REVIEW: Black Crowes, By Your Side (American/Columbia)
- Daniel Aloi
"Tighter than ever..."
"Back to their blues-rock roots..."
"... rocking with the abandon of The Faces and Exile-era Stones..."
Yes, these and many other critical cliches will be thrown at the Black Crowes' fifth album. But By Your Side actually proves all of the above and more to be true -- and I wanna testify! The band successfully channels a slew of late-'60s/early '70s influences, from the golden age of British blues, Southern rock and Memphis soul, to make one great party album for 1999.
After flirting with psychedelia on 1996's Three Snakes and One Charm, and courting hippie audiences with long onstage jams while headlining the 1997 Furthur Festival tour (they'd headlined H.O.R.D.E. in 1995), the Crowes are back on the ground, in the bluesy element that first found them an audience with Shake Your Money Maker in 1992.
When drugs, divorce and inamicable departures put pressure on the band in 1997, they reassessed -- and decided to be a rock 'n' roll band again. So, if you've been following the band all these years, this new album is more Shake than Snakes.
Skinny singer/showman/shaman Chris Robinson sounds more than ever like the love child of Otis Redding and Rod Stewart. His guitarist brother Rich Robinson (the siblings' battles are as legendary as the Gallaghers' or the Davies') is at his best even when recycling old riffs from Led Zeppelin, the Allmans and more. Keyboard player Eddie Harsch provides Stax-worthy grooves (and piano playing off the singer's drama) and the Dirty Dozen horns and five background singers give a gospel-and-soul underpinning to the Crowes' dynamic vision. Original drummer Steve Gorman is still there to keep the whole enterprise moving, and it's all new bassist Sven Pipien can do to keep up. The music may be derivative, but it sure does kick. Columbia calls the album "a serious kick-ass, riff-a-rama rock'n'roll record" and nearly all of the 11 songs bear that out in spades.
Producer Kevin Shirley gives the band more than enough room to be both rocking and dramatic, and can be credited with a clean sound that doesn't distract from the down-and-dirty vibe the band goes for. As ever, religion, drugs, and lovers on their way out are primary themes.
"Go Faster," while ostensibly about sex, also refers to "the chemicals you like." Then there's "HorseHead," a plea to a junkie, and the fervent, organ-laced "Go Tell the Congregation," which both play like heavy Humble Pie. Chris Robinson begs a woman not to leave in the affecting "Only a Fool" and says to just go in "Stop Kicking My Heart Around." The most soulful tune comes at the end: "Virtue and Vice," following "Diamond Ring," a richly emotional call-and-response proposal.
While waiting for American Recordings to change corporate parents, the band showed its renewed strength with a tour of small clubs, to coincide with the release of a limited-edition box set last August. Sho' Nuff included all four of their previous albums digitally remastered. Each disc included two bonus tracks, a multimedia screensavers and full-length videos. The box also included a bonus live EP with five songs mixed by Shirley.
For more information go to http://www.blackcrowes.com
