Black Crowes, Jimmy Page - Live at the Greek
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Free Music Notes for Live at the Greek
Free Music Review: Attention Critics: Rock Still Has A Pulse
Hit: 5 Stars
Hark! Yet another loud bomb in the faces of those who jumped on the "rock is dead" bandwagon. Haven't we heard enough of that stale claim? For fifty years, rock has endured through nightmarish bouts with cencorship, greedy commercialism and other enemies, but it pulled out of that decade and blossomed into the electric religion that it became in the 60's with the advent of the first rock supergroups ever: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, CSNY, the list expands infinitely onward. Even after slick popsters tried to kill it it the 80's with synthesizers, pink hair, quirky songwriting and disco, rock survived with a vengeance, as Live At The Greek shows. This album, certainly the finest rock album of the year, is perhaps rock's most furious call for attention since Crazy Horse's own dobule live album, 'Weld," released in 1991. Ironically, the tireless intensity pervading Live at the Greek hasn't blown over the world of rock since Led Zeppelin's "Physical graffitti" of 1975. How many more albums like Live at the Greek need to surface before fans and critics alike respect rock for the undying institution that it is? No, rock is not dead, nor will it ever be.
While some may have conveniently looked the other way, one evening in the fall of 1999, Jimmy Page, heralded as the greatest guitarist to arise from the musical maelstrom ofthe 1960's, took to a stage somewhere in LA and tore the lid right off of the theater. As if to top his resurrection of rock with a glowing cherry, Page teamed up with a group of younger guys who understand, the Black Crowes, who stolidly deny the intervention of any pop production or commercialism into their purpose: to create raw, gritty rock 'n roll at a time when many record executives are far more interested in calculating the dollar signs tattooed on the legs of Britney Spears, or on the carefully beautified faces of that ceaseless stream of "Boyz."
As if to say "to hell with all that," page strapped on his guitar and thrashed away, Crowes frontman Chris Robinson squealed, moaned and bellowed the old Plant anthems, while his band plucked their mandolins, guitars and made their organs sing like it was their last hour on Earth; just like it used to be when Hendrix danced around a stage-fire at Woodstock, when Dylan took his amps and electric guitars to the folk festival in 1965, when Neil Young crooned 'Hey Hey My My Rock n Roll Will never Die" to raving audiences mowing through stashes of beer and cigarettes.
Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes took to the stage one fall evening in LA in the name of what is good, and their achievement, documented here on Live at the Greek, stands as an altar to those long-gone but not forgotten days when rock WAS pop music.
Free Music Review: Must have for Zeppelin fans
Hit: 5 Stars
Well, I don't usually write many reviews, but I had to after listening to this CD. This is by far one of the most incredible live albums I have ever heard. I won't go as far as saying that it's better than Song Remains the Same, but it's as close as anything could get.I have been a Zeppelin fan for as long as I have listened to music. I've listened to hundreds of concert bootlegs, own all the albums, and have followed the members just as much after the band's demise as I did when they were together. This is the best thing Jimmy has touched since. I won't compare it to No Quarter since that was more of an acoustic album than this one. Greek is a live, Hard Rockin', White Boy Blues concert as it was meant to be!
Page still has some of his chops although he will never be as good as he was before his post-Zeppelin hiatus. He manages to hold his own quite well though as he always does. His Heartbreaker solo break was a mess, but it was Page, so what ya gonna do? His worst is still better than most folks best.
As far the Crowes go, I have been keeping an eye on them since they first surfaced. If you ever had a doubt to who their influences were, this should answer at least one of them. It was like listening to Zeppelin all over again. The drummer wasn't quite Bonham, but as good as a mortal could get. The guitarists though were impressive. Definetly Page nuts! The Crowes were almost too good as a band to play Zeppelin in that they are just so tight. Zeppelin always had such a loose feel when they performed. It was obvious that the Crowes dedicated a great deal of time to this. Probably learned and played most of the tracks in their garages when they were learning to play so they should have them down. They definetly had it down! I mean DOWN!
I'd like to add that there has always been a reason why Page was dubbed "the most overworked guitarist in rock". Most pieces that Zeppelin had were comprised of numerous guitar parts. Playing it live and keeping to the original sound was always a chore for Jimmy. Now, just imagine 2 more (really good) guitarists to back him up. Sick Again and Nobody's Fault But Mine never even came close to sounding this good live. I'd give anything to hear this group do Dazed and Confused, but that would be too much for a guy to take. I think I'd just spontaneously combust.
If you are a fan of Blues/Rock then there is no doubt that you must have this CD. Definetly a classic in our time! If they come to your town, don't make the mistake of missing it. This is the closest any of us will ever get to Led Zeppelin again.
