52 • UNCUT• OCTOBER 2019
PUT THE
L OA D
RIGHT
ON M E
Withhisfirstsoloalbumineightyearsanda filmsoundtrackfor
MartinScorsesenearcompletion,ROBBIEROBERTSONhasevery
reasontofocushisattentionsonthepresentday.Butthelongshadow
ofhisoldcompadresTheBandloomsaslargeasever,thankstoa new
documentaryandboxset.Alltheseareupfordiscussion alongwith
house sharingwithScorsese,phonecallsfromBobDylanandLOLZ
withVanMorrison.“WhenI canlookback,it’ssomucheasierto
acknowledgethenecessitiesofwhathappened,”hetellsNickHasted
PhotobyDAVI DJOR DA N“U
NFINISHEDbusiness?”
saysRobbieRobertson.
“No,I don’tthinkabout...
unfinishedbusiness.”
Robertsonis intheprocess
ofaddressingtheweirdlogisticsinhiscurrent
workload.Thereis a newsoloalbum,Sinematic– his
firstsince2011’sHowToBecomeClairvoyant– aswell
asa scoreforTheIrishman, theforthcominggangster
filmdirectedbyRobertson’soldhousemate,Martin
Scorsese.Butdespitesuchexcitingcurrentprojects,
thepastis nevertoofaraway.TheBandstory
continuestobeguile.First,a newdocumentary,Once
WereBrothers:RobbieRobertsonAndTheBand–
basedonRobertson’s 2016 memoir,Testimony– opens
theTorontoInternationalFilmFestivalonSeptember- A 50thanniversaryboxsetofTheBand’ssecond
albumarrivesa fewmonthslater,inNovember.
Fortuitously,Robertsonis notonlyateasemanaging
thesemultiplecareerstrandssimultaneously– he
is,it transpires,equallycomfortablesharingcandid
memoriesfromhisearlierlife.A wide-ranging
conversationwithRobertsonwillcoverhisroleinthe
collapseofTheBand– “Istoppedherdingcats”– and
heavytimeslivingonMulhollandDrivewithScorsese
- “Wecrossedtheline.”ButRobertsonwillalso
acknowledgethemagicatworkinthemusiche
hasbeenmakingformorethan 50 years– andthe
deepfriendshipsforgedalongtheway.“IloveDylan
likea brother,”heacknowledges.Indeed,Robertson
revealsthata newcollaborationwithDylanmaysoon
beaddedtotheslate.Thereareotherlong-standing
conspirators,too– VanMorrison,whoduetswith
RobertsononSinematic’s openingtrack,“IHearYou
PaintHouses”,is “hilarious– hecracksmeup”.
Meanwhile,Robertsonatteststhathiscreative
relationshipwithScorseseis “rightupthere”with
DylanandTheBand.
TalkingofScorsese,Testimonyconcludedwith
TheLastWaltz– thedirector’sfilmofTheBand’s
finalconcertatWinterlandBallroominNovember
1976.Robertsonrevealsthata follow-upvolumeis
imminent.“Thisnextbookis headingintothefog,”he
promises.“Igointogreatdetailonthedestructionand
magicthatwenttogetherduringthat[late-’70s] period.
Therewasa longtimewhenI didn’twanttotalkabout
it.I couldonlyseegloom.I didn’tunderstandwhy
peoplewouldbethewaytheywere.”
ROBBIE ROBERTSON