Graham Reid | | 1 min read
The Black Crowes: Soul Singin'
Two decades ago when the Black Crowes
launched their career with the swaggering Shake Your Money Maker
they came off as a version of Rod Stewart and the Faces with a little
of the Allman Brothers thrown in: theirs was party-style
rhythm'n'booze played out in front of a marijuana leaf banner.
But more recently – with vocalist
Chris Robinson back after some solo years – they retooled their
sound down for the wonderful, live-in-the-studio acoustic album
Before the Frost last year where they sounded more like the
Band with Keith Richards sitting in.
To celebrate their 20th
anniversary here they offer a double album of acoustic versions of
some of their most memorable songs (Remedy, She Talks to Angels.
Thorn in My Pride, Good Friday and others), which is how they are
opening shows on their current tour.
Their often ramshackle and enjoyable
electric persona meant some of their best songs sounded shapeless,
but here stripped right back (with guest Donny Herron on pedal steel,
banjo and fiddle) they have that barnyard appeal of Before the
Frost.
They still manage to rock hard when required – even though they sound like they're sitting down – and given the line-up changes, indifferent middle-year albums and threats of implosion, the Black Crowes here again sound like a band reinvented, and the better for it.
Incidentally Before the Frost was a Best of Elsewhere 2009 album. See that list here.
Bob Kolsters - Sep 15, 2010
Great stuff.
SaveBecause of Chris Robinson's voice it definitely sounds like the Black Crows. The first 2 albums I played over and over. Kind of lost track of them after that.
The sample track is really soulful and reminiscent of the early stuff. With a folky twist though. Can't wait to hear the old classics acoustically.
Thanks
Bob Kolsters
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