The Black Crowes have been through many phases throughout their career - not only lineup changes and style shifts, but also in wildly inconsistent artistic quality. Their 1990 debut, 'Shake Your Money Maker,' was an infectious, if generic, ode to classic rock. But it was on 1992's gritty, soulful 'The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion,' that the Crowes really took flight, and things got even more interesting on 1994's 'Amorica' and 1996's 'Three Snakes and One Charm.'But the Crowes fell off with 1999's watered-down 'By Your Side' and the 2001's uninspired 'Lions.' After reuniting from a hiatus in 2005, the band released 2008's 'Warpaint' and 2009's 'Before the Frost.' Both were amiable albums, but were only echoes of the band's former triumphs.
Now the Crowes are marking their 20th anniversary with 'Croweology' an album of acoustic versions of songs from their back catalogue. And although the Crowes wisely sticks to their pre-1999 output for the majority of the album, none of the new versions recapture the magic of the originals. While listeners would expect the band to use the acoustic setting to take the songs in different directions, the Crowes apparently felt that simply switching out their guitars was change enough.
There are a few interesting choices here - "Hotel Illness" is reborn as a country stomp and "Ballad in Urgency" includes a lovely extended coda. Such deviations are few, however, and the band usually settles for strumming sluggish versions of chestnuts like "Jealous Again" and "Remedy," lacking any of the ferocity that made the songs memorable.
The band is set to take another hiatus at the end of the year. And as a result, 'Croweology' plays like a sad tribute to the fleeting glory that the Black Crowes are likely never to reclaim.
About the author: James Mowery is a computer geek that writes about technology and related topics. To read more blog posts by him, go to led tv.
Source: http://mojophenia.blogspot.com/2010/09/black-crowes-croweology.html
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