the Black Crowes

About fucking goddamn bastard time. Can I shoot them all to make sure they never come back? And burn all their CDs and guitars too? The Black Crowes are one of the few bands for which I possess a total, unmitigated, full-of-rage hate.

I like the fact that they're kind of right on, despite being shit- kicking red necks from the deep South (or at least cultivating that image to an extent). When I saw them they had a Free Mumia poster on their drumkit.

Can anyone recommend records by them? Round these parts received wisdom is that they are great live but a bit dull on record.

I saw them at a large club show once; the bass player ended up in a street fight *immediately* after their set.

I have a chance to see them tomorrow night at the Warfield. Has anybody seen them on this tour yet? Are they still pretty much unassailable live?

I've heard that they're somewhat jammy. Now, is that "jammy" as in 15-minute blues solos or as in face-melting psychedelia?

http://gawker.com/359843/maxim-reviews-black-crowes-album-without-listening-to-it

(it leaked in the meantime, but that's not the point)

Yeah, that really rubbed me the wrong way, especially the magazine's response to getting called out for it. So maybe it is kinda funny to "predict" the sound of a Crowes album in 2008, but that crap is inexcuseable.

Bump just 'cuz it's so fucking weird. And, um, cuz I read about it on the ABC News site.

I like the fact that they're kind of right on, despite being shit- kicking red necks from the deep South (or at least cultivating that image to an extent).

They're middle class kids from one of the richest suburbs of Atlanta. I've never met a redneck from East Cobb County.

LOLmaxim music reviews

they will probably be remembered most for a cover song that is routinely played during sporting events ("Hard to Handle")

Maybe because it's the best thing they ever did?

http://gawker.com/361567/all-these-dirty-bands-look-the-same-to-cnn

This is completely fucked up, yes, but, is it possible the writer DID hear it via a leak and when Maxim was confronted they made up some bullshit excuse rather than admit publicly to downloading the damn thing from Soulseek?

its more likely to be the other way round, isn't it - that journalists are often not interested enough to bother listening to an album in its entirety . Maxim just unlucky cause they've been caught out.

(obviously not to disparage the trade of the fine music journos of this parish. just saying I wouldn't be surprised is all.)

It hadn't leaked when he wrote the review and now they've gone and published another review (2.5/5) of an album that isn't even finished. Nas isn't happy about that one - it's his.

Sheesh. What a disgrace.

So the new album? It's actually pretty good. The concept sounded cringe-worthy when I first heard it, the whole recording live in Levon Helm's barn in front of a live audience, but I gotta say it works - these guys haven't sounded this energized in awhile now.

new songs or like a live set?

Unfortunately, I got the opposite impression. These guys sound awfully tired and obvious. Then again, I've never liked Chris Robinson's voice. The dude is a lousy boogie-rock singer. The one tune with a funky disco groove is pretty bad.

How will they be remembered?

They won't be.

(At least let's hope)

To answer M@tt's question, its all new tracks. It also comes with a download code to get a whole second set, but I haven't listened to that yet. Listened to this again last night and still liking it. It definitely won't convert a lot of haters, but I've followed them off and on and this is the most I've liked an album since probably Amorica.

so is luther dickinson joining them their Mick Taylor moment?

Again, I'll out myself as a Crowes fan. The new double-disc acoustic "hits" thing, Croweology, is pretty damn good - if you are inclined to giving these guys a chance.

Particularly loving the reworking of "Non-Fiction" right now. The drum machine on "Share the Ride" was a horrible decision though.

By Your Side was one of my favorites....

Lol I'm still the only guy around here that rates these guys at all. The new album by Chris Robinson Brotherhood is actually decent, in a Ryan Adams Cold Roses kind of way. Robinson's usual schtick with a bit more of a Dead-vibe, none of the songs less than 7 minutes.

he was pretty good last night w/ bob weir!

Oh, nice, Didn't know he was opening. Was it with the Brotherhood?

oh, nevermind, I see it was an acoustic trio thing

yes! mostly dead covers.

