The Black Crowes - Warpaint Review

Posted by Blake Lauderback on 03.05.2008

I take a look at the latest effort from The Black Crowes, and I promise that I actually bothered listening to it.

This Tuesday the 4th marked the release of a brand new album from veteran rockers The Black Crowes entitled Warpaint. It is the first original release from the guys in seven years, there last being Lions in 2001. Was this new effort a triumphant return for the once great retro-stoner rockers, or will this album be another in a streak of “weaker” attempts? As stated… I did actually listen to it before forming an opinion.

The Band:

Chris Robinson – Vocals
Rich Robinson – Guitars
Steve Gorman – Drums/Percussion
Sven Pipien – Bass
Adam MacDougall – Keyboard/ Organ
Luther Dickinson – Slide Guitar

The Black Crowes are and have always been essentially the Chris and Rich Robinson show, with what seems like a revolving door for the rest of the band. The Robinson brothers and company truly broke out on the scene in 1990 with their first studio release Shake Your Money Maker, that featured many of their biggest hits, including “She Talks to Angels,” “Jealous Again,” and their brilliant cover of an Otis Redding classic, “Hard to Handle.” While the guys have achieved some commercial success, they have, for the most part, thrived outside the light of the mainstream, all the while filling an outstanding catalogue with music dripping with no-nonsense classic rock styling and deeply rooted in their southern roots.

While the Crowes soldiered on through the decade, they never really recaptured the lightning in the bottle from their early recordings. Record sales begin to slide down the slippery slope and band members began leaving and joining the band at a ridiculous pace. The band was dropped from Columbia Records after their 1999 release not only performed poorly on the charts, but also was trashed by critics, many of which called the effort lackluster. Their only other album this millennia, Lions, was released on V2 records.

After what has turned out to be a very extended hiatus and an absurd amount of arrivals and departures despite the lack of new material, Chris and Rich reunited with former members Steve Gorman and Sven Pipien, and added newcomers Adam MacDougall and Luther Dickinson to create their newest effort, Warpaint.



The Album:

Lets get down to business with a little disclaimer. If you are expecting The Black Crowes to have changed their ways and become more mainstream in order to fit in on the local pop/rock station and sell a ton of albums, you are mistaken. This record has more business heading straight to the classic rock section than it does to the pop section, and that is not meant as an insult to the Crowes in any way. As a fan of old school rock, blues, and southern rock I love the fact that these guys pay respect to their musical heritage. That being said, I believe the Crowes do an awesome job of respecting the past, but doing so in a way that still sounds fresh and interesting.

The other night I was lying in bed awake at 3 AM, watching an interview with Lenny Kravitz about battling the image of being “retro.” He essentially stated that there isn’t a single artist out there that doesn’t owe something to their influences, and that the sound of an artist’s roots will always shine through. There is nothing wrong with having a “retro” sound as long as you are doing so creatively. The lasting thought I have from the interview is that “everyone has a beginning.” I believe that this statement rings especially true in the case of The Black Crowes.

Now, lets actually take a look at the album in question…

Track List:
1. Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
2. Walk Believer Walk
3. Oh Josephine
4. Evergreen
5. Wee Who See The Deep
6. Locust Street
7. Movin’ on Down the Line
8. Wounded Bird
9. God’s Got It
10. There’s Gold in Them Hills
11. Whoa Mule

The CD starts of fairly strong with a very southern influenced tune, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution.” The slide guitar is very prevalent throughout, and the band quickly lets you know that, despite the changes and passing years, they are still The Black Crowes. The song is very catchy, and would not make a poor choice for a single.

Track number two is “Walk Believer Walk,” a very gritty, heavy blues laced song. Instrumentally I have no complaints about this track at all. My only concern is that I don’t think the vocals match up as well as they could. Someone once said that you can’t sing pretty and sing the blues at the same time, and I think “Walk Believer Walk” is the perfect example. Robinson’s vocals aren’t gravely enough to convey the same emotion that the rest of the band is putting forth.

Numero 3 is “Oh Josephine,” another tune engulfed in southerness. There is nothing wrong with it per say, nor is there anything outstandingly bad. It simply is what it is.

“Evergreen” is batting cleanup, and is one of my favorite tracks on the record. The band seems to be channeling a little Skynyrd here as they lay down a fantastic riff on the chorus while allowing the Chris and the organ carry the verses. I can’t say that I can see this song being a single, but it is an outstanding track regardless. “Evergreen” kicks off what I consider to be the heart of the track list. Up next is “Wee Who See The Deep,” another solid, rocking track. The lead guitar part really shines through well. “Locust Street” continues the streak of excellence with a piano laden ballad that I think proves to one-up “Oh Josephine.”

“Movin’ on Down the Line” is up next, which starts with an almost psychedelic intro before shifting gears into an amazing jam. This is old school Crowes at its best as they flex their retro muscle, creating the biggest high point of the track including a guitar break down/solo that would make Joe Walsh proud.

The eighth track is “Wounded Bird,” which picks up exactly where “Movin’ on Down the Line” left off, by providing outstanding instrumentals and inspiring lyrics that instruct the listener to “set your mind to fly.” The upbeat message flows triumphantly into the band’s rendition of “God’s Got It,” which is the only track on the album that was not written by the Robinson brothers. The song was written by Reverend Charlie Jackson, and the Crowes put the perfect bluesy edge on the prominently gospel tune with their dirty guitar riff.

The tracks “There’s Gold in Them Hills” and “Whoa Mule” round out the CD. These final two songs cause the end of the album to fall flat on its face. What was shaping up to be an outstanding effort gets knocked down a peg or three due to the misstep. The songs not only sound out of place with the rest of the album, but often seem out of place within themselves. I suppose I could handle the tracks being included, despite being by far the weakest two on the album, but it was a horrible decision to close to album with these two.

Overall however, this was an enjoyable album that, when it played to its strengths, had some amazing highs (no pot pun intended.) I have to give a little love to Gorman and Pipien, because the drum and bass interaction on the CD were outstanding. Those guys provided the backbone of the music, allowing the Robinsons to shine. The good definitely outweighs the bad, and its looks as though there could be a great resurgence from The Black Crowes with this album, at least critically, and hopefully commercially. Pop music could use a little reminder of what good, classic rock sounds like and that it’s okay to make solid music, even if no one else around you is.

The 411: The 411: The Black Crowes fly skyward again. Chris, Rich, and the boys have made a solid effort that harkens back to their classics while paying homage to their roots as well. Songs like “Evergreen,” “Movin’ on Down the Line,” and “Wounded Bird” prove that the band can still make some decent jams. Lets just all pretend that the album ends after track 9.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]