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The Black Crowes Thread

Al_4_ISU

By Al_4_ISU
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bigshark88

bigshark88 388

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Subscribed.

I put together a Jeep Wrangler a few years ago. Laid in a pretty badass stereo on account of the wind/top/road noise. Needed a Pandora station to ride around. Love me some Black Crowes Radio.

As others have said I kind of came up with them in and out of my musical life in the 90s through HS and college. Had tickets to the Tampa show this Spring and I am pissed it got canceled.

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SwanderedTalent

SwanderedTalent 5761

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If anyone's curious, the December 97 demos have finally leaked on the Internet (as opposed to tape trading circles, of which I was never a part). These are among the first demos they put together for what would become the By Your Side album in January 1999, but these were done before Columbia really got involved in telling them how the album was going to be. This was after the Band record (which they'd done on their own time/money) was rejected. 

They really blew it by not putting Bled To Death on By Your Side but I'm guessing the label probably dictated that.  I really don't think there's another band out there that could put together a 10-12 song "unreleased tracks" record with as many really strong songs on it as the Crowes could. 

It doesn't seem like we're ever going to get a traditional "career retrospective" boxed set from these guys, but in the YouTube era maybe that doesn't matter anyway since practically all of the unreleased material is going to circulate. 

 

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SwanderedTalent

SwanderedTalent 5761

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this guy's really unloading the vault, here's an unreleased track that they played on the 2006 Brothers of a Feather tour-- to me this is a top 5 unreleased song and in their top 20 overall. It's really a shame it never made it on a record. This being a demo, it's a little uneven (there are overdubs but also some clearly first-take aspects of the performance). 

 

I think the version they played at the Rose Theater in April 2006 was better than the demo version. Either way, I just fucking love this song. 

 

 

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SwanderedTalent

SwanderedTalent 5761

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OK, I know how to fix By Your Side

  1. "Go Faster" – 4:04
  2. "Kickin' My Heart Around" – 3:40
  3. "By Your Side" – 4:28
  4. "HorseHead" – 4:02
  5. "Only a Fool" – 3:43
  6. Peace Anyway
  7. You Don't Have to Go
  8. When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
  9. "Then She Said My Name" – 3:43
  10. Bled To Death
  11. "Virtue and Vice" – 4:45

Cut out the poorest four songs on the record (Heavy, Go Tell The Congregation, Diamond Ring, and Welcome to the Goodtimes) and replace them with two B-sides, the Dylan cover, and the unreleased Bled to Death. Bingo. Record and release "It's Only Rock N Roll" as a promotional single, or maybe B-side. 

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SwanderedTalent

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34 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Audley Freed always seems like a weird fit, but Eddie, Gorman, and Rich are on fire.

might have been because he was only ever a hired gun in that band

I guess Brother Cane hadn't gone on hiatus yet by the time Marc Ford was fired, but it would have been awesome if Damon Johnson had been able to join the Crowes. He's said they were his dream band or something along those lines at one point. He'd have been a much better fit than Audley, who I think is underrated as a guitarist but also just not really my cup of tea in this context. Chris once said Marc Ford "can play you the difference between BB King, Freddie King, and Albert King". Maybe Audley could too, I don't know, but that doesn't really sound like him to me.

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SwanderedTalent

SwanderedTalent 5761

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38 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

They are pretty locked in there.

and yes, they didn't half-ass their effort on the By Your Side support tour (until it became obvious the record was going to tank and they felt their label wasn't going to support them in anything but "do your Rolling Stones impression"). They kicked out the jams and just rocked. 

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Hate

Hate 20135

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I just got tickets to The Black Crowes at The Woodlands Pavilion on August 14th. That’s a great venue to see a show. It’s 20 minutes door to door from my house. I can’t wait. That will most likely be my first concert since Covid and they are a great band to have end that streak. I can’t wait!

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Rip76

Rip76 4947

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27 minutes ago, Hate said:

I just got tickets to The Black Crowes at The Woodlands Pavilion on August 14th. That’s a great venue to see a show. It’s 20 minutes door to door from my house. I can’t wait. That will most likely be my first concert since Covid and they are a great band to have end that streak. I can’t wait!

Damnit.

They are on sale now?

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Guest Lobo

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Yeah, watching that Hard Rock set above, I had long forgotten what a criminally underrated drummer Gorman was.  He added a lot of texture to those songs. 