Cool! I think its actually kind of cool to see Chris Robinson settling into this scene, it fits him.

he's got the beard for it!

The twofer on Southern Harmony of "thorn in my pride" > "bad luck blue eyes" also pretty good

Don't know if anyone hung around the Crowes until they made Lions, but its a good one. They made it after touring with Jimmy Page and its the most Zeppelin sounding work they've ever done.

Chris Robinson sat front row at a Sixers game recently and was a pretty knowledgeable hoops fan. Seemed very out of character for his whole hippy trip. Makes me wish he'd listen to a few Faces albums and give Rich a call.

― DavidLeeRoth, Tuesday, January 10, 2017 12:32 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Soooo many walking databases of Grateful Dead live show minutia are also walking databases of sport ball minutia.

Tell me about the Black Crowes’ Backspacer/Lightning Bolt-esque post-glory years era. I checked out after Amorica but it was me, not them. Their first three LPs rule.

The live album w/Page is terrific.

https://youtu.be/Zi55D1r9TxQ
Page and Roy Harper sit on some rocks and jam a bit. Young reporter calls Harper on his claim to be very influential

The Before the Frost... Until the Freeze was my favorite thing of new material post-glory. It was all recorded live at Levon Helm's Barn before an audience, which gave it a real nice looseness that sometimes got lost in their latter day studio albums.

But the best thing that came out in those years was The Lost Crowes 2-fer, which made up the Tall and Band Sessions. Tall was was mostly early versions of songs that ended up on Amorica, along with a few that popped up on later albums (one at least as recently via Chris Robinson Band). Band was the original album that was supposed to come out after Three Snakes, but got scrapped in favor of By Your Side. Some of their best material is on these discs, imho.

By Your Side is fine, though it felt a little too slick for my tastes and I've never fully warmed to it.
Lions was the only studio record with Audley Freed, who also played on the Page live album mentioned.
Warpaint, I don't really remember much about. Need to spend some more time with it.

Thanks Jon
I played through Lost today and it sounded great. “Peace anyway” scratched a “plundered my soul” itch
I think what holds them back is the drumming, some of these songs could swing but dude is just not up to the task.

Black Crowes guys were really popular when I was in college. Their first tape/cd was a big party tape like 'Nothing's Shocking' or 'Appetite for Destruction', lots of people had it and was around in the dorms etc. That's Indiana for you. The classic rock radio stations like Q95 in Indianapolis played their singles a ton. They played a gig at the IU Auditorium in like '92, didn't see show myself, I had to work.

Haven't heard the last couple with Luther Dickinson etc. 'By Your Side' has quite a bit of soft rock action going on, it's way more Entertainment Weekly than the Crowes' usual fare. 'Lions' is a bit more riffy. I like the first three the most and listen to 'Amorica' bit more often since I didn't hear it as much when it was new. Their first two I have heard quite bit over the years. I delivered pizzas with a C90 dub of the first two CDs that was in my Buick's tape deck for a few months one semester.

Extra pepperoni for earl, put it on my tab

their greatest hits record 90-99 is kinda all you need i think.

their tiny desk show was pretty good

This band has an impressively consistent array of shitty album covers.

I really like/liked this band, "Good Friday" is a favorite.

the Black Crowes have broken up.
About fucking goddamn bastard time. Can I shoot them all to make sure they never come back? And burn all their CDs and guitars too? The Black Crowes are one of the few bands for which I possess a total, unmitigated, full-of-rage hate.

― Ned Raggett

Twice as Hard rules

I loved their run through Three Snakes One Charm but I kinda fell off after that album-wise.
I saw them in 2006 and it they were in full psychedelic jam mode, neon mushrooms on stage & shit, it was wild - more like a Phish concert. I thought it was fun but my friends were mad they didnt do the greatest hits lol

Listened to Amorica recently & it’s still dope.

Twice as Hard rules

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, February 20, 2021 10:59 PM bookmarkflaglink

Otm. Jealous Again too

were they the last popular rock n' roll band?

when i was a tween/teen in the 90s listening to a ton of alt rock radio the crowes were a hated band because their transparent rolling stones aping did nothing for me. when i listen to their singles now they're obviously a bunch of talented musicians doing exactly what they intended to do and my feelings have softened a lot.

