"Evergreen" is a little heavy on the Robinson's dippy hippy imagery and the chorus is inferior to the verses but the song is pleasant. "We Who See The Deep" is also a little heavy on hippy rhymes but is backed by a massive riff from the school of Keith Richards and Jimmy Page. Robinson morphs into a cross between John Lennon and Robert Plant on the psychedelic-tinged "Movin' On Down The Line." None of these songs are awful nor do they distinguish themselves. Dickinson's playing feels less prominent on this group of tracks, relegating them to listenable but not memorable status.
Rich Robinson gets things fired back up again with a stomp-and-groove riff on "Wounded Bird." Robinson's riff reinvigorates Dickinson, whose slide is once again a force. If only Steve Forman would lay off the seizure-inducing cymbals during the last minute of the song. That prolonged Alex Van Halen-styled aggravation makes my heard hurt. Despite that, "Bird" rocks hard and kicks the album back in gear.
They follow that with a cover of "God's Got It." It's not revelatory in any way but it's not bad listening. Dickinson's sting transforms to lyrical when he swaps his electric guitar for an acoustic on album closer "Whoa Mule." With a Duane Allman-like touch, Dickinson's work in effect becomes a second lead vocal and gives the song a wonderful life, closing the album on a high note.
Chris Robinson's poetry isn't always pretty and one gets the sense he is trying to be poetic and profound, perhaps trying a little too hard at times. His reach sometimes exceepds his grasp but when he and his cohorts get their fingers and hearts around an idea and a groove, they make music that stands proudly among the songs that have obviously so inspired them.
Maybe the conclusion to draw isn't that The Black Crowes are derivative of bands from yesterday but that they were just born at the wrong time, that they are playing a brand of music too many critics grew up on and are too eager to freeze in time. Maybe it's time to stop thinking of them as a contemporary band ripping off vintage music and instead see them as a vintage band for modern times.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Your closing paragraph sums the band up quite well. I can't wait to see these new songs performed live. I missed their mini-tour in March, but hope to catch them in April if I don't go to Coachella.
You know who else was good at flipping the bird to their critics, Bauhaus. They were accused of stealing from glam acts like T Rex and Bowie, so they then covered songs by them.
Thanks for the mention.
2 - Josh Hathaway
My pleasure. I thought you really captured that Maxim bullshit brilliantly. That was one of the most stunning incidents of journalistic fraud I've ever seen.
Do you know if Dickinson is touring with them? He was stellar on the record. I'd love to hear them live, especially if he's out there with them.
3 - El Bicho
Yeah, Luther is on tour with them. Do yourself a favor and go see them. There are some live clips on YouTube and at VH1 you can see them live acoustic on Goodbye, Walk, and Locust.
That fraud goes by the name David Peisner for anyone passing by.
4 - Josh Hathaway
I'll have to go check out those clips. I obviously like this record and particularly what Dickinson added to their sound. I might have to make a point of getting out to see them on the tour.
Speaking of The Black Crowes and live... do you have a favorite among the different live packages they've released?
5 - El Bicho
The only official live release I have is with Jimmy Page where they mostly did Zep tunes. Everything else I have I downloaded from bt.etree.org.
6 - Josh Hathaway
11 bought their cover of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" off of their most recent 2CD live album from iTunes, but he tells me that's a Southern thing. Apparently all Southerners rise when that song is played (this is said with tongue in cheek, but he does like their version of it quite a lot).
I might have to try and score one of these.