The Black Crowes - CD Albums Collection (1990-2010) [10 Albums / 12 CD] Combined repost

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The Black Crowes - CD Albums Collection (1990-2010) [10 Albums / 12 CD] Combined repost

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At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock & roll the Black Crowes specialized in was sorely out of style. Only Guns N' Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, but they were too angry and jagged to pull it off completely. The Black Crowes, on the other hand, replicated that Stonesy swagger and Faces boogie perfectly. Vocalist Chris Robinson appropriated the sound and style of vintage Rod Stewart, while brother Rich Robinson fused Keith Richards' lean guitar attack with Ron Wood's messy rhythmic sense. At their best, the Black Crowes echoed classic rock without slavishly imitating their influences, and the band's nostalgic sound helped foster a long, popular career.

The Robinson brothers originally formed the Black Crowes in Georgia in 1984. By the time the group released its first album with 1990's Shake Your Money Maker, the lineup comprised vocalist Chris Robinson, guitarist Rich Robinson, bassist Johnny Colt, guitarist Jeff Cease, and drummer Steve Gorman. "Jealous Again," the first single from Shake Your Money Maker, was a moderate hit, but it was the band's cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" that made the Black Crowes a multi-platinum success. "Hard to Handle" climbed its way into the Top 40, propelling the album into the Top Ten along the way. The acoustic ballad "She Talks to Angels" became the band's second Top 40 hit in the spring of 1991, and Shake Your Money Maker eventually sold over three million copies.

The Black Crowes delivered their second album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, in the spring of 1992. It entered the charts at number one but lacked strong hits, as none of the singles cracked the Top 40 and only "Remedy" and "Thorn in My Pride" made the Top 100. Nevertheless, the band established itself as a popular concert attraction that summer, selling out theaters across America. During 1992, the band added keyboardist Eddie Harsch as a permanent member. The Black Crowes' third album, Amorica, arrived in late 1994 and debuted in the Top Ten. Even so, none of the singles from the album made a significant dent, and the album slipped from the charts after going gold.

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The Black Crowes - CD Albums Collection (1990-2010) [10 Albums / 12 CD] Combined repost

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Three Snakes and One Charm, the group's fourth album, was released in July 1996. The album quickly slipped out of the Top 50 after making a strong entrance, yet it also received the best reviews of any Crowes album since The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Guitarist Marc Ford was fired from the Black Crowes in August 1997, and bassist Johnny Colt left the lineup in order to form the Brand New Immortals. With Rich Robinson handling all guitar parts, the band recorded and released By Your Side before collaborating with one of the world's most celebrated guitarists, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. This partnership was captured by the concert album Live at the Greek, an eclectic mix of newly recorded Zeppelin covers and additional classic blues cuts. Greatest Hits 1990-1999: A Tribute to a Work in Progress, a 16-track best-of compilation, was released several months later in 2000.

Don Was was enlisted to produce the band's new album, 2001's Lions, whose lyrics were influenced by Chris Robinson's highly publicized relationship with actress Kate Hudson. A month-long summer tour with Oasis – dubbed "the Tour of Brotherly Love" due to the prevalence of siblings in both bands – followed in June. All was apparently not well with the group, however, and the band announced its decision to go on hiatus in January 2002. Drummer Steve Gorman was fired, and Chris Robinson began planning a solo career.

In 2005, however, the Black Crowes reunited for a show at San Francisco's Fillmore, a concert that was released in both CD and DVD formats as Freak 'N' Roll…Into the Fog in 2006. That year also saw the release of The Lost Crowes, which contained two previously unreleased albums, 1993's Tall (parts of which were seen in Amorica and other places) and the 1997 never-before-heard Band. Following a series of lineup changes, the retooled band hit the road for a proper tour before setting to work on their first studio effort in seven years. Joined by newcomer Luther Dickinson, guitarist and co-founder of the North Mississippi Allstars, the Black Crowes combined the rootsy appeal of their early work with a newfound political awareness on 2008's Warpaint. A live performance of the album, available as both a DVD and a two-disc CD set titled Warpaint Live, appeared a year later in 2009. Before the Frost/Until the Freeze arrived that same year, marking the band's eighth studio effort and gathering warm reviews.

