When The Black Crowes' freshman recording, Shake Your Money Maker, landed in 1990, its hard rockin' blues riffs coupled with frontman Chris Robinson's raspy, soul-drenched wails were so different from the popular "hair bands" of the day that music writers weren't sure what to make of the newcomers. So, the scribes referenced the handiest touchstones available: The Rolling Stones and Faces. That assessment never really sat well with Robinson or his younger brother Rich, the band's rhythm guitarist.
"I interpret Keith Richards in the same way that Keith Richards interpreted Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry," Rich told Rolling Stone magazine at the time. "If anyone's going to accuse us of ripping off the Stones, they'd better listen to a couple of Chuck Berry records first."
Now nearly two decades and seven studio albums into their career, the band once called "The Most Rock 'N Roll Rock 'N Roll Band in the World" has stuck to its guns while the face and sound of rock music has frequently changed around them. Still interpreting the Stones, along with the bluesmen and soul men who inspired them, The Black Crowes have never wavered from making the music they love most — which suits their legions of fans just fine.
Warpaint is the Crowes' first new album since their announced hiatus in 2001. Given the once-constant fighting between the Robinsons and Chris's pair of solo albums and Rich's one solo outing during their break, many had wondered if The Black Crowes would ever fly again.
Provenance: Atlanta, Georgia
Latest release: Warpaint (2008)
© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
The Black Crowes