Also, anybody got a name of the female backup singer closest to Chris in that set?  I know it was 23 years ago and she's probably a tad older now, but she is just pure smoke.  

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Paul Wesley

Paul Wesley 3289

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On 2/9/2021 at 8:24 AM, SwanderedTalent said:

it would have been awesome if Damon Johnson had been able to join the Crowes. He's said they were his dream band or something along those lines at one point. He'd have been a much better fit than Audley, who I think is underrated as a guitarist but also just not really my cup of tea in this context. 

I just watched that '98 live video, and before I had even scrolled down to see the next few comments, my impression of the show was that Audley is criminally underused.  There may or may not be guys who are a better fit for that band--  I'm not convinced there are -- but I don't think it would have mattered when there are already too many guys on the floor who need the ball in their hands (it's a strained metaphor, but you get it).

I hired Audley to play on something a couple years ago, and I spent a few days with him.  I can't rave enough about him as a musician, as a masterful guitarist, and as a kind and thoughtful person (an opinion shared by pretty much everyone who works with him). 

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DougO

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On 4/29/2021 at 3:25 PM, Paul Wesley said:

I just watched that '98 live video, and before I had even scrolled down to see the next few comments, my impression of the show was that Audley is criminally underused.  There may or may not be guys who are a better fit for that band--  I'm not convinced there are -- but I don't think it would have mattered when there are already too many guys on the floor who need the ball in their hands (it's a strained metaphor, but you get it).

I hired Audley to play on something a couple years ago, and I spent a few days with him.  I can't rave enough about him as a musician, as a masterful guitarist, and as a kind and thoughtful person (an opinion shared by pretty much everyone who works with him). 

Audley is one of my favorite guitar players on the planet. Cry Of Love was an incredible band and it's criminal that he's not pushing a band of his own and kicking ass.

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Paul Wesley

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2 hours ago, DougO said:

Audley is one of my favorite guitar players on the planet. 

I think I became aware of Audley because I knew some guys who were working with the Dixie Chicks while he was playing with them (and maybe on the Courtyard Hounds too?).   And they raved about him, which made me go back and listen to his other work.  

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DougO

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I have often thought, for my temperament and taste for guitar playing how I would want to play, if I could download any one player's skill into my own brain and fingers for my own playing, it would be Audley. He's not the greatest phenom maestro chops player on the planet, but he's really great and I love his style and how he plays rhythm and leads together and makes it so tasty. Totally underrated guy who deserves to be a much bigger name. If I could play like he plays I wouldn't feel like i needed anything else in my repertoire.

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SwanderedTalent

SwanderedTalent 5761

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On 4/29/2021 at 3:25 PM, Paul Wesley said:

I just watched that '98 live video, and before I had even scrolled down to see the next few comments, my impression of the show was that Audley is criminally underused.  There may or may not be guys who are a better fit for that band--  I'm not convinced there are -- but I don't think it would have mattered when there are already too many guys on the floor who need the ball in their hands (it's a strained metaphor, but you get it).

I hired Audley to play on something a couple years ago, and I spent a few days with him.  I can't rave enough about him as a musician, as a masterful guitarist, and as a kind and thoughtful person (an opinion shared by pretty much everyone who works with him). 

Thank you for taking the time to share. Very much appreciate hearing from someone a lot closer to the musician in question (Audley) than me. 

To clarify a bit, I said there were guys who were a better fit because I find it impossible to believe there's a better fit for the Black Crowes than Marc Ford. I mentioned Damon Johnson specifically because he's always been one of my absolute personal favorites, and he has played in Alice Cooper's band and been a member of Thin Lizzy; I think that between his talent, his track record of sublimating his abilities in order to fit into an existing band's footprint, and his mention in one interview of literally wanting to be in the Black Crowes, he'd have worked out well. 

But I don't know, the Robinson brothers are famous world-class assholes. Maybe Damon wouldn't have fit in with how they saw the band circa 1998-2001, because there is nothing specific about Audley Freed that lends itself to saying "oh, well here's why he didn't become an indispensable member of the band". The talent was there and, judging by what you're saying, his personality wasn't a problem. While I grant there are worse ways to make a living than as a hired gun lead guitarist for the Black Crowes, I've always thought it was a shame that his role was by all accounts limited to just that. Whether it would have made a difference or not, I personally think it could only have helped having Audley involved more deeply in the band's creative process. But I've never been in a downward-trending sibling-driven multi-platinum selling band before, so my opinion of how their creative process should have worked 20 years ago isn't particularly valuable. 