The Black Crowes continued their prolific streak with 2010's Croweology, a double-disc album that featured new acoustic recordings of the band's past work. The album's release was bittersweet, though, as it coincided with a farewell tour followed by another indefinite hiatus.

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The Black Crowes - CD Albums Collection (1990-2010) [10 Albums / 12 CD] Combined repost

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The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker (1990)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 299 MB | Full Scans | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 102 MB
Total Running Time > 45:09 mins | Label: American Recordings | Cat. # 24839-2

The Black Crowes' debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, may borrow heavily from the bluesy hard rock grooves of the Rolling Stones and Faces (plus a bit of classic soul), but the band gets away with it due to sharp songwriting and an ear for strong riffs and chorus melodies, not to mention the gritty, muscular rhythm guitar of Rich Robinson and brother Chris' appropriate vocal swagger. Unlike their later records, the Crowes don't really stretch out and jam that much on Money Maker, but that helps distill their virtues into a handful of memorable singles ("Jealous Again," "She Talks to Angels," a cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle"), and most of the album tracks maintain an equally high standard. Shake Your Money Maker may not be stunningly original, but it doesn't need to be; it's the most concise demonstration of the fact that the Black Crowes are a great, classic rock & roll band.

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The Black Crowes - CD Albums Collection (1990-2010) [10 Albums / 12 CD] Combined repost

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The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (1992)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 354 MB | Covers | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 116 MB
Total Running Time > 50:38 mins | Label: American Recordings | Cat. # COL 499654-2

The addition of the more technically gifted guitarist Marc Ford and a full-time organist gives the Black Crowes room to stretch out on The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, perhaps the band's finest moment. Using Rich Robinson's descending chord progressions as a base, the band grooves its way through a remarkably fresh-sounding collection of Faces-like rockers and ballads, tearing into the material with flair and confidence and really coming into its own as a top-notch rock & roll outfit. But while the focus is undeniably on the band's musical chemistry, Southern Harmony also boasts a strong collection of songs, striking a perfect balance between the concise Shake Your Money Maker and their later, more jam-oriented records. While there aren't as many obvious singles as on their debut album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is the best expression of the Crowes' ability to take a classic, tried-and-true sound and make it their own.

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The Black Crowes - CD Albums Collection (1990-2010) [10 Albums / 12 CD] Combined repost

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The Black Crowes - Amorica (1994)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 386 MB | Full Scans | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 134 MB
Total Running Time > 58:38 mins | Label: American Recordings | Cat. # 24194-2

On Amorica, the Black Crowes finally come into their own, taking their cue from the most relaxed, groove-oriented tracks on their previous album. While the album contains no immediately obvious singles, the songs are the best the band has ever written, stretching out into a hard, jam-oriented, funky blues-rock. The Black Crowes' influences are still discernible – no band celebrates the glory days of rock culture quite as enthusiastically – but they use the music of the Stones, the Faces, and Little Feat much the same way the Stones used the music of Chuck Berry: it's a starting point that leads the band into a new direction, incorporating different musical genres, and making the music original. That sense of reinterpretation is what keeps Amorica fresh.

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The Black Crowes - Three Snakes And One Charm (1996) [PROMO CD]
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 349 MB | Covers | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 111 MB
Total Running Time > 48:40 mins | Label: American Recordings | Cat. # GEORGIA 01

With Amorica, the Black Crowes began developing a distinctive sound, shading their Stonesy Southern boogie with a variety of rootsy and psychedelic overtones. But where Amorica was rich with kaleidescopic colors, Three Snakes and One Charm is stripped-down and direct. Sure, it has a punchy, muscular sound that is, if anything, more eclectic than its predecessor, but the production is distressingly monotonous and the songs lack strong hooks. Even with its faults, Three Snakes and One Charm is a winning album, mainly because the Black Crowes' musicianship continues to deepen – the musical fusions and eclecticism are seamless, particularly from lead guitarist Rich Robinson. Their musicianship would be even more impressive if the songs were equal in quality.

