The linked page has some clips. And if that isn't enough to get you to look, David, there's this quote from Van Morrison: "Me and Richard Manuel were thinking of making an album of Ray Charles songs." And out of the 15 gigs worth of songs on my player what popped up while I was reading the page? Yep, "Whispering Pines," the title track and one of the most haunted vocals from poor, fucked up Mr. Manuel, who killed himself just months after the live recording was made. RIP, sir, I hope you found some peace. Levon Helm: "Richard was always our lead singer - and I always felt real confident with Richard in The Band. I knew that nobody had a better singer than what we had."
"Whispering Pines" is prominently featured on my In the Pines tape. His vocal on "It Makes No Difference" might be his best though. Pure heartbreak. His voice has got woodgrain in it. Did you ever Levon's This Wheel's On Fire, Joe? It's a great read, though moreso for the wild rockabilly days than insights into The Band. But he talks a lot about picking up Manuel in the Hawks. He wasn't much of a piano player compared to the guys who had preceded him (legendary roadhouse boogie woogie players), but he could sing like Ray Charles and that was in damn short supply.