So...the Girl From a Pawnshop was really Josephine?

[TheGoodTexan]

Topic: The Black Crowes new album, Warpaint.

I know that someone else talked about the new album a few weeks back, but I finally got it last night I'm really diggin' it. I have not made it through the whole album yet...just spent a little bit of time with the first 4 songs last night.

Does anyone else think that the song O, Josephine seems to be part II to Girl From a Pawnshop off the Three Snakes album? ...both lyrically and musically.

Also...although I'm a huge Crowes fan...(always purchase a new album, seen'em in concert a dozen times, etc)...I stopped keeping up with the internal soap-opera a couple of years ago. Who is the new guitar player, and keys player? I knew that Ed was gone from the band, but I had just assumed that it Was Marc playing lead. Anyone know the "resume" of the new band members?

So far, I can highly recommend this album, based on the guitar tones alone. If you like raw, organic, classic, old-school rock guitar tones....in a plug-in-and-play sort of way....you'd dig Warpaint.

And Chris's voice seems to be better than I've heard it in a few years.

[eryque]

I'm an off again, on again fan. Seems that every album has a song that really grabs me, but the rest of the songs need to grow on me. For my money, they haven't topped the raw energy and emotion of the first album. All the albums after Southern Harmony give me the impression that they're thinking about it too hard.

The new guitar player is Luther Dickinson, who's also the front man of the North Mississippi All Stars. He plays with such fluid swagger that it's impossible not to get hooked. He's keeping the All-Stars going, so I'm not convinced he's going to be a long-time member of the Crowes, but we'll see.

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by eryque

For my money, they haven't topped the raw energy and emotion of the first album.

I don't disagree with your points.

Shake Your Money Maker was made at the tail end of an era, with respect to radio play. That album came out before "grunge" took over the airwaves, and it was made with radio play in mind (this is not a bad thing, in and of itself). By the time Southern Harmony was made, radio was strongly aimed in a different direction. I think that only one song on that album ever played...and not that much really.

I think that by the time they were preparing to make Amorica they had realized that their kind of music no longer made it on radio. I think this freed them up, creatively. They could do what ever they wanted.

Each Crowes album has the ability to stand on its own, in my opinion. I'm parcial to the Marc Ford era, but Jeff Cease was great and Audley Freed is amazing too. I even By Your Side, for Rich taking on all the guitar parts himself.

[Slow Reflexes]

Not long after they booted Ed, Marc quit. They hadn't gone into the studio yet at that point (due to yet another leg of touring being scheduled on top of the previous couple years straight), so neither of them were involved with the new album.

This album has Luther Dickinson on guitar and Adam MacDougall on keyboards.

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

...by the time they were preparing to make Amorica they had realized that their kind of music no longer made it on radio. I think this freed them up, creatively. They could do what ever they wanted...

I am just really saddened that "whatever they wanted" brought us By Your Side and Lions but left the Band album languishing for over a decade.

[e-merlin]

The Crows always seem to come out with a winner. I haven't heard a Crows album I didn't like. I really like the stuff they've played on the radio from this one. I may have to make the investment.

[Paul in Colorado]

I've never liked the Black Crows. But I've heard a bunch of the new songs on the radio and I like 'em enough to buy the CD. I think they've finally grown into their own skin rather then recycling The Stones and Faces. Luther Dickenson is from the North Mississippi All Stars and is a great guitarist in his own right. Can't compare him with the other guys that have held that slot since I've never really listened to them.

[eryque]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

I don't disagree with your points.

Shake Your Money Maker was made at the tail end of an era, with respect to radio play. That album came out before "grunge" took over the airwaves, and it was made with radio play in mind (this is not a bad thing, in and of itself). By the time Southern Harmony was made, radio was strongly aimed in a different direction. I think that only one song on that album ever played...and not that much really.

I think that by the time they were preparing to make Amorica they had realized that their kind of music no longer made it on radio. I think this freed them up, creatively. They could do what ever they wanted.

I think you're right about this too. We probably shouldn't overlook the fact that with their first album they had to be able to hit the airwaves hard in order to establish themselves and be successful. They were also incredibly young (Chris was 21, I think), and I think a lot of that youthful energy comes out.

So did their youthful idealism. By their 3rd album they were thought of as loose cannons by the record companies (and every corporation who might have sponsored them), largely because they spent almost all of their media attention blasting away at the establishment. I think their next albums were part "let's do whatever we want" and part "let's do what they don't want us to because we can."

To my ears, that resulted in albums with a couple of memorable songs, and a bunch of forgettable ones.

[Caffeine Patrol]

I was sitting on the fence about "Warpaint" but finally scored a used CD at my local. Awesome, I've probably listened to it 6 times through in the past couple of days. It's so good I asked the good folks at Love Garden to order the vinyl for me.
Rock on, '70s!!