Wednesday, November 4, 2009

My Amazon Reviews: Black Crowes "Shake Your Money Maker"

Shaking it up with the Black Crowes,
5 out of 5 Stars

It's hard to believe that, as the 80's drew to a close, an album like this was taken to heart and to the charts. A band that mixed the greasier aspects of The Rolling Stones and the Southern rock of the Allman Brothers, along with a little soul and gospel, would fit in during the last dregs of New Wave and the mad popularity of the Jackson clan. But the lo-fi rocking of "Hard to Handle" and "Jealous Again" turned this booze soaked pair of brothers into stars.

Between vocal brother Chris Robinson's approximation of Rod Stewart's vocal swagger and Rich's muscular riffing, "Shake Your Money Maker" snagged an audience of classic rockers that were being under-served in 1990. The band also knew how to make a stoner anthem ballad with "She Talks To Angels," an acoustic classic that captured the band's versatility. Striking, direct and to the point, "Shake Your Money Maker" kicked off a career that The Black Crowes have stuck to ever since. What was dismissed by many as retro some 20 years ago still has the groove of classic rock in its veins, even as such newer albums as Warpaint continue their mastery of the genre.