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The Black Crowes - By Your Side (1998)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 340 MB | Full Scans | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 103 MB
Total Running Time > 44:55 mins | Label: Columbia Records | Cat. # CK 69361-2

Between Shake Your Money Maker and Three Snakes and One Charm, the Black Crowes evolved from a muscular, Stonesy hard rock outfit to full-fledged modern-day Southern rockers, drawing from a wealth of blues, country, folk, and rock styles to create a sprawling, fluid sound that was simultaneously traditional and distinctive. The problem was, their loose-limbed grooves tended to connect better in concert than on record, especially since they were sacrificing songs for the sake of sound, which in turn was decreasing their audience. Aware of the situation, the Crowes went back to their roots with By Your Side. Armed with a string of concise, energetic rockers, the Crowes hit harder than they had since their debut, yet they retain the sonic detail that reared its head on Amorica, adding pianos, choirs, and scores of other flourishes throughout the record. It's a back-to-basics set performed with all of the knowledge they have gained over the years, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable record, their most satisfying and accessible effort since The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Not that it's necessarily in that league – it lacks the parade of great songs that elevate that album above all their others – but it does find the Crowes in lean fighting form for the first time in years, proving that they're possibly the best straight-ahead rock & roll band of the '90s.

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The Black Crowes - Souled Out Live [Japan only CD-EP] (1998)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 320 MB | PDF Covers | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 94 MB
Total Running Time > 41:01 mins | Label: Sony Music Japan | Cat. # SRCS 8956

This Japanese-only CD import of the Go Faster single is accompanied by seven live tracks taken from the band's appearance at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on Easter Sunday 1998. Taken from an Album Network U.S. radio broadcast, the live tracks have benefited from some further remixing courtesy of Kevin Shirley. If "Go Faster" seemed like an unlikely single candidate from the underrated By Your Side album, one of the album's other singles, "Kickin' My Heart Around," sounds absolutely resplendent in this live setting. The other four tracks – "My Morning Song" (a 13-minute tour de force), "Blackberry," "No Speak No Slave," and especially "Remedy" – are all delivered with newfound purpose. If there was ever any doubt that the Black Crowes have come back to recapture their rock & roll crown left behind during their drug-addled hippie days, look no further. A must-have for all BC fanatics.

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The Black Crowes - Lions (2001)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 394 MB | Full Scans | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 125 MB
Total Running Time > 55:07 mins | Label: V2 Records | Cat. # 27091-2

If the Black Crowes are anything, they are survivors (and, reportedly, if Chris Robinson had his way, he'd be a genuine survivor, appearing on CBS' genius television show with his wife Kate Hudson), weathering years of popularity and disdain, before emerging at the end of the '90s as a rarity – a real, road-weathered rock & roll band, in the classic sense. And it wasn't just that they played classic rock – they stayed out on the road constantly, bashing out albums when they weren't fighting record labels. By the dawn of the new millennium, there weren't many bands like that out on the market, and it was a mixed blessing – it meant that they had an ugly breakup with their longtime label, American, but it also meant that there really wasn't anybody else for Jimmy Page to turn to when he wanted to tour in 1999. These two events inform Lions, their first album for V2 records, and their most idiosyncratic album since 1994's neglected gem, Amorica. Like that album, this record is instantly familiar, recalling many common and forgotten platters from the early '70s, yet twisted through a surprisingly individual voice from the Crowes. And, like that record, this is more about the music and the texture than the songs, which is disconcerting for anybody looking for the knockout songwriting of their first two records, or even "Stop Kicking My Heart Around." And, coming on the heels of that record, which was as tight a rock & roll album as they ever did, the diffuseness of Lions seems a bit off-kilter. Still, there's no denying that the group is stretching out and sounds terrific, and not just because Don Was is behind the boards. The group is supple, laying into jams without seeming indulgent, and rocking like a bastard when the occasion calls for it. It's just too bad that there aren't many songs to remember here. Some could argue that was the case with Amorica as well, but those never felt like excuses to play music, and the tone shifted dramatically from track to track. Here, the songs can seem incomplete, as if they got the sound of the track down, but not the structure. Still, this is a powerful, textured hard rock record that covers a lot of ground, surging from powerful riffs to gospel choruses and funkier-than-expected riffs. There are few bands of their time that could sound so versatile within the confines of hard rock, and if this doesn't really deliver memorable songs, tracks do jell on repeated plays, and the Black Crowes' kaleidoscopic vision of rock's history is reason enough to listen to this record – even if you're left with a nagging suspicion that this could have been a knockout with some real songs in tow.

