They were songs that the Band recorded in the basement at their house called Big Pink, in West Saugerties, NY. The were indeed bootlegged, became legendary in music circles, and of course later were officially released. While there certainly are some songs that aren’t essential to the true Band fan, I would still recommend this cd for a few songs that rank up there with their best. These include “Orange Juice Blues”, “Goin to Alcapulco”, “Ain’t No More Cane”, and “Bessie Smith”, with a rare vocal from Robbie, in a beautiful duet with Rick.
I read in an interview somewhere that it was more about the feeling that the music and melody evoked, and that the lyrics were secondary; the song was about mood and tone, not plot and story.
I really like many tracks off of Robbie Robertson. I hadn’t realised that Rod Stewart’s hit(?) Broken Arrow was actually a Robertson tune, and done much better by Robertson, IMHO. And absolutely yes about his speaking voice. I love to listen to his voice on the track Somewhere Down the Crazy River.
Just popping in to say this thread has inspired me to get the Greatest Hits CD. I’ve got it on wax, but that doesn’t work too well in the car. . .
My commute will be much improved 
Thank you!