Rick Danko : Times Like These

Richard Clare Danko

 (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) 

was a Canadian musician, 

bassist, songwriter, 

and singer, 

best known as a

 founding member of

 the Band, 

for which he 

was inducted 

into the

 Rock and Roll 

Hall of Fame

 in 1994.

During the 1960s,

 Danko performed as a

 member of the Hawks, 

backing

 Ronnie Hawkins 

and then

 Bob Dylan. 

Then, 

between 1968 and 1977,

 Danko and the Hawks, 

now called

 the Band, 

released seven 

studio albums

 before breaking up. 

Beginning with the group's 

reformation in 1983 

and up until his death, 

Danko participated in 

the Band's 

partial reunion.

Times Like These 

released posthumously,

 is 

Rick Danko's 

last studio album.

 There's a tendency for

 fans to under-appreciate 

the singer/bassist's 

later work, 

opting instead for some 

sepia-toned memory of 

the Ontario farm boy

 amidst his 

original Band colleagues 

in the '60s and '70s 

 but that's only 

part of the story

 of a 40-year career. 

Later in life,

 Danko's voice,

 while remaining the distinctly

 mournful instrument of his youth,

 mellowed to equal parts 

milk and whiskey. 

Here, a less urgent 

and wiser artist

 wraps his pipes around

 his signature tune 

"This Wheel's on Fire," 

which is drawn out

 on both ends by

 elegant instrumental passages. 

This version of the song 

is a fitting coda

 to Danko's life,

 lingered over lovingly 

and masterfully by

 the Crowmatix 

with Band cohort 

Garth Hudson,

 a veritable one-man

 Fellini soundtrack

 on accordion. 

"Let the Four Winds Blow,"

 a Fats Domino/Dave Bartholomew cover 

recorded live, 

showcases Levon Helm

 on harmonica 

and longtime 

Danko and Band associate

 Professor "Louie" 

on piano and vocals, 

rolling and stomping

 in the finest spirit 

of the Band.

 "All Our Past Times," 

a return to a song 

the artist co-wrote with

 Eric Clapton

 in 1976, 

is wistfully gorgeous 

and heart-wrenchingly appropriate. 

And a cover of 

The Grateful Dead's 

"Ripple" 

 with Hudson and Helm 

once again

 making appearances 

 is delivered with the

 rustic charm of a 

back porch session

 (albeit a highly skilled one).

 While the album can drip 

with sentimentality or 

sound too polished at times,

 ultimately 

Times Like These,

 co-produced by Danko 

and

 Professor "Louie" 

(aka Aaron Hurwitz), 

is a thoughtfully rendered 

reflection on a 

great musical life.

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