headlessparrot's Full Review: Lions by The Black Crowes
After the blockbuster release that was 'Shake Your Moneymaker,' an album that helped (along with Nirvana's Nevermind) to abolish the stronghold that hair-metal held on the masses, The Black Crowes pretty much faded from sight. Of course, they didn't break up, but they became somewhat less popular. Nontheless, the band had, and still does mantain a steady fan bases. However, with the band's 1999 release 'By Your Side,' that fanbase wavered. I haven't heard BYS personally, so I can't make a judgement on it. Despite the album, though, the Crowes still managed to pack venues, especially during their time touring as backing band for Jimmy Page.
Maybe something rubbed off of Page onto the Robinson brothers, but no matter how it happened, the Crowes jumped back in 2001 with the powerful blues-rocker 'Lions.' But it's not just blues. The band blends their mastery of the style, with other types of music. Lions has a much more 'funky' element to it than the other Crowes records I've listened to.
Admittedly, on the first listen through, I didn't see anything special about it. I enjoyed the first three tracks, along with 'Cypress Tree' and 'Soul Singing,' but other than that, I felt the album was laboured, with far too many ballads dragging it down. Of course, that was after listening to it once on my discman so as to avoid listening to Supertramp on the four hour drive home from our vacation trip.
The album didn't begin to shine until my third listen, when I was actually able to slap the thing into my new JVC MX-J500 (reviewed on this site) and crank it up. Not only did the hard-rockers rock harder, but even the ballad songs began to grow on me. By the fifth listen, I had pretty much learned all of the lyrics and was singing along throughout the disc.
'Lions' is, from what I've heard so far of the Black Crowes discography, the strongest album lyrically. Chris Robinson goes from a fun heavy rocker to a soft and emotional ballad throughout the disc.
The album starts off with a riff, soaked in feedback (according to guitarist Rich Robinson, because all three of his amps were running at once). The drums come in, and then suddenly the feedback overtakes the actual riff. Rather than restarting the tape, Rich just stops for a quick second, and starts up again with the same riff. On my first listen, I thought that was pretty wicked. The song was 'Midnight From The Inside Out' one of the disc's stand-out tracks. That song is followed by 'Lickin',' the album's first radio single. Although it's probably not the best representative of the record on a whole, it's an excellent track - very fun with witty lyrics and a weird little chunky guitar riff throughout.
From there is 'Come On.' Although the song is rather pointless lyrically, it's just a real fun, bluesy song that sounds great. More superb guitar work from Rich Robinson makes it another highlight of the disc.
'No Use Lying' and 'Losing My Mind' are two powerful ballads that sum up a lot of relationships. One of the stronger tracks lyric-wise, Chris Robinson sings a very upfront chorus: 'There's no use lying/Because I've heard all your bullsh*t before/You've said your old line for the very last time/Don't want you 'round my back door.' Despite the ballad-like lyrics, the guitar riffs throughout the song are rather heavy, a little something that I though was rather cool. 'Losing My Mind' is yet another example of Chris's powerfully emotive lyrics: 'I love you, yes I love you/Even though I know I should stay away/Because I hate you, yes I hate you/Even though it looks like I'm going to stay. Another powerful ballad, and one of a few that round out this album quite well, despite my initial reaction.
From there, the album just keeps rocking hard. Though I won't go through each individually, I'll say that tracks 6 through 13 remain in the typical Black Crowes realm. 'Soul Singing' the B-side to 'Lickin' and the second single, is another one of the cool songs, with the Robinson boys taking on an element of gospel music for the chorus, and some fingerpicked guitar for the intro and verses. 'Miracle To Me' is another ballad, heartfelt, and even more powerful than the two found at tracks 4 and 5. From there, the album closes out on the heavy note. The final four songs are Black Crowes standards. Hard-rocking and fun blues-rock numbers. Especially 'Cypress Tree,' a song that has three different parts that are different from eachother. A softer beginning leads you into a false sense of security before it rocks out with a classic rock 'n' roll chorus.
'Lay It All On Me' is a perfect closer to what will easily find it's way onto the list of my favourite CDs of the year. It's yet another Crowes standard. Distorted guitars, some fun sing-a-long lyrics, and a steady drum pattern to back it up.
Producer Don Was did an excellent job making the album sound polished, but without making it too glossy. The disc retains a cool feel, almost like it was recorded live - feedback and voices talking at points during the album was a cool touch. It's a very powerful album - at some times it's nothing more than good fun, but vocalist Chris Robinson has once and for all shown that he can write very emotional and serious songs.
The only problem I have with the disc is the lack of time between songs. Traditionally a CD gives about 3 or 4 seconds between songs to allow the listener to unwind after each song. 'Lions' runs continuously for 55 minutes (save for the pause at 6 seconds where Rich Robinson stops in order to stop the insane feedback), leaving the listener exhausted by the end.
But all in all, if you're looking for blues-rock, a genre that has been sadly lacking for the last ten years, then The Black Crowes latest outing, 'Lions' will certainly serve you well.
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