Twice as Hard is so good, ums otm

half of that first record is solid af, for exactly the reasons I hated it at the time. more bands should just do stones/faces schtick.

I’ll also stan for their cover of “oh sweet nuthin,” at the height of their replacement replacement replacement lead gtr jam band days. surprised the shit out of me but it’s grebt.

oh man yes, that cover is A+

Friend of mine and I did a remix for them that Chris liked. Rest of band were against it. It was disco-y etc etc. Never released. Anyway, Chris was a nice guy when we met him and I like a lot of the live stuff with Jimmy Page.

Cherry Red is putting out a Georgia Satellites box set next week with all their albums plus assorted B-sides, etc.

Georgia Satellites > Black Crowes, is what I'm saying here.

oh shit that is a box set i would enjoy

cosine

I wish the first Georgia Satellites record was produced like the first Black Crowes record

Rich was WAY TOO LOUD at the show at the Beacon I saw 10 years ago

don't they have a Gallagher brothers vibe with each other?

I wish the first Georgia Satellites record was produced like the first Black Crowes record

They don't sound that different to me; the Satellites had Big 80s Drums and the Crowes had the piano too loud in the mix (the piano is what turns me off to them), but they're in the same neighborhood. What I like best about the Satellites is the way the guitars are panned hard left and hard right.

I'd never played an album by these dudes until yesterday (despite liking everything I'd heard on the radio). Played the second one, and while tbh I couldn't make it through the whole thing, it sounded pretty good!

Opened up this thread in Flagging to reply "B&B with a little weed," but apparently I had already drafted that post during some previous revive and thought better of it.

i need a remedy huh yeah

Yikes @ Ned's first post itt

Anyway, just dropped in to rep for 'By Your Side,' which iirc came and went really quickly in 1998. It's a damn good record, provided you like what the band does in the first place.

This band sucks but jealous again is a tune

Soooo many walking databases of Grateful Dead live show minutia are also walking databases of sport ball minutia.

Bill Walton's favorite Venn Diagram

It’s either them or like drivin & cryin, but they might have been first band I ever saw live as a (mostly autonomous) teen

honestly they cooked

Maybe because it was the first band you saw live and you were a teen

v true. I think I also saw Dylan in a theater in Jackson MS with friends and we were ‘omg he’s so old and doesn’t have much longer. Glad I caught him’

he was 52 fmllllllllol

51*

which was a hilarious story I recounted for my friends earlier this spring when we saw him (80???)

remedy is a good song. i love how they bring it back to those descending chord parts over and over.

Only album I've heard is Three Snakes and One Charm (the "eclectic" one). It was mostly boring but there was some interesting if rudimentary psych-ish things happening on a few songs but idk which.

I got the same impression from that record. I think there was an electric sitar on one song…?

I like parts of Amorica, but for the most part their records have the same problem as Paul Weller’s mid-‘90s records: they want to show how they’re influenced by certain bands/approaches, but didn’t write strong enough material/come up with exciting enough arrangements to transcend “pastiche”…and in too many instances, they don’t even get to “pastiche,” just aping the surface elements of vague impressions of the Faces (Crowes) or Traffic (Weller).

I will say that “Wiser Time” is by far the best thing the Crowes ever did, despite the hackneyed premise.

Listening to “twice as hard” (ahem) and “jealous again” and they cook better than they have any right to. The sons Phil Rudd / Cosmo style 4/4 helps a lot

they was good. one of the best bands going. real rockin stuff and they could actually play their instruments. even oasis had to bow down to them. u should lisen to second album espehully. absolute classic band. gonna miss them.
― XStatic Peace, Monday, January 21, 2002 8:00 PM bookmarkflaglink

They should be remixed in mono

“Always drunk on Sunday” well, yeah

i need a remedy huh yeah

― mookieproof, Saturday, June 4, 2022 8:15 PM (one year ago)

for what is ailing me
you see?