In 1993 Rick Danko told The News-Star: "I think we shipped a million copies of that second album and that changed a lot of people’s lives — in particular, the Band’s. After that, we were only getting together once a year, for a couple of months, to record. It was like we were too decadent to play.”
1970 was a hard year, but it wouldn't get any easier in 1971. Having struggled through "Stage Fright" and taking on the disastrous Festival Express music festival, The Band was burnt out and in a dark space. However, it was back into the studio to record a new album, even if they didn't want to. From the exterior The Band was the perfect group. They were pretty universally loved from their fans, their critics and their peers. The opposite was true for the five guys in the group, once a group of tight knit brothers was shattering. Creative droughts, drugs and alcohol continued to plague them deeply. "Cahoots" is a manifestation of the period the songs crafted for the album don't do anything to hide it.
Now, with "Cahoots" their fourth studio album released to the world in 1971, The Band's shiny veneer was fading. The public started to sense The Band wasn't in a happy place and The Band didn't know how much longer they were going to be able to keep it up.

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"Levons Barn" song provided by Adam Traum (https://www.adamtraumguitar.com/)

Credits:
Produced, Written & Hosted by Tyrell William Lisson
Produced & Edited by Teagan Chevrier
Additional Research by Fiona Chevrier