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The Black Crowes - The Lost Crowes (2CD, 2006)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 815 MB | Full Scans | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 257 MB
Total Running Time > 112:48 mins | Label: American Recordings | Cat. # 79537-2

The Lost Crowes is right – only hardcore fans will know of the music on this two-CD set, and even then, chances are they haven't heard it. And it's not like this is an odds-n-sods collection of outtakes and B-sides, either: The Lost Crowes contains two complete unreleased albums called Tall and Band, recorded in 1993 and 1997, respectively, but in the vaults until now. They're interesting companion pieces, too, since they not only have different feels but were shelved for different reasons. Tall metamorphosed into the sprawling 1994 masterpiece Amorica, with a handful of its songs popping up elsewhere, including 1996's Three Snakes and One Charm; Band was simply left behind as the group moved on to By Your Side. Not surprisingly, Tall sounds like a rough draft of Amorica; a lot of the ideas are in place, along with such Crowes classics as "A Conspiracy," "Wiser Time," "Nonfiction," and "Cursed Diamond," but the sound isn't as full-bodied, nor is the band as wooly. This means Tall isn't as rich or robust as Amorica, but it's sure interesting to hear the roots of that album, and the previously unheard songs from these sessions – such as the dirty funk of "Tied Up and Swallowed," the lazy hillbilly roll of "Thunderstorm 6:54," and the sweet acoustic "Tornado" – fit into the cross-stitched fabric of Amorica quite well. There's a seed of a great album in Tall and the Crowes found that seed and made it grow for Amorica; this may not be as good – and it's understandable why it was reworked – but it's certainly worthwhile for any fan to hear.

If Tall did indeed need some reworking before it was released to the general public, it's a mystery why the band didn't release Band as is in 1997. Sonically falling halfway between the ragged Amorica and the hard-edged Three Snakes, this is a great Crowes album showcasing their skills as songwriters and as a loose yet muscular jam band. On the fringes of this album there is some country and the band does stretch out to improvise, but it never feels aimless, because there is an immediacy to the performances and because there are some terrific songs that center the album in a way that was lacking on Three Snakes. There is a hard-driving R&B and soul vibe here, ranging from the churning down-home funk of "Another Roadside Tragedy" and "Never Forget This Song" to the relaxed Faces-styled groove of "If It Ever Stops Raining," which is complemented by the few country flourishes, such as the mandolins on "Lifevest" or the high lonesome fiddles of "My Heart's Killing Me." This is the Black Crowes at their best, turning out classicist rock that flows so natural and easy it feels like these songs have always existed. It would have been great to have Band out in 1997, but having it arrive about ten years later only emphasizes how classic the Crowes sound at their peak, since it doesn't sound like a revival: it sounds like part of a tradition. And thankfully that tradition now contains these two albums, which do rank among the more interesting (Tall) and best (Band) records they've ever done.

