The energy and excitement of the Band's final concert at San Francisco's Winterland, Thanksgiving 1976, is captured on three disks. The result exceeds live concert packages and becomes more of an event, a celebration of the Band's 16 years as a collective force. Making this a memorable package were friends of the group whose participation made this an all-star get together. Contributing to the soundtrack are Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Paul Butterfield, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Ron Wood, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins and the Staples.

- Billboard, 1978.

Bonus Reviews!

The movie improves when you can't see it -- Robbie Robertson and friends don't play anywhere near as smug as they look (or talk). And for an olio featuring eleven guest vocalists and a studio "suite," the soundtrack is remarkably coherent. The four new Band tunes are nothing special, but everybody lays into the oldies. The blues sequence -- beefed up by Toussaint's horns, Butterfield's harp, Muddy's pipes, and a blistering if messy Robertson-Clapton duet -- is a small landmark, Morrison and Young are worth going back to, and Dylan's "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" is spunky enough to make up for "Forever Young." Not only that, Joni Mitchell and Neil Diamond are on the same side. Bet this ages a lot better than Woodstock -- in a way, it already has. B+

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

A remarkable roster of guest stars appeared with The Band on its farewell engagement at San Francisco's Winterland. The Bill Graham production was filmed by the esteemed director Martin Scorsese, an avid fan of the group. Particularly gripping were Scorsese's sometimes awkward interviews, punctuated by pauses, that he left in without embarrassment. Rock journalists across the world wished they had been given the assignment themselves.

The lavish triple album was an eloquent farewell. Alas, most of the group, Robbie Robertson excepted, joined together for another tour in 1986. After one of these shows Richard Manuel hanged himself.

In 1987, The Last Waltz was chosen by a panel of rock critics and music broadcasters as the #95 rock album of all time.

- Paul Gambaccini, The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time, Harmony Books, 1987.

On Thanksgiving night in 1976 at San Francisco's famed Winterland -- where The Band had given its first concert nine years earlier -- The Band invited Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Paul Butterfield, the Staple Singers, Bobby Charles, Emmylou Harris, Ron Wood, Ronnie Hawkins and Neil Diamond, and a fine horn section arranged by Allen Toussaint, to memorialize the end of their performance career. Martin Scorsese filmed the concert, and a couple of years later this soundtrack was released. It contains thirty songs, including many of their classics, generally performed with fire and enthusiasm. The fascinating guest artists provide highlights (Young, Clapton, Dylan and Morrison) and low-lights (Diamond). Given the numbers and magnitude of the assembled talent, it was inevitable that reality would fall short of expectation, but on the whole, this was a major concert recording, and on its own terms is generally successful. It contains some new material from The Band, but nothing that makes you question their decision to call it quits. For the most part the studio renditions of the group's classics remain definitive -- still, you'll wish you'd been there. Given the time that obviously went into this production, the sound quality, particularly of the live concert portion, is far from ideal, with a boxiness and unpleasant vocal edges to most of the performances. The seven studio tracks completing the package have much better sonic quality, but even they are a bit edgy in the vocals. A-

- Bill Shapiro, Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock on CD, 1991.

Further reading on Super Seventies RockSite!: Album Review: Cahoots Album Review: The Best of the Band Robbie Robertson: In His Own Words

The Band's farewell gig was held at Winterland in San Francisco on Thanksgiving 1976. Guests from all periods of their career were invited to participate. The luminaries included Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, and Paul Butterfield. The four-hour concert was one of the most spectacular in rock history. Two hours of it were released on this three-LP (now two-CD) set. Utilizing horns one more time, this was the gig of the Band's life and one of the greatest in rock history. We are privileged that it exists in a form where we can hear it as often as we want. * * * *

- Rob Bowman , The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

The Band ended it all in 1976 by throwing and filming and recording a huge farewell party dubbed "The Last Waltz" which, as it turns out, hid the serious acrimony that had developed among the members especially between Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson. It would be the last time the five of them would appear on stage together. * * * 1/2

- Leland Rucker, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

Quibblers complain about the subpar Dylan performance and the tacked-on, studio-recorded "Last Waltz Suite," but this all-star tribute concert, marking the 1976 disbanding of The Band, is packed with sublime moments, from Neil Young's plaintive "Helpless" and Van Morrison's Irish-gospel lullaby "Tura-Lura-Lural" to The Band's own "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

-Entertainment Weekly, 2001.

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