Black Crowes - Southern Harmony & Musical Companion (Reis)
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Black CrowesEdition: Music CD
Audio: German (Unknown); English (Original Language); German (Published)
CD Release Date: 2007-11-13
Music Label: Sony
Product features:
- BLACK CROWES THE SOUTHERN HARMONY & MUSICAL
- Remedy
- Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye
- Hotel Illness
- No Speak No Slave
- Time Will Tell
- 99 lbs. [*]
Free Music Notes for Southern Harmony & Musical Companion (Reis)
Free Music Review: An overlooked masterpiece...
Hit: 5 Stars
The Black Crowes sophomore effort, "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion", is one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated albums of the 1990s...or dare I say, of all time.
While casual listeners tend to gravitate towards their debut, "Shake Your Moneymaker", that record, while very, very good, was also pushed by the record company to be more 'radio friendly' in order to put the Crowes on the map. It worked, as of course the record spawned the Crowes 2 biggest hits ('Hard to Handle' and 'She Talks To Angels) and made them a household name.
But "Southern Harmony..." is the first time that the Crowes got a chance to really be the Crowes without and outside influences, and they crafted a masterpiece of swirling, psychedelic-tinged blues rock showcasing the warm, rich voice of Chris Robinson, the telepathic guitar interplay of Rich Robinson and Marc Ford, and the wildly underrated organ and keyboard work of Eddie Harsch. But all those things would mean nothing without great songs, the Crowes had them in spades during this period.
The album kicks off with a 1-2 punch of amped-up boogie rockers: the Stones-meets-Free stomp of 'Sting Me', punctuated by some soulful gospel backing vocals and Robinson's oh-so-tasty guitar solo, and the album's first single, the freight-train riff-rocker, "Remedy".
Up next is what very well may be the best Crowes tune ever, "Thorn In My Pride". A textbook example of 'less is more' instrumental interplay, the tune starts with a gorgeous, descending acoustic guitar line, accented by a sweet melody line on the hammond organ. Steve Gorman then eases his way in with his subtle percussion figure, and Ford completes the casserole with some restrained yet extremely tasty Keith Richards-like lead fills. This all before the vocal even starts. Robinson's delivery is laid-back yet powerful. Each instrument has its own pocket, a perfect place in the mix, each one clear and true without attempting to hog the spectrum. The song is the very definition of a performance whose whole is far, far greater than the sum of its parts. Brilliant.
"Bad Luck, Blue Eyes, Goodbye" follows, and this smoky blues-ballad is nearly "Thorn in My Pride"'s equal. An absolutely gorgeous vocal from Chris Robinson and absolutely perfect, loose-yet-tight playing from the rest of the band.
The guitars are turned up a little more for 'Sometimes Salvation', a descending, start-stop number once again featuring a fiery and passionate vocal from Robinson. "Hotel Illness" comes next with some crying harmonica and a bouncy, shuffling beat reminiscent of Exile-era Stones.
"Black Moon Creeping" cranks the Les Pauls and Teles up once more with its driving, insistent beat and great interplay between Chris's lead vocals and the gospel back-ups in the chorus. "No Speak No Slave" slows down the tempo a notch but does not lose a shred of intensity and thrives on some great riffage from Rich and Marc Ford.
The record climaxes with its true epic, the cascading "My Morning Song". It's a mean, tough, yet beautiful anthem. All the elements that make this band great come together on the intense chorus. The Crowes are often tagged as Stones imitators, but the orchestration and intensity here push them far out of that realm.
The album ends on a perfect note, with a laid-back, acoustic reading of Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell" providing a soulful breather after the crashing intensity of "My Morning Song".
It's hard to call an album 'perfect', but this one gets just about as close as humanly possible. There's a reason that just about every tune from this record remains a centerpiece of the Crowes live set to this day - the songs are so good, so fully realized, the playing so soulful. Each instrument compliments the next rather than trying to ape it. The songs seem to wrap around you and with each listen you discover another layer.
If you've never heard this record, or are only familiar with the radio hit "Remedy", do yourself a HUGE favor and get a copy of this masterpiece pronto.
Southern Harmony & Musical Companion (Reis) Poster
BLACK CROWES THE SOUTHERN HARMONY & MUSICALClassic Rock Music CDs
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