP, double CD and Super Deluxe Edition with double CD, LP and bonus 7ʺ single, Blu-ray audio and extras.

“Cahoots” was originally released in 1971 as the follow-up to ‘Stage Fright’ from 1970. It was their last album of original material for four years.

The band, which at the time consisted of Rick Danko (bass guitar, vocals), Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (organ, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, vocals) and Robbie Robertson (guitars, vocals), recorded eleven songs for it at the Bearsville Sound Studio in Bearsville, New York and produced it themselves. The song “Life Is A Carnival” was released as a single. With “When I Paint My Masterpiece”, a Bob Dylan cover made it onto the record. Van Morrison can also be heard as a guest singer on the song “4% Pantomime”. Helm's partner at the time, Libby Titus, contributed backing vocals to “The River Hymn” - the first time a woman had ever been featured on a The Band album.

The front cover of the album was painted by New York artist and illustrator Gilbert Stone, while the back cover features a portrait of the group by Richard Avedon.

All 2021 reissues include a new stereo mix of the album by Bob Clearmountain. The double CD contains a further eight bonus tracks, including outtakes, alternate mixes, instrumental versions and the eleven-song concert recording “Live At The Olympia Theatre, Paris 1971”.

In addition to the double CD with album and bonus tracks, the Super Deluxe Edition of “Cahoots” contains Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes of the album (also by Clearmountain). The box set also includes an LP version of the album on black vinyl, a reproduction of the Japanese pressing of the 7ʺ single “Life Is A Carnival”/“The Moon Struck” with new stereo mixes, a 20-page booklet with new notes by Robbie Robertson and cover notes by Rob Bowman as well as three lithographs.