So Many Roads is a 1965 studio album by John P. Hammond, backed by several musicians who would go on to form The Band.
Recording and release
So Many Roads was recorded shortly after Ronnie Hawkins' backing band The Hawks had hit out on their own, eventually naming themselves The Band. Hammond had seen The Hawks while gigging in Toronto and formed a friendship with the band members.[3] The group toured in America's East Coast, so they could easily show up at the studio, where the record label only allowed for a single three-hour session.[3] This was their first time recording without Hawkins.[4] Hammond wanted the entire line-up—which included drummer Levon Helm, organist Garth Hudson, and guitarist Robbie Robertson, who all appear on the album, as well as bassist Rick Danko and keyboardist Richard Manuel—but he was denied by Vanguard Records, who insisted that veteran jazz bassist Jimmy Lewis appear, having played on previous recordings from Hammond.[2] Hammond brought in Chicago blues friends Mike Bloomfield and Charlie Musselwhite to round out the recording.[5]
In the months after this album was released, Hammond was informed that a young Jimi Hendrix—who had recently relocated to New York City—was playing songs from So Many Roads. Hammond went to see him live[6] and immediately introduced him to John H. Hammond, his father and accomplished record producer.[7]
Critical reception
Writing for AllMusic (where the editorial staff gave the album four out of five stars), Richie Unterberger characterizes So Many Roads as "Hammond's most notable mid-'60s Vanguard album" due to the session musicians, calling it "one of the first fully realized blues-rock albums".[2]
^Fletcher, Tony (October 26, 2009). All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77. W. W. Norton. p. 219. ISBN9780393076714.
^Milward, John (June 11, 2013). Crossroads: How the Blues Shaped Rock ’n’ Roll (and Rock Saved the Blues). Northeastern University Press. p. 30. ISBN9781555537449.
^Roby, Stephen; Schrieber, Brad (August 31, 2010). Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius. Hachette Books. p. 169. ISBN9780306819452.
