Black Crowes
Some groups build a huge audience but once the hits stop, so do they. Others, like the Black Crowes, led by the Robinson brothers, Chris (vocals) and Rich (guitar/backing vocals), are able to establish a relationship with their audience that allows them to survive the down points in a typical Rock career. Having a reputation as a hot live act didn’t hurt either.
Hailing from Atlanta, the Black Crowes formed in ‘84 but it wasn’t until ‘90 that their debut, “Shake Your Money Maker,” was released.
“Jealous Again” and a cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle” made an impression.
Black Crowes
Jealous Again
Hard To Handle
Remedy
“The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion” rolled out in ‘92 with the hit “Remedy.”
That same year keyboardist Eddie Hersch was added.
Though it sold well enough, third album “Amorica,” represented a steep falling off.
Black Crowes ’96 effort, “Three Snakes And One Charm” won critical approval but little else. The “By Your Side” effort didn’t break any new ground or build their audience. In fact, disappointing sales caused the group to be dropped by their label, Columbia.
It was time to shake things up a bit. A tour and subsequent album, “Live At The Greek,” with Led Zeppelin’s legendary Jimmy Page reworked both Zeppelin and the Blues.
Don Was, a masterful producer, was called in to lend his expertise for “Lions” released in ‘01.
Following an ’02 – ’05 hiatus, Black Crowes embarked on a successful reunion tour that included a stint with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
In ’06, the Crowes released their first live concert DVD. “Freak ‘N’ Roll Into The Fog” featured performances captured at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium. Of course, just when things looked they’d get rolling again there was the inevitable snag.
Guitarist Marc Ford quit the band via fax. Barely a week later, the Crowes parted company with keyboardist Eddie Harsch. Guitarist Paul Stacey and keyboardist Rob Clores were brought in as replacements though Clores was gone within the year.
At that point Adam MacDougall stepped in to play keys. The band invited North Mississippi Allstars guitarist Luther Dickinson to play on their upcoming album but that resulted in Dickinson supplanting Stacey, who was viewed as only being temporary.
Amidst all these comings and goings, the Robinson brothers did an acoustic tour under the Brothers Of A Feather banner. The ’07 “Live At The Roxy” resulted. The L.A. shows, like the rest of the tour, featured Black Crowes songs plus some covers.
The comeback album “Warpaint,” their first album with original material in seven years, contained the single, “Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution.”
“It’s got all the roots,” said Chris Robinson of the ’08 release. “But it’s also got a psychedelic feel.”
Even before “Warpaint” was released there was a controversy. Maxim apologized for running a lukewarm review of the album.
Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution
Seems the magazine’s music critic didn’t listen to the entire disc before assigning a two-and-a-half-star rating (pretty low). Maxim admitted that it hadn’t followed editorial policy.
The Crowes’ manager, Pete Angelus, called the publication’s statement “self-serving damage control” and wanted Maxim to “issue a public apology” to the band.
Regardless, “Warpaint” won both critical and fan approval, getting to #5 on the Billboard Album chart – their best showing since “The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion,” a decade-and-a-half earlier.
An ‘08 tour stop at the Wiltern Theater in L.A. yielded the two disc “Warpaint Live.” The first disc had the “Warpaint” album in its entirety. The second contained songs from the Black Crowes catalog plus covers. A DVD landed in the summer of ’09.
Black Crowes’ eighth studio album “Before the Frost…” was actually a “live in the studio” recording of new material. Chris got the idea after listening to the Grateful Dead’s “Europe ‘72.” He contacted Levon Helm (ex-drummer for The Band) about using his studio (a converted barn) in Woodstock, NY.
Recorded over five nights in front of an audience, a second set, “…Until The Freeze,” was free exclusively through a download code included in “Before The Frost…” It was a “buy one, get one free” offer.
Continuing their drive to re-package and re-present their catalog the Crowes issued a double album, “Croweology,” in ’10. It contained acoustic renditions of 20 of the band’s top tracks. After the tour, the band went on another “indefinite hiatus.”
Black Crowes announced their return in late ’12 with news they would be touring the following year. Which they did. Along the way, Chris and Rich had a falling out and the band split.
The Robinson brothers continued to stay busy in ’14. First, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood issued “Phosphorescent Harvest.” Just weeks later, Rich presented “The Ceaseless Sight,” his third studio album. The set contained the single “In Comes The Night.”
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood then countered with their ’16 album “Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel.”
An almost Black Crowes reunion occurred in ’18 with the release of “High Water I” by The Magpie Salute. The band featured the guitar team of Rich Robinson and Ford, along with Crowes bassist Sven Pipien. Singer John Hogg, guitarist Nico Bereciartua, and drummer Joe Magistro completed the line-up.
Chris and Rich announced that they had resolved their differences (the brothers had not spoken in the years since the band’s 2015 split) and were planning a 2020 tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of “Shake Your Money Maker.”
Waiting And Wanting
The Black Crowes released “Happiness Bastards” in ’24 via the band’s Silver Arrow Records. The lead single was “Waiting And Wanting.”
“‘(The album)’ is our love letter to Rock ‘n’ Roll,” noted Chris. “Rich (Robinson) and I are always writing and creating music; that has never stopped for us, and it is always where we find harmony together. This record represents that.”
“This album is a continuation of our story as a band,” shared Rich. “Our years of experience writing and making music and touring the world are represented in this record.”
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