By Paul Elliott
( Classic Rock )
last updated
The Black Crowes may have been born out of time, but their best albums - a fusion of southern rock, gospel, blues and fiery rock'n'roll - were timeless
If ever there was a band that was born too late, it’s the Black Crowes. Frontman Chris Robinson recently stated: “We like the way records sounded from 1968 to 1972.”
Which is hardly surprising coming from a dude who views the modern world through a haze of marijuana smoke and looks like he’s just got back from Woodstock. But as he proudly declares: “This band has always been out of sync with whatever is going on, because we couldn’t care less what’s going on, ever!”
Read the full story of the Black Crowes reunion in the new issue of Classic Rock, out now.
Shake Your Money Maker (Def American , 1990)
Produced by Rick Rubin’s right- hand man, George Drakoulias, the Black Crowes’ debut kicked off with the 70s-style rock of Twice As Hard and never looked forward. The key hit single, Hard To Handle, was originally recorded by soul legend Otis Redding back in 1968.
But the Crowes were no hackneyed bar band. Their youthful energy, and great songs such as Jealous Again and the acoustic ballad She Talks To Angels, connected with a 90s audience.
With eight million units shifted worldwide, Shake Your Money Maker is still the Black Crowes’ biggest-selling album.
The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (Def American, 1992)
The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion topped the US chart (still the only Crowes album to do so) and remains the Black Crowes’ finest work.
With a brilliant new guitarist, Marc Ford, replacing the errant Jeff Cease, the band were on a roll, cutting the whole album in just eight days. Its heavy, funky, soulful rock‘n’roll – best illustrated by the snaking Remedy and the stoned jam Thorn In My Pride – carried echoes of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Sly & The Family Stone.
In essence this album is the Crowes’ Sticky Fingers.
For serious Crowes aficionados this third album represents the band’s artistic peak.
Amorica was markedly different to the first two albums. Opener Gone kicked ass, but the overall vibe was more mellow, trippy and introspective. The Crowes were extending their reach.
The album’s peak is Wiser Time, an uplifting, spiritual psychedelic jam. The single High Head Blues evoked the swamp-rock of Creedence Clearwater Revival. At the end there’s Descending, a beautiful, world- weary ballad finished with a wonderful piano coda.
The Crowes would never quite reach such heights again.
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes Live At The Greek (TVT, 2000)
It started, of course, with a jam. At a Crowes gig in London in June 1999 Jimmy Page joined the band for an encore. They played Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, and it felt so good that they decided to tour together.
The resulting double live album features landmark Zeppelin songs and blues standards, but, due to contractual obligations, none of the Crowes material they played.
The master guitarist gels nicely with Rich Robinson, and Chris Robinson proves that if Zeppelin were ever going to tour without Robert Plant he’s the only man for the job.
The Lost Crowes (American, 2006)
Not just a bunch of B-sides and out-takes, but two complete and previously unreleased albums.
On disc one of The Lost Crowes is Band, an album recorded in 1997 but abandoned when the Crowes switched labels and cut the more mainstream By Your Side. Far superior to the preceding Three Snakes And One Charm, it’s a genuine lost classic.
On disc two is Tall, an album recorded in 1993 and then shelved until six of its 16 songs were reworked on Amorica. The standout track (inexplicably left off Amorica) is Feathers, a meditative psychedelic blues.
An essential purchase for the Crowes connoisseur.
Chris Robinson described the making of this album as “the worst period of my life”. Following the departures of guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Johnny Colt, the band had signed to a new label, Columbia, who demanded a radio-friendly album in the vein of Shake Your Money Maker.
“It was the only time we put down out instinctual defences and listened to other people,” Robinson complained.
But it worked. By Your Side is a fine album. The Crowes blasted out high-octane rock on Kickin’ My Heart Around, and hit a soulful groove on Only A Fool. Even at his lowest ebb, Chris was still the best singer in rock’n’roll.
The Crowes’ ‘comeback’ album is all about vibe. Recorded near Woodstock – in a sense, the band’s spiritual home – Warpaint was completed in a week.
“That organic trip is really where it’s at for us,” said Chris Robinson, describing the album’s earthy blend of rock, blues, country, funk and soul.
With Marc Ford out of the band again, and Eddie Harsch gone too, the Crowes found ideal replacements in keyboard player Adam MacDougall and North Mississippi All Stars guitarist Luther Dickinson.
Warpaint might be the Black Crowes’ lowest-selling studio album, but it shares the timeless quality of their best work.
Freak ’N’ Roll… Into The Fog (Eagle, 2006)
Where better for the Black Crowes to cut a double live album than the Fillmore, San Francisco’s legendary hippie hangout?
Recorded on the second date of a five-night residency in 2005, it captures the reunited Crowes in celebratory mood. Indeed, the band were so happy to be back together that they even gave the classic hits they often refused to play, such as Hard To Handle and She Talks To Angels. Best of all is the 10-minute Nonfiction, with the Crowes in all their self-indulgent, cosmic-rock glory.
The Crowes have always been a great live act, and here they delivered a great live album.
Three Snakes And One Charm (American, 1996)
“It’s my favourite,” Chris Robinson says of the Crowes’ fourth album. But few would agree with him. As the singer admits: “It’s funny, because people in England hated this record. It got the worst reviews.”
Three Snakes… is an erratic mix of signature-Crowes roots-rock and left-field weirdness. The more straightforward songs – the swaggering Under A Mountain, the country blues Girl From A Pawnshop – work best, but the curveballs are too self-consciously ‘out there’: the clunking freak-funk of (Only) Halfway To Everywhere, the faux-jazz break on How Much For Your Wings?
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Paul Elliott
Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”
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