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Black Crowes
Some groups build a huge audience but once the hits stop, so do they. Others, like the Black Crowes, are able to establish a relationship with their audience that allows them to survive the down points in a typical Rock career. Having the Black Crowes reputation as a hot live act didn't hurt either.
Hailing from Atlanta, the Black Crowes formed in '84 but it wasn't until '90 their debut, "Shake Your Money Maker," was released. Talk about paying dues. Two charging Rockers, "Jealous Again" and a cover of Otis Reddings' "Handle With Care" made a dent.
"The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion" rolled out in '92 with "Remedy." That same year keyboardist Eddie Hersch was added.
Though it sold well enough, "Amorica," represented a steep falling off. The next effort, in '96, "Three Snakes and One Charm" won critics approval and little else. The "By Your Side" CD didn't break any new ground or build their audience. In fact, disappointing sales caused the group to be dropped by their label, Columbia.
It was time to shake things up a bit. A tour and subsequent album, "Live At The Greek," with Led Zeppelin's legendary Jimmy Page reworked both Zeppelin and the Blues. Don Was, a masterful producer, was called in to lend his expertise for "Lions" released in '01. A few years later, '05 to be exact, Black Crowes embarked on a successful reunion tour that included a stint with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
In '06, the Crowes released their first live concert DVD, Freak 'N' Roll Into The Fog which featured performances taped at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium. Of course, just when things looked they'd get rolling again there was the invetiable snag. Ford quit the band via fax. Barely a week later, the Crowes parted company with Harsch. Guitarist Paul Stacey and keyboardist Rob Clores were slotted as replacements though Clores was gone within the year. At that point Adam MacDougall stepped in.
The band invited North Mississippi Allstars guitarist Luther Dickinson to play on their upcoming album but that resulted in Dickinson supplanting Stacey, who was viewed as only being temporary.
Amidst all these comings and goings, the Robinson brothers did an acoustic tour under the Brothers of a Feather banner. The '07 "Live At The Roxy" resulted. The L.A. shows, like the rest of the tour, featured Black Crowes songs plus some covers.
The comeback album "Warpaint," their first one with original material in seven years, contained the single, "Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution." "It's got all the roots," said Chris Robinson of the '08 release. "But it's also got a psychedelic feel."
Even before "Warpaint" was released there was a controversy. Maxim apologized for running a lukewarm review of the album. Seems the magazine's music critic didn't listen to the entire disc before assigning a two-and-a-half-star rating (pretty low). Maxim admitted that it hadn't followed editorial policy. The Crowes' manager, Pete Angelus, called the publication's statement "self-serving damage control" and wanted Maxim to "issue a public apology" to the band.
When the dust settled everyone realized the group's back catalog from the American Recordings imprint was available as digital downloads for the first time on iTunes. It included the Crowes' first five discs, the '98 box-set compilation "Sho' Nuff" and the '06 rarities collection "The Lost Crowes."
"Stay true to your vision and you shall prevail." That could be the Black Crowes motto. Woefully out of style when their debut was released, the Crowes paid no mind. Their raunchy Rock owed more to the Stones and Faces, than Southern Rock or the current trends. They are what the Rolling Stones would sound like if they came from the American South rather than the south of England. The Robinsons, Chris and Rich, learned their lesson well. They wrote just about every memorable and a few unmemorable Black Crowes tracks.
"Shake Your Money Maker" and "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion" are the CDs that earned the group their notoriety. But the 'comeback' set, "Warpaint," is no slouch either.
The great thing about an extended break between albums is that nobody expects an innovative return. People are happy just to hear from the band again. That's where "Warpaint" benefits. It's the Black Crowes, a throwback (but not throwaway) with touches of The Band, Eagles and Allmans.
The Crowes slide through their songs, more so now thanks to Dickinson, as Robinson's vocals fall off the syllables pulling everything a bit out of focus. That knack enables him to get away with some woefully shallow lyrics that would be tossed from any sophomore poetry class.
"Warpaint" starts strong with "Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution" which could pass as a "calling card" track. It is what the Black Crowes to best - a lively, melodic jangle. "Evergreen" features simmering guitars that eventually boil over making this and "Wounded Bird" the album's "get up" songs. The topper is the boogie romp of "God's Got It."
While "Walk Believer Walk" is slow Blues-by-the-numbers and "Movin' On Down The Line" meanders, the Black Crowes give "Oh Josephine" the kind of intimacy associated with The Band while the desperate "Locust Street" channels the Eagles via Poco.
The remainder of the Crowes catalog is solid if unexceptional.
"Live At The Greek" is fun because the group is loose and Page, having some energy to play off of, responds. Nice job all the way around.
"Black Crowes: 1990-1999" covers all the bases but "Money Maker" and "Southern Harmony" will do the trick any day.