Nathaniel Rateliff

The Night Sweats man marvels at Dylan and The Band’s

The Basement Tapes

(Columbia, 1975)

I discovered The Basement Tapes at 17 when my friend’s mom showed me her bootleg. We never got a chance to listen to it, so I started digging, looking for it. When I was 20, around 1998, I bought a copy in Colorado. I didn’t have a TV or a phone then, and we’d sit and play rummy and just listen to it, and I spent a lot of time listening by myself. It made you feel like you were sitting with friends, and it taught me that songs can be a lot of different things. They’re not just built on beautiful prose – sometimes they’re matter of fact, funny, or just a story – and that you can capture a moment on your 8-track recorder.

I remember one of the first times I had ever flown, from Colorado to Sacramento… I was going through something pretty difficult, and on my way home I listened to Goin’ To Acapulco over and over, just crying, it hit me so much. Katie’s Been Gone is another favourite, Ain’t No More Cane, that was always one that got me. Robbie Robertson’s approach to guitar isn’t about playing the most notes, it’s about melody, and that’s important to me. I’d struggled to connect with music of the late ’90s and after hearing the album, I started to explore older folk songs and bluegrass. I’ve never tired of it. During the pandemic, I’d be running a chainsaw or painting a building, or taking long drives, listening on repeat. It still holds up and flows great, and I’m always excited to hear it.

I did a show with Robbie in 2019, and I remember him speaking to a tribal chief from the Iroquois nation. It was amazing to see how humbled he was. Then, we just shot the shit. I tried to give him space – I figured he didn’t want me talking to him about my favourite Band songs.

As told to James Allen

The Future is out on Stax on November 5.