Doubleshot Tuesday: Croweology/Black Light

[Today: New albums from old favorites...]

Throughout the last half of the 90s and first half of the 00s, the Black Crowes gave every indication of being a band in serious decline. Brothers Rich (guitar) & Chris (vocals) Robinson fought with each other and made pointless solo albums, while Chris married the obligatory Hollywood starlet (Kate Hudson). True fans of the band would point to albums like Three Snakes And One Charm and Lions and see vessels that were half full, but for the rest of us, the spark seemed to be missing, and the Crowes sounded very much like a band going through the motions.

If that comes off as complaint, forgive me, because it’s not meant as such. Most rock bands are lucky (and extremely talented) to be able to drop three meaningful albums within their lifespan (four gets you into Stones/Beatles pantheon territory). With their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker, 1992 album Southern Harmony & Musical Companion and 1994′s Amorica, the Crowes pretty much single-handedly resuscitated Southern Rock and gave every classic rock fan enough great songs to last a lifetime.

You’d have to be pretty hard-hearted to begrudge a band like that the spoils of rock star success. But you’ve have to be downright foolish to expect that a band with so many ups and downs and personal problems would bounce back to make some of their most inspired music 20 years after their debut. The upward trend for the Crowes started with their 2008 album Warpaint. At that point a good-not-great album with flashes of their past brilliance was enough to awaken excitement in their longtime fans. But with 2009′s Before The Frost/Until The Freeze they made an album that was on par with their best work.

With its easy Americana sound, Before The Frost… reflected a mature, seasoned touring band that was stronger than ever for the presence of guitarist Luther Dickinson. Because of their Southern roots, this band had historically drawn comparison to the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but the laid back country flavor they were delving into evoked other vintage groups – The Grateful Dead, circa Workingman’s Dead and The Band.

So good music and some pretty heady comparisons – but even an eternal optimist couldn’t have foreseen their next move. With Croweology, they’ve re-recorded a career-spanning selection of songs, in most cases creating defining versions. But this doesn’t feel like a Greatest Hits-type album as much as re-assessment of their own work. Like much of this album, ‘Remedy’ and ‘Jealous Again’ have less bite and more soul than their original versions. Elsewhere, songs like ‘Under A Mountain’ and ‘Soul Singing’ sound refreshed and very much like hits, even if they went un-noticed on original release. Croweology is reportedly the last album by the band before they go into extended hiatus. A well-deserved rest is in order, but let’s hope this isn’t the last we hear from a band that is finally hitting on all cylinders again.

Groove Armada has also given the world three very worthwhile albums: 1999′s Vertigo, 2001′s Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), and 2003′s eternally pleasing Love Box. These albums saw them progress from a big-beat, techno sound, into more nuanced, layered songs that increasingly featured guest vocalists. These albums were some of the best in electronica, and were clear inheritors of the disco sound. And like Disco in the 70s, Groove Armada have set about polishing their music to a pin-drop sheen, while being overpowered by vocalists who are trying too hard to sound important. With Black Light, they’ve effectively become a backing band on their own album.

Croweology reminds me of the regenerative power of rock and roll, and why it has survived so many insurrections through the decades, while Black Light reminds me of why Disco died such a preening, spectacular, flaming death in the late 70s…

Listen: Soul Singing [Black Crowes]

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Tags: Allman Brothers Band, Chris Robinson, disco, Grateful Dead, Groove Armada, Luther Dickinson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rich Robinson, The Band, The Black Crowes