Search - Black Crowes :: Live

If anything, this 19-track double live CD (culled from the band's 2001 tour and ushering in a likely extended hiatus) should forever make clear that the Crowes aren't pretending anymore. They are every inch the swaggering, bluesy road monsters they've always wanted to be--for better or worse. Centered largely on tracks like the funky, texturally rich "Lion" in its first half, vocalist Chris Robinson only occasionally drops into the blatant Rod Stewartisms that have been the source of so much criticism, often (as on "Wiser Time") evoking Southern-fried Van Zant working-class charm. The newer tracks underscore that the Crowes aren't slaves so much to blues-rock history (check the slinky "High Head Blues" and angular "Lickin'") as they are to the historic energy level and groove that fuels the set's sweaty build to a hit-filled climax ("She Talks to Angels," "Hard to Handle," "Remedy"). Audiophiles may lament the album's raw arena sound, but it's just another ironic nod to the band's chosen roots. --Jerry McCulley