The Black Crowes - Before The Frost...Until The Freeze Review
Posted by Scott Rutherford on 10.10.2009
Can I use that old cliché that the South with rise again?
In the heyday of hair metal that was the late 1980’s, a bluesy breath of reality came screeching out of Atlanta, Georgia in the shape of The Black Crowes. Unlike many bands of the time that boasted the influence of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin plus 50’s & 60’s Mississippi and Chicago blues but sounded like a can of Aquanet plugged into a shitty broken down Marshall amp with the tone knobs set to “wimp”, the Crowes actually sounded like the real deal.
Lead by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson on vocals and guitar respectively, their debut release Shake Your Moneymaker racked up triple platinum sales and spawned MTV fav’s “She Talks To Angels” and the Otis Redding cover “Hard to Handle”. Most people called them the second coming of The Rolling Stones which was grossly unfair and is really only born from the fact Rich more often than not writes songs in the open G tuning much like Keith Richards. In fact style wise, they had much more in common with Aerosmith thanks to the funky rock thump of drummer Steve Gorman and the Joe Perry inspired leads of then guitarist Jeff Cease.
But don’t let comparisons fool you, this band had very much it’s own identity and with their second release The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion, The Black Crowes drove home just how great they were showing more signs of funk, soul, R&B, gospel and country that most acts of that era right up until today can actually claim to be in all those genres. While they never again matched the sales success of Shake Your Money Maker, The Crowes released an impressive body of work with a revolving door of musicians that helped each album carve an identity while still staying true to their roots rock origins.
After a hiatus between 2002 and 2005, The Robinson’s regrouped and released Warpaint in 2008 which received almost unanimous praise showing the band has lost none of its swagger even if they assumed the stance of battle-scared survivors rather than rambunctious upstarts turned stoner/slackers that was unfairly tagged on to them.
Barely a year later we have this (double) set. Firstly the title, Before The Frost…Until The Freeze. You actually need to cut that bad boy in half as Before The Frost… is the official CD release and part two …Until The Freeze is available for special download thanks to a code contained in the CD purchase of part one. For ease sake I am going to review this is one double album because I, if anything, can easily listen to The Black Crowes ply their trade of hours on end.
Just another quick note that this review is more about the CD itself as the downloads are a bonus addition to the CD purchase. I will make comment on them but if you see me use words like “this CD” or “this set” I am referring to the official release.
The Track Listing
Before the Frost... [CD]
"Good Morning Captain" – 3:24
"Been a Long Time (Waiting on Love)" – 7:47
"Appaloosa" – 3:35
"A Train Still Makes a Lonely Sound" – 4:23
"I Ain't Hiding" – 5:57
"Kept My Soul" – 5:23
"What Is Home?" – 5:13
"Houston Don't Dream About Me" – 5:05
"Make Glad" – 4:18
"And the Band Played On..." – 4:12
"The Last Place That Love Lives" – 4:57
...Until the Freeze [download]
"Aimless Peacock" – 6:40
"The Shady Grove" – 4:42
"The Garden Gate" – 4:21
"Greenhorn" – 7:12
"Shine Along" – 4:47
"Roll Old Jeremiah) – 4:40
"Lady of Ave. A" – 5:20
"So Many Times" – 4:53
"Fork in the River" – 4:11
To start this isn’t a studio album as such, rather this was recorded in front of a live audience at Levon Holmes studio The Barn, which had me a little worried. Chris Robinson is the undisputed MASTER at over-signing live. Don’t get me wrong, when the song is going he is truly a great belter and doesn’t suffer in comparison to ANYONE but given the chance live, he will sing/scat/jive and almost ruin any musical break that he can get a look in to. Before I hit play, I was sorely hoping that common sense was going to prevail.
First track up I was pleasantly surprised by the playful juke-joint piano tinker intro to “Good Morning Captain” and broke into a smile when the easy guitar jangle seeped into the verse and hit the fantastic chorus and guess what, Chris Robinson keeps a lid on the free-styling and lets the song speak for itself. I am also hit by the general sound as I feel like I have stumbled onto the great lost soundtrack by The Band.
That is a huge claim but it does sit well on The Black Crowes shoulders. To qualify that statement a little better, The Band were masters at incorporating “hillbilly” music influences into their sound and The Crowes indeed pull a similar trick albeit with a more blues and soul feel. The ample helpings of B3 Hammond organ also play it part I must say as well. By pulling on their influences and passing it through their own filter they hit a sound that’s familiar and unique all at the same time.
The other thing that stands out as you listen to each passing track, The Crowes aren’t here to shake your soul with riffs and boogie-blues. This is a more thoughtful and contemplative offering and that’s best exemplified by “Appaloosa” with it’s Neil Young Harvest-era feel guitars and beautiful Chris Robinson vocals. It may be one of the most restrained vocal offerings in his career.
The musical surprises don’t stop as “I Ain’t Hiding” almost made me believe I had accidently skipped onto some unknown UK Squeeze b-side. It shows something relatively unseen in The Black Crowes prior top this…a sense of fun. Unfortunately it’s not enough to carry the song through as it may be the weakest moments on the CD but I would rather a band be reaching for something and fall than stumble retreading the same warn ground. IHowever, the Luther Dickinson guitar solo may be one of the highlights of the set.
The biggest left field moment may be the CD closer “Last Place That Love Lies” as this deviates from the Americana feel of the other songs and mines roots from another traditional source, Irish folk music and the weary offering of The Pogues and moves into that rare moment of music wonder…sublime.
The rest of the album stays true to my comparisons to The Band and while no one song really stands out, there is no really weak moment either. Perhaps the biggest criticism I can say is that this set lacks one great four-to the-floor stomper but that really is a weak point for me to make as The Black Crowes have almost redefined themselves on this CD from blues-rockers to great AMERICAN artists that are now writing classic music that is familiar, retro and timeless.
The bonus downloads are also very worthwhile and while maybe not as strong song-wise it takes the musical experimentation further and at times comes off sounding Zeppelin-esque (“Aimless Peacock”), campfire dancer (“Garden Gate”), bluegrass sing-a-long (“Shine Along”), full blown country peddle steel shuffle (“Roll Old Jeremiah”) and all points in between. It’s certainly a worthy of your time but some of the more exotic moments may scare off the casual listener.
I can’t praise this album enough as it shows a great band stretching themselves beyond what is expected of them and trying new styles and sounds but also being true to the spirit of who they are. While this collection (both CD and downloads) will not appeal to a mass audience, it will certainly strike a chord for us that remember the sound of the needle hitting vinyl and the pop ‘n crackle of the stylise in the grooves. This is as warm and inviting as a lazy Sunday afternoon gather with your friends, a BBQ on the go and plenty of beer to go round.
The 411: One of the top releases of the year and from probably one of the most unexpected sources. The Black Crowes have chalked up nearly 20 years since the release of their debut and are now sounding better than ever and producing the greatest music of the careers. If you love the sound of real instruments recorded onto analogue tape, then this release will be mana from heaven for you (and yes, I am fully aware this was probably recorded digitally but work with me here). An easy recommendation.
In the heyday of hair metal that was the late 1980’s, a bluesy breath of reality came screeching out of Atlanta, Georgia in the shape of The Black Crowes. Unlike many bands of the time that boasted the influence of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin plus 50’s & 60’s Mississippi and Chicago blues but sounded like a can of Aquanet plugged into a shitty broken down Marshall amp with the tone knobs set to “wimp”, the Crowes actually sounded like the real deal. 
