Sad news. One of my all-time favorite bands, who I have had a chance to see on two occasions, live... The Black Crowes, have called it quits as a band. This is a shame, because, in more recent years, with new players added to the group such as guitarists Luther Dickinson and Jackie Greene (who appeared in the two most recent incarnations of the band), and keyboardist, Adam MacDougall, it now stands that The Black Crowes, are no more.
There was apparently, an acrimonious breakup, and not just a simple agreement to stop. These boys brought rock and roll back to it's roots, following in the footsteps of bands like The Rolling Stones and The Faces, and then, embracing long, improvised instrumental jams, in the spirit of fellow Georgians The Allman Brothers, or, The Grateful Dead. In the latter part of their career, shown by a few of the final studio albums they released, ("Warpaint" in 2008, and "Before The Frost"/"Until The Freeze", in 2009), the band was really going towards a true, American roots music, sound. They were embracing acoustic instruments, and genres like traditional country, bluegrass, and blues, in addition to their roots in psychedelia and jamming.
Their studio albums, and live shows, were both real events to their many fans, even if they did play many cover songs as well as originals. There was never really a solidified guitar tandem. But, that was not necessarily the intent of the band. Rich Robinson played alongside lead players in the Black Crowes such as Jeff Cease, Marc Ford (the longest serving lead guitarist, for thirteen years), Luther Dickinson, (another of the prolific lead players, even though his stint lasted three years, before he returned to work with his brother, Cody, in their band, The North Mississippi Allstars), and, last but not least, Jackie Greene, who, concurrently, is also lead guitarist in a side project band of drummer Steve Gorman, called, Trigger Hippy.
So, each generation of the band, in it's 25 year existence, always brought something new to the table creatively. But, it was ultimately, due to, as Rich Robinson says in the article about the split, "an untenable ultimatum". Those are his words. The band was formed in the late 1980s in Atlanta, Georgia. But, fans, (including yours truly), knew a permanent split, was inevitable. It was a great run while it lasted. But, all good things, must come to an end. The music of The Black Crowes, will indeed, live on in my heart, forever.
http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/r-i-p-the-black-crowes-legendary-southern-rock-band-announces-breakup/
No comments:
Post a Comment