Credit: Silvia Grav

Credit: Silvia GravRobbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter for The Band, returned to action in a big way in 2019, during which he released his first studio album in eight years, was featured in a documentary about his life and his legendary group, and created the score for a critically acclaimed and star-packed dramatic film.

Robertson’s new album, titled Sinematic, was released on September 20. The 13-track collection included songs connected with, or inspired by, the two aforementioned film projects: the documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band and the Martin Scorsese-directed crime epic The Irishman.

Sinematic‘s lead track is a duet with Van Morrison titled “I Hear You Paint Houses,” which is inspired by The Irishman and the book on which it’s based, I Heard You Paint Houses. The album also includes a song called “Once Were Brothers,” a melancholy tune celebrating The Band and lamenting how his relationship with the other members — three of whom have passed away — dissolved.

The Once Were Brothers documentary premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie, which was based mainly on Robertson’s 2016 memoir, Testimony, features interviews with Robbie and some of his famous friends and collaborators, including Scorsese, Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton and Peter Gabriel. The doc is expected to get a wide theatrical release in 2020.

The Irishman, which premiered on Netflix in November, stars Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Robertson’s score for the film garnered him a Critics’ Choice Awards nomination. Also in November, Robbie released an irreverent original holiday tune titled “Happy Holidays.”

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