When Bob Dylan’s former backing band disappeared into upstate New York to work on their debut album, the 1960s were alight with forward-thinking, mind-expanding possibilities. When they emerged in 1968 with Music From Big Pink, The Band had created an entirely new musical lexicon that didn’t so much look forward as reach back across generations into the very DNA of North American music. Digging deep beneath the foundations of rock and roll itself, songs such as ‘Tears Of Rage’ and ‘The Weight’ sounded like they had been discovered in some ancient Appalachian log cabin and at a stroke invented the myriad of genres that have since fallen under the term Americana. From their one time employer to any musician who has grown a beard and thought about “getting it together in the country,” they all owe a debt to what The Band achieved here.