 

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bigshark88

bigshark88 388

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Tampa show just got "rescheduled" on me from a Friday night in June to a Wednesday night in September. Deciding whether to just get a refund. That's twice this show has gone away on me. First time was COVID and I get that. But seeing this band live seems to be hard to pin down.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12477

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52 minutes ago, SwanderedTalent said:

so last year it was "it's an all new band because there's too much baggage with any of the former members"

but now Sven Pipien is going to tour with them

lulz

He probably could use the cash, and I suppose it might interest some fans that rolled their eyes at the Robinsons and a bunch of new guys going out as the Crowes.

Based on Gorman's book, Sven came off like the kind of guy that could more or less get along with anyone.

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SwanderedTalent

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19 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

He probably could use the cash, and I suppose it might interest some fans that rolled their eyes at the Robinsons and a bunch of new guys going out as the Crowes.

Based on Gorman's book, Sven came off like the kind of guy that could more or less get along with anyone.

well, to be fair I never believed the "too much baggage" thing in the first place. They fired Marc Ford in 1997 and then he was writing songs with Chris Robinson less than five years later. Chris jettisoned the band's $1m V2 record deal in favor of his solo career and Rich, supposedly, told Jimmy Page "no thanks" to his songwriting ideas and yet they got almost the entire original band back together in 2005. Marc Ford quit the band two days before the 2nd leg of the 2006 tour via fax, but was in the Magpie Salute with Rich. Clearly grudges aren't always held as long as we think they might be. 

I think they didn't want to go into a person-by-person rundown last year when the SYMM tour was announced, but it was simple. Most of the people who have been in the Black Crowes didn't matter anyway-- your Greg Rzabs, Adam McDougalls, etc. Of the ones who did matter (Marc Ford, maybe Sven Pipien initially), there were probably some hard feelings about the way Rich torpedoed The Magpie Salute, but they weren't going to admit THAT. And obviously bridges were permanently burned with Jeff Cease and Johnny Colt and especially Gorman, so they were sort of artificially lumped into the first category of "former employees". And old weird Ed died, so he's out. 

So they said "too much baggage" but what they meant was "who the hell cares about anybody but the two of us being in the band?" I was just laughing at how transparent they're being at this point. It doesn't mean the tour won't kick ass. I just draw amusement from what they say publicly and then what they do.

At this point, I'm just hanging out waiting for their next record. I'm very interested to see what they come up with and what impact working with George Drakoulious has on it.

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dcbc

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On 2/8/2021 at 10:40 PM, Rip76 said:

I want to cry this is so fucking tight.

And with Freed and Rich both on leads.  My god.  This has to be their best live period.

 

Holy shit!  That was as good as I ever have seen them.  Chris and the band really, is channeling  Faces era Rod Stewart and, well, the Faces.  Great stuff!

 

edit:  Case in Point.

 

 

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Hate

Hate 20135

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I just got back from the show in The Woodlands. They sounded good, but it was basically the Robinson Brothers and Friends like someone said upthread.  It was pretty obvious as the spotlights were always on the brothers except for a few solos here or there.  I couldn't even see the keyboard player until he had a solo 4 songs in.  But it sounded really good and it was a fun way to spend a Saturday night.  Would I see them again?  Probably not in this current configuration.  Will I listen to their music more than I have over the last several years?  Absolutely!

 

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stc

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yeah saw them last night in austin and had the same reaction. it was fun and chris still sounds really good and has great energy, but the band doesn't sound anywhere close to as good as they did in the past. my morning song was definitely the highlight for me. 

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dcar00

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51 minutes ago, Redneck Mutha said:

Saw them at COTA Sunday.  Chris was outstanding and that damn guitarist (Isaiah Mitchell?) was worth the price of admission by himself.  Chops mutherfucker.

yeah Chris was great.  the dude leaves it all out there.  I can see why people who have seen them many times and back during their heyday wouldn't want to see the cashgrab.  I loved the Crowes from early, got the first 5 CD's, but for whatever reason had never seen them until the 2013 final tour at ACL.  wore out SYMM.

Seeing Things was great to hear as was Sister Luck.

