MattA75's Full Review: Shake Your Money Maker by The Black Crowes
The musical climate of 1990 was not exactly the best. Oh come on, you can argue all you want, but if someone is actually going to call Warrantgood, well, no, I'm sorry, they weren't. Was Warrant a little fun? Sure, in the same way that listening to Seven Mary Three'sCumbersome is kind of fun. It's more a cheesy trip down memory lane that helps you think about all those good times you had back in the days when Warrant was rocking arenas, not the actual music.
Things had started to change. A Los Angeles band named Jane's Addiction was generating quite a buzz. In Seattle, the Northwest music movement (thank you to the film Hype! for a replacement for the "g" word!) was beginning, with bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden creating their own buzz. But the biggest surprise of 1990 came out of Atlanta, Georgia in the form of The Black Crowes, a five piece band fronted by brothers Chris (vocals) and Rich (guitars) Robinson.
Powered by no less than 4 rock radio hits, the band's debut, Shake Your Money Maker, sold over five million copies. Today, if you pop it into the stereo, it sounds just as fresh and vital and soulful as it was over 12 years ago. (Note: the radio songs can sound stale because you've heard them so often but that doesn't detract from the fact that they are just great rock and roll songs.)
The opening riff of Twice as Hard is as groove heavy and infectious as anything that's come out since. By the time the drums and bass kick in, you're thrown right into a goodtime rock and roll song that recalls both The Rolling Stones and even the more blusier moments of AC/DC. The swaggering vocal line delivered by the younger Robinson is one that you can literally just picture him singing, with his lip curled up in the classic rock and roll machismo fashion.
It was the band's cover of Otis Redding'sHard to Handle that shot them to stardom, although if there is one song on this record that sounds stale, it's this. While drummer Steve Gorman's backbeat is strong and powerful, the song has just been played too much for these ears.
On the other side of the hit spectrum, there's the ultra fun Jealous Again, and the gorgeous ballad She Talks to Angels. Both became hits for a reason: they have bite to them, both in their musical delivery and their vocal lines.
As far as the non radio hits go, it doesn't get much better than the ultra Southern-fried soul of Seeing Things. It's a simple type of ballad that swings with that kind of Southern gospel feel that would become one of the Crowes' many trademarks over the course of their career. I'm also able to forgive how similar the vocal melody is to Joe Cocker's infamous cover of With a Little Help From My Friends.
I also really dig the good old dirty boogie rock and roll romp that is Thick and Thin. This song is just rock and roll straight back to it's most basic roots. 5 guys just banging out a song with fun and passion. I love the Jerry Lee Lewis keyboard line that permeates throughout the song.
The last two songs on the original release are fabulous as well. Struttin Blues has the same kind of swagger to it that the Stones only wish they could create at this point in their career. Stare It Cold is a showcase for the powerhouse work of Gorman, nothing more nothing less.
This disc was remastered a few years back, and 2 bonus tracks were added. The first is a song called Don't Wake Me, which fits well enough into the album, but I can see why they left it off in the first place as well.
The other track is an acoustic version of She Talks to Angels, and this works really well. If you're sick of the original version, then this version has some new tricks up it's sleeve.
Despite the rather weak lyrical content, I can listen to this album from front to back, at least for the most part. This really isn't an album to be listened to for lyrical content anyway. This is an album to get up and dance to. If this don't make you swagger, then nothing will. There is no rock and roll collection that can be considered complete without this, and the band's follow up, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, fully entrenched.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.