Stage Fright

The group planned to record live at the Woodstock Playhouse, but the town council vetoed an event of that kind, so they used the off-season theater as a studio without an audience. It was the first album they produced themselves, with Todd Rundgren as engineer. John Simon, their earlier producer, plays trombone on The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show. Robertson said he meant it as a lighter record, but the songs took a darker turn. Helm later described a dark mood during the sessions. The cover is a sunset designed by Bob Cato wrapped in a poster of a photograph by Norman Seeff.

It peaked at 5 on Billboard, above the first two albums, and went gold. Rolling Stone's John Burks praised the group's precision but felt it lacked glory, and Christgau thought the tunes outdid the words. Later, Q's John Bauldie suggested it might be their greatest record, and the critic William Ruhlmann wrote that it was hardly less compelling than their earlier work. A 50th anniversary edition with a new Bob Clearmountain mix followed.