Did like My Morning Song

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ohchaucer

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It’s been a while since I sat down with some Black Crowe’s but I recently was listening and playing along with them (triggered by the REK thread mentioning Chris Robinson). Anyway, I mentioned this in a thread I started at TOS about kinda magical, tiny moments in songs and I heard again the opening lyrics from Chris on the song “Descending” on Amorica. And I’ll be damned if it is one of the most perfect twelve seconds of recorded vocals. It’s his voice at it’s most touching and least warbling and captures so much - the song, the band at the time, the potential Chris had when he wasn’t showboating… it’s just beautiful. “Have mercy, baby. I’m descending again.”

Doesn’t hurt that Eddie Harsch is perfect on the keyboard.

There are some great live recordings of this song. But for Chris’s opening vocal none ever top the studio original. Again, a few seconds of perfection plucked from amidst years of a great band.




PS - I won’t junk up the Tom Petty thread about best American rock bands and I don’t think it is the Black Crowes really but when they were “on” they were easily among the best. Shake Your Money Maker and Southern Harmony are just fantastic albums.


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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12477

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12 hours ago, ohchaucer said:

It’s been a while since I sat down with some Black Crowe’s but I recently was listening and playing along with them (triggered by the REK thread mentioning Chris Robinson). Anyway, I mentioned this in a thread I started at TOS about kinda magical, tiny moments in songs and I heard again the opening lyrics from Chris on the song “Descending” on Amorica. And I’ll be damned if it is one of the most perfect twelve seconds of recorded vocals. It’s his voice at it’s most touching and least warbling and captures so much - the song, the band at the time, the potential Chris had when he wasn’t showboating… it’s just beautiful. “Have mercy, baby. I’m descending again.”

Doesn’t hurt that Eddie Harsch is perfect on the keyboard.

There are some great live recordings of this song. But for Chris’s opening vocal none ever top the studio original. Again, a few seconds of perfection plucked from amidst years of a great band.
 

 

 


PS - I won’t junk up the Tom Petty thread about best American rock bands and I don’t think it is the Black Crowes really but when they were “on” they were easily among the best. Shake Your Money Maker and Southern Harmony are just fantastic albums.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I mean they never quite achieved the impact that groups like Petty & The Heartbreakers did, but I'd put the Crowes right there in the pantheon of greatest American rock bands.

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dcbc

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16 hours ago, ohchaucer said:

It’s been a while since I sat down with some Black Crowe’s but I recently was listening and playing along with them (triggered by the REK thread mentioning Chris Robinson). Anyway, I mentioned this in a thread I started at TOS about kinda magical, tiny moments in songs and I heard again the opening lyrics from Chris on the song “Descending” on Amorica. And I’ll be damned if it is one of the most perfect twelve seconds of recorded vocals. It’s his voice at it’s most touching and least warbling and captures so much - the song, the band at the time, the potential Chris had when he wasn’t showboating… it’s just beautiful. “Have mercy, baby. I’m descending again.”

Doesn’t hurt that Eddie Harsch is perfect on the keyboard.

There are some great live recordings of this song. But for Chris’s opening vocal none ever top the studio original. Again, a few seconds of perfection plucked from amidst years of a great band.
 

 

 


PS - I won’t junk up the Tom Petty thread about best American rock bands and I don’t think it is the Black Crowes really but when they were “on” they were easily among the best. Shake Your Money Maker and Southern Harmony are just fantastic albums.


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SH&MC is an absolutely killer album, start to finish.  Amorica isn't far behind it.

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Paul Wesley

Paul Wesley 3289

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On 1/19/2022 at 7:30 PM, ohchaucer said:

I won’t junk up the Tom Petty thread about best American rock bands and I don’t think it is the Black Crowes really but when they were “on” they were easily among the best. Shake Your Money Maker and Southern Harmony are just fantastic albums.

 

 

Agree with all of that - hard to beat those two records for songwriting, performances, musicianship, etc.

I think around 2002, I went to a sporting event with some buddies, and the topic came up:  "Best American rock band working right now."  I suggested it was maybe the Black Crowes, and I was pretty much dismissed -- "not even in the conversation" I was told (the consensus was Foo Fighters).

Anyway, just an observation... I didn't know in 2002 that the Crowes wouldn't put out a record for 5 more years, and essentially completely implode in petty squabbles and lawsuits, while the Foo would spend 20 years making records and playing thousands of shows.

What might have been...

 

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