The hardest thing as a band has always been releasing a sophomore album after hitting it big with your debut. Some bands don't come close to matching the sales or the popularity on the second release, not to mention critical praise. Hootie & The Blowfish are a prime example. Other bands follow up their first release with an even better album that both the fans and the critics love and increases your fan base. Pearl Jam falls into that category. A third category is a band that releases an incredibly huge first album, then releases an even better second album that doesn't reach the heights of the original, yet is brilliant in its own right. I think The Black Crowes fall into that category.

In 1990, The Black Crowes released Shake Your Money Maker and it just exploded. Two enormous radio hits, Hard To Handle and She Talks To Angels, were everywhere and the band toured endlessly to support it. Then two years later, The Black Crowes released their sophomore follow-up, The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion. While it did hit number one and did have a few hit singles, it failed to live up to the incredible sales figures of their first album. Still, it shouldn't matter. The album is wonderful and greatly surpasses their debut.

The first track is Sting Me and it serves as a rocking start to the album. A nice guitar solo starts it off and it just hooks you into the funky groove. You'll also notice the presence of backup singers (Barbara and Joy as "the choir" in the credits) to the tune. This was something new for the band and it sort of gives the song a wonderful gospel feel. There is also some fabulous guitar work throughout the entire song.

Remedy is the next tune and it is probably the biggest hit off the album. As soon as the first note hits, you'll want to dance. I can always picture in my head Chris Robinson dancing to this song and it makes me want to as well. Once again, the backup singers surface and really play well off Robinson's lyrics. It's a rocking song and worth all the praise it receives.

Up next is Thorn In My Pride. It's the first ballad on the album and it's a doozey. It starts off very calm and soothing and just kind of lingers, but in a good way. Not in the way your mother in law lingers around your house after dinner. It's perfectly placed on the album after the two first hard tunes. You need to be settled down a bit and it sure does. The lyrics are wonderful and you can really feel the pain.

Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye is the fourth track and it's one that I don't particularly care for. It's not a bad song, but just not a reason to purchase the album. It's another slow song and it just doesn't connect for me. It just seems like a poem set to music. Of course, I guess all songs are poems set to music. Once again, you can hear the pain in the lyrics, but The Choir distracts you somewhat.

The fifth song is Sometimes Salvation and it sounds like what southern rock and roll should sound like. Robinson sings with his heart on his sleeve. It's a meandering tune that chronicles a bad relationship. Steve Gorman's drum work is the real star. Just hearing him pound away on the skins adds power to the song.

Hotel Illness follows with a vengeance. From the very first riff and then the harmonica, you're hooked. This is another pure rock and roll song. Chris Robinson gets to show case his harmonica skills and both Rich Robinson and Marc Ford get to stretch their guitar muscles. This song has to be a musicians dream to play because everyone has a part. That includes the listener because it's a fun tune.

The seventh track is Black Moon Creeping and I'm not a big fan of this song. It again starts of with some excellent guitar, harmonica and drum work. It then breaks away from that to an out of place refrain. For any wrestling fans, I read somewhere that the refrain has a lyric that sounds like "Superfly Snuka. I never noticed that until then, but it sure does sound like it. I can't explain how "What secret do you sleep with" sounds like "Superfly Snuka," but it just does. I've spent way too much time on one little lyric. The song is good, but track and eight and nine are coming up so get prepared to be blown away.

No Speak No Slave is next and it is almost the perfect song. Right from the beginning of the tune you are hooked with a great guitar rift and then when the drums kick in, your locked. I visualize the band playing this song live every time I hear it. It just lends itself to be played live. It's a fun, rocking song that just gets under your skin until you smile and then dance your troubles away. The guitar solo in the middle is just wonderful and Robinson just sings with so much passion.

I mentioned that No Speak No Slave was close to perfection. Well, who knew that perfection would be achieved so quickly? My Morning Song is the next tune and it's a killer. It starts quickly and never lets up. It's got a groovy beat and builds up to a wonderful chorus that just makes you want to sing along with Robinson and The Choir. It like one big sing-a-long. In concert, it's just that. This is my second favorite live Black Crowes song, only to be surpassed by Wiser Time. The first part of the song really rocks, then it settles down a bit, only to slowly grow and grow and the just end with a flurry.

The tenth track is a tune entitled Time Will Tell. It's a Bob Marley song and I'm not quite sure why it was included on the album. It’s basically a free form jam with some intermittent singing from both Robinson and The Choir. It's fitting that it's the last track on the album and it's almost impossible to follow My Morning Song with anything so it's probably best the band didn't try.

When The Black Crowes released their boxed set, Sho ‘Nuff in 1998, they added some extra tunes to the discs as well as some other treats. Two additional tracks were added to The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion: Sting Me (slow version) and 99lbs. The new version of Sting Me is an average update at best. It’s slowed down considerably and therefore loses the power of the original. 99lbs is another average song at best. It’s a pure rock and roll song and maybe deserved to be on the original album. It’s nothing spectacular so you shouldn’t base your purchase on this tune.

Along with the additional tracks, the enhanced cd has a screen saver and a link to The Black Crowes website (tallest.com). One of the neat things is that there are two music videos included that you can watch on your computer. Anytime you’d like, you can watch the video for Remedy or Sometime Salvation. Everyone knows that MTV isn’t going to be showing those anytime soon.

As great as Shake Your Money Maker was, The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion is even better. The tunes are fresher and the writing is deeper. The musicianship has improved on the album and it just sounds great. If you like rock and roll music, you can’t go wrong purchasing this album.

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This album is an entry for albums deemed worthy of 5 stars in kristinafh's May Music Madness Write Off, Part 2---Category One---“I've Got The Music In Me”. Please check out her profile page to learn more.



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving