The Band’s ‘Northern Lights – Southern Cross’ Joins UMe’s New Vinylphyle Series
The 1975 classic is among the first records to join the new hi-fidelity vinyl series, Vinylphyle.
The Band’s 1975 album Northern Lights – Southern Cross is getting a special reissue as part of UMe’s new hi-fidelity vinyl series, Vinylphyle.
Like all additions to the series, the album will be pressed on 180g black vinyl by RTI and mastered by some of the industry’s elite engineers. The vinyl, available for pre-order now, also comes complete with a four-panel insert compiling photos, art and liner notes from Northern Lights – Southern Cross’ original release, alongside a new essay on the album by Rick Florino.
Northern Lights – Southern Cross was the first album recorded at The Band’s legendary Malibu studio Shangri-La, which they built in 1974 after finishing a tour with Bob Dylan. They recorded using a state-of-the-art 24-track tape recorder, allowing keyboardist Garth Hudson to layer his instruments across several tracks. At the time, it marked their first album of all-new material since 1971’s Cahoots.
The record spawned popular tracks like “It Makes No Difference,” “Ophelia” and “Acadian Driftwood,” which focus on the French Acadian people’s displacement by the British in 1755. The Band performed all three tracks during their final 1976 stage performance with all five members.
The concert—which featured guest appearances from Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris and more—was filmed by none other than Martin Scorcese, who released a documentary based around the footage in 1978 called The Last Waltz. Today, it’s widely regarded as one of the greatest concert films ever made, and in 2019, the Library of Congress added it to the United States National Film Registry, reserved for American films deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Upon its release, Northern Lights – Southern Cross peaked within the Top 30 of the Billboard 200, and “Ophelia” made the Hot 100 chart. Today, it’s looked back on as a swan song for the Canadian-American rock legends—aside from the live album accompanying The Last Waltz, it was the last full-length featuring The Band’s original lineup: Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and Levon Helm.
