Album: The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion
Artist: Black Crowes
Artist: Black Crowes
Born: Marietta, Georgia
Released: May 1992
Genre: Blues Rock
Though the Black Crowes will never win many plaudits for originality, they were the closest I ever got to seeing the spirit of classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Rolling Stones embodied on stage. One of the first gigs I ever went to was the Crowes at London Astoria in late 1996, a fantastic set that involved covers of songs by Dylan (Girl From The North Country), the Stones (Torn & Frayed) and The Byrds (Mr Spaceman). Amorica was the Crowes album that I first got into aged 15, but their previous album, The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion, is the one I've grown to love most over the years. Unlike many rock bands, the Crowes started with their most successful album, Shake Your Money Maker (1990), and saw their commercial popularity and critical acclaim decline over time. There are some great moments on their debut LP, like She Talks To Angels and the cover of Otis Redding's Hard To Handle, but for me their follow-up album, Southern Harmony ... is more consistently brilliant. In the same way as their southern rock forefathers, The Allman Brothers Band, the Crowes had a brotherly partnership at its core, guitarist Rich Robinson and singer Chris Robinson, who were jointly responsible for the songwriting. The quality of the songs and the addition of keyboard player Eddie Harsch to the line-up are just two things I love about the album.
Things get off to a rollicking start with three of the band's most successful singles, Sting Me, Remedy and Thorn In My Pride. Remedy is the most catchy of the three, with its slowed-down version of a riff from Parliament's Mothership Connection (Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples) and its gospel roots. The lyrics also feature a familiar Crowes trope of the medicinal quality of a woman's sexual love ("If I'd some remedy / I'd take enough to please me"). Thorn In My Pride is my personal favourite, in the way the Crowes take the sound of the Stone's Exile On Main St but make it very much their own. Although side 2 isn't as captivating as the first, there are still some great moments, like single Hotel Illness, as well as Black Moon Creeping and The Morning Song, the latter sounding like House Of The Holy-era Led Zeppelin. The album closes with a cover of Bob Marley's Time Will Tell, which showcases Chris Robinson's vocal talents and underlines their ability to cover classic songs in original, innovative ways. The Crowes' third album Amorica (1994) also has its fair share of brilliant songs, like Wiser Time, but it's this album that's the best distillation of the band's sound. After many years of middling efforts, the Crowes returned to form in 2009 with Before the Frost ... Until the Freeze and remain a superb live act.
Though the Black Crowes will never win many plaudits for originality, they were the closest I ever got to seeing the spirit of classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Rolling Stones embodied on stage. One of the first gigs I ever went to was the Crowes at London Astoria in late 1996, a fantastic set that involved covers of songs by Dylan (Girl From The North Country), the Stones (Torn & Frayed) and The Byrds (Mr Spaceman). Amorica was the Crowes album that I first got into aged 15, but their previous album, The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion, is the one I've grown to love most over the years. Unlike many rock bands, the Crowes started with their most successful album, Shake Your Money Maker (1990), and saw their commercial popularity and critical acclaim decline over time. There are some great moments on their debut LP, like She Talks To Angels and the cover of Otis Redding's Hard To Handle, but for me their follow-up album, Southern Harmony ... is more consistently brilliant. In the same way as their southern rock forefathers, The Allman Brothers Band, the Crowes had a brotherly partnership at its core, guitarist Rich Robinson and singer Chris Robinson, who were jointly responsible for the songwriting. The quality of the songs and the addition of keyboard player Eddie Harsch to the line-up are just two things I love about the album.
Things get off to a rollicking start with three of the band's most successful singles, Sting Me, Remedy and Thorn In My Pride. Remedy is the most catchy of the three, with its slowed-down version of a riff from Parliament's Mothership Connection (Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples) and its gospel roots. The lyrics also feature a familiar Crowes trope of the medicinal quality of a woman's sexual love ("If I'd some remedy / I'd take enough to please me"). Thorn In My Pride is my personal favourite, in the way the Crowes take the sound of the Stone's Exile On Main St but make it very much their own. Although side 2 isn't as captivating as the first, there are still some great moments, like single Hotel Illness, as well as Black Moon Creeping and The Morning Song, the latter sounding like House Of The Holy-era Led Zeppelin. The album closes with a cover of Bob Marley's Time Will Tell, which showcases Chris Robinson's vocal talents and underlines their ability to cover classic songs in original, innovative ways. The Crowes' third album Amorica (1994) also has its fair share of brilliant songs, like Wiser Time, but it's this album that's the best distillation of the band's sound. After many years of middling efforts, the Crowes returned to form in 2009 with Before the Frost ... Until the Freeze and remain a superb live act.
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