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The Black Crowes - Warpaint [Japanese pressing] (2008)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 372 MB | Full Scans | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 141 MB
Total Running Time > 57:32 mins | Label: Sony Music Japan | Cat. # SICP 1768

Looking back, it seems inevitable that the Black Crowes would suffer a rocky middle age. Young bands yearning to be old tend to stumble when the years start to pile up, once hunger and ambition start to fade into the ceaseless grind of the road, and the Crowes were no exception. After they mapped out the furthest reaches of their world on 1994's Amorica they slowly spun their tires, turning out records both respectable and tired, before internal tensions slowly tore the brothers Robinson apart, leading to a split in 2002, not long after the release of their sixth album, Lions. A few years of solo wanderings led the Crowes to a reunion in 2005, but they had to go through a few more lineup changes – including the addition of North Mississippi Allstar Luther Dickinson as the replacement for guitarist Marc Ford – before they buckled down to record their seventh album, 2008's Warpaint. All that turmoil and trouble are felt on Warpaint, as are the years the band spent paying dues on the jam band circuit after Amorica. Warpaint shows that the decade of hard struggle gave the Crowes soul and chops, turning them into the band they've always wanted to be. The Black Crowes haven't changed their basic sound – ever since Shake Your Money Maker the band has always drawn deeply from the Stones and Faces, tempering that British swagger with Southern-fried blues borrowed from the Allmans, then slowly threading hippie mysticism throughout – but the feel of the band has changed, as the Crowes have turned from reckless ruffians into seasoned veterans, with the group feeling lived-in and genuine. There's depth here, highlighted by an instrumental suppleness that slightly recalls Little Feat – particularly on the slow-rolling "Oh Josephine" with its gently cascading choruses – an evolution that could only be earned during those years on the road, building the band through nightly jams and a slow cycle of membership turnovers. This is a suppleness that has grit, thanks especially to Dickinson's glass slide runs that give this music some welcome grease. The Crowes also pull off a couple of sly moves here, weaving some swirling psychedelia through the chorus of "Movin' on Down the Line," turning the Reverend Charlie Jackson's "God's Got It" into a heavy, heavy backwoods stomp, then spinning the closing "Whoa Mule" into a roiling blues raga. These are the turns and tricks of veterans, who can slide these flourishes into their signature sound without calling attention to their changeups, but these numbers are enough of a departure to garner attention – what may not get as much praise is how the Crowes write compellingly within their standard sound, as they do here, beginning with the opening gambit of the down'n'dirty "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution" and the crawling "Walk Believer Walk." From there, Warpaint continues to gain momentum, as this album is not only their strongest set of songs since Amorica, it has a depth and presence that is rare for a digital age creation and, best of all, the album has a true narrative thrust, making it feel like a true classic rock album. What the Black Crowes have done here is what true journeymen do: they don't renounce their past, they build upon it, finding hidden depths within it, shaping tradition after their own image to make it sound fresh. They're old-fashioned, but in the best sense: they're in it for the long haul, which the superb Warpaint proves beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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The Black Crowes - Croweology (2CD, 2010)
FLAC+CUE+LOG > 774 MB | Covers | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 276 MB
Total Running Time > 121:34 mins | Label: Silver Arrow Records | Cat. # 61544-2

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the Black Crowes decided to revisit several of their staples from the past two decades, giving them acoustic rearrangements. While some of the songs are revised heavily, some are merely given strength by the new setting, not so much because the songs sound better stripped down to bare bones, but because the Crowes are still riding the wave that started with their 2008 comeback Warpaint, retaining the rustic, ragged live vibe of Before the Frost/Until the Freeze. This is the opposite of that live-in-the-studio record, where the band laid down new songs on tape preserving their freshness; instead, this is the sound of seasoned veterans still finding new ways to play old favorites. Naturally, this makes this set the province of diehards, but at two discs, this is a generous, entertaining gift to the fans who have stayed true throughout the years.