Free Music Review: Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes - Live At The Greek
Hit: 5 Stars
Possibly the best "live" album ever released. Even better than The Song Remains The Same. This is Led Zeppelin live as they've never been heard! What started as a one-off fund rasier in London grew to what is now a full fledged tour. Why? Because this band belongs in the Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame NOW! You've never heard Zep songs this lush in a live setting. The Crowes have the Zep songs down pat (I've read that they sat around listening to all the Zep albums). From the first note to the last, what a treat. All the force of Zep plus two other guitars and a keyboard player. Highlights from the Zep catalog include Ten Years Gone, with a slow bluesy guitar romp that's incredible; Jimmy's slide guitar on In My Time Of Dying is stupendous and wait until you hear the organ intro and outro on Your Time Is Gonna Come, it'll make you cry it's so sweet. And That's just the first disc! The Lemon Song opens side two with all the gut=wrenching blues of the first Zep album rolled into one song; and then the three guitar attack of Nobody's Fault But Mine just absolutely ignites the song like never before; and then there's the Out On The Tiles/Whole Lotta Love Medley that finishes the album will leave you wishing that you had been there. Then there's the other cover tunes(problems with Sony keep most of the Crowes tune off the album which is disappointing because Rich Robinson's best solos are on them, i.e., Remedy, No Speak No Slave), Shape Of Things is done ala Jeff Beck Group with the lead solo done Yardbirds (? ); BB King's Woke Up This Morning will definitely wake you up with it's foot stopmin' pace and Jimmy rips this solo out that SHREDS! The slide guitar battles on Sloppy Drunk are incredilbe (more shredding), not to mention Willie Dixon's Mellow Down Easy and the Mac's Oh Well are equally awesome. Too bad they take after Pearl Jam and have soundboards available for EVERY show. The textures of the Zep songs will please even those who don't buy live albums because the sound too different from the record(cd) will enjoy these discs. This release supasses the musicmaker Excess All Areas as there aren't any gaps in between the songs. The only disappointment is that both shows weren't released in their entirety (the shows were recorded Oct. 18 & 19. 1999) If you love loud hard guitar based music then this is an absolute must have collection.Free Music Review: Songs Sound the Same as originals - that's why it's great!!
Hit: 5 Stars
First off, the Crows are a great live band. I wasn't even interested in the Crowes until I found out that Jimmy Page was touring with them. Being a die hard Led Zeppelin fan, I immediately took up interest in the Crowes, and got tickets for one of their shows. This CD is mainly Led Zep songs, which I am thrilled about. The songs are very faithful to the originals, and they play some diverse songs. Now beginning Led Zep fans might not like this, and wonder where Stairway, and Rock and Roll, and songs like that are...But serious Led Zep fans should appreciate songs like Nobody's Fault, In My Time of Dying, and Ten Years Gone- a song which would have been virtually impossible to do live if it weren't for the three guitarists. Of course that's not to say this album is devoid of the Zep songs that seem to play on the local classic rock station every 15 minutes (not a bad thing) They play Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker, Custard Pie, and the Lemon Song.
They also venture outside of Zeppelin. Some of my favorites other than the Zep tunes are the cover of the Yardbirds Shapes of Things, where they mix the Yardbirds version, and the Jeff Beck Group version into one great song, the BB King cover, and one of my favorite selections, the cover of the Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac classic Oh Well, which they nail.
All the Crowes are in top form, especially Chris Robinson, who does an alarmingly good job of covering Robert Plant, which is a daunting task for any vocalist. Jimmy is in good shape too! After all, he's the main reason I got this album. Jimmy sounds like he's having a lot of fun, and from the interviews I read, he really was. Unfortunately, Page blew his back out on the tour, and had to stop midway through, cancelling a large chunk of tour dates, including the one I bought tickets for (don't feel too bad for me, I still got to see The Who).
If you like the Crowes, you should like this album even though they don't play their songs, and if you're a Zeppelin fan, especially a die hard zeppelin fan like myself, you should enjoy this album. It doesn't really break any new ground, but they weren't trying to.
All in all, it's a fun album, and hopefully it will motivate Page to get back in the studio, like both the surviving members of Led Zep did this year. This is a great album.
Free Music Review: OMIGOD!
Hit: 5 Stars
Lo, these many years past...I attended Robert Plant's first solo tour performance in support of his newly released, "Pictures At Eleven". The warm-up act was someone I'd never heard of before, but someone that I had heard Robert rant and rave about in interviews. It was the Black Crows! Back in the early 80's!Both Jimmy and Robert were into these guys LONG before anyone else was. Not only is it not surprising that these musicians pool their talents to produce this incredible piece of work, but it also attests to how, since Zep landed in 1980, these two major influences in modern music lend a hand to help the new kids on the block.
At far as "Live At The Greek" is concerned, this is a remarkable recording, from the audiophile's point of view. The bottom end of it, the bass and drums, will shake you to the point of liver quiver. From a Zep or Crows fan point of view, it's staggering. Jimmy took the Crows under his wing and whispered in their ear, "C'mere guys...I'm gonna show you how to grab the keys to the kingdom". Because this is as good a live recording as you're ever gonna hear, it points to the fact that Jimmy had their complete and full attention. When Jimmy Page takes the time to choose YOU from everyone else to educate.....it's in your best interest to listen. They did......and this is the result.
Of course, Jimmy is gonna keep the spotlight. He nails each and every piece to the deck. Every single one. The tracks off Physical Graffitti never sounded so good, better than the originals. "Shapes Of Things", that great Yardbirds tune knocked me out and made me laugh out loud. What a great nod to past material. Selection of material on this disc...as pointed out in earlier reviews is excellent. "Black Dog" or "Rock 'n Roll" would have raised this recording to the "legendary" level. But as it is...do yourself a favor. Obtain this recording and write your own review. I bet it sounds a lot like mine!