Album Review: "The Lost Crowes" by the Black Crowes (2006)
This two-disc release is a collection of odds and ends recorded during the mid-90's by Georgia's Crowes around the time of the 1994 release, "Amorica" (which in my opinion was the perfect antidote to the "I never wanted to be famous" caterwauling of Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell and the rest of the Seattle crowd which, at the time, dominated the music scene). Some of these riffs and melodies found their way into "Amorica" and subequent albums like "Three Snakes and One Charm" and "By Your Side", but there are also more than a few hidden gems here that for some reason or another didn't see the light of day until now - and thank God they did. Frontman Chris Robinson in in top form, and the instrumentation is a mix of understated Hammond organs and bluesy noodlings from brother Rich accompanied by unobtrusive percussion on top of gospel-tinged backing vocals.
I guarantee that this collection of dinner party music for those who like to follow their meal with a little bud will not end up as a coaster in your CD collection.
Overall rating: 9/10
posted by Road Hammer @ 9:58 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Why the hate towards the Seattle sound Hammer? I am surprised you dislike it so, considering it knocked of the poppy crap that dominated the airwaves in the late 80s.
I am all about the poppy crap.
For me, there were only two good bands that came out of the "alternative" era: Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots.
You can bet they won't be releasing a 20th anniversary edition of Hole's "Live Through This" the way they are gearing up to do with Def Leppard's "Hysteria".
I have always thought the Crowes were vastly underrated. And the fact that they did a great job covering an Otis Redding tune, as they did with "Hard To Handle", only adds to their appeak in my book.
As for the Seattle sound, as much as I love STP I would say the best album to come out of that city during those years top to bottom was Soundgarden's Superunknown.
A quick aside - did any city in NA have a bigger role in the pop culture of the 90's than Seattle? Grunge, Microsoft and Starbucks. Pretty hard to top that troika.
Agree that the Crowes are a truly underrated act. I think their early commercial success wrongly got them catagorized as a radio band. Don't think they've ever got their just desserts as a jam band along the lines of the Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, Drive By Truckers, etc.
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