The Black Crowes Album: “The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion”

A friend bought this disc for me when I got my first cd player. Although I had only heard a handful of Black Crowes tunes before, I played the cd constantly since, well, it was my only one. Almost 10 years later, "Southern Harmony.." remains one of my favorite albums of all time.

This cd is what rock and roll is all about. It's gritty, it's bluesy and it grabs your attention and holds it until the very last song. My all-time favorite "Thorn in My Pride" starts out slow and ends up like a gospel choir coming at you full speed ahead. "Bad Luck Blue Eyes.." is the quintessential blues ballad, served up with a pack of smokes and some sloe gin. "My Morning Song" touches on every emotion you have and when you think that you just can't take any more, Chris Robinson leads you right into the soulful cover of Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell." In between, every single song does it's individual part to come together and make one of the most finely-tuned albums of the decade.

"Southern Harmony..." captures the true spirit of the Black Crowes and the true heart of rock music. This is a must-have album for anyone.

Much is made of the so-called "sophomore slump," even in music. So many bands that burst on the scene with attention-grabbing debut albums seemingly fall on their faces the second time 'round.

The Black Crowes, however, gave us one of the best rock n' roll albums of all time with in their second offering, The Southern Harmon & Musical Companion. I will say it again: it is one of the best rock n' roll albums of all time.

When an album is this good, it isn't really necessary to do a song-by-song breakdown. Just take these words to heart: this is a must-have album for rock n' roll fans. Period.

Certainly a strong contender for their best. Not a bad apple in the bunch. But for me, "Sometime Salvation" alone is worth the price of admission. It`s gripping, powerful and incredibly soulful. I love the stop-start tug of the guitars. Chris Robinson is positively gut-wrenching when he sings lines like, "You can lead a horse to water/ But faith is another matter." This song just rips my soul.

In truth, I could gush about any of these songs and they fit together really well, too. There`s a running theme of dealing with addiction and related relationships. From the confusion of mixed feelings and the double-edged message in the opener "Sting Me" to the redemption of the Zeppelinesque electric slide of "My Morning Song," this is a completely cohesive, compelling album.

The last song is actually a faithful and soulful cover of Bob Marley`s "Time Will Tell" with its poignant lyric, "Think you`re in heaven but you`re living in hell."

This is ("was" I guess I should say?) a top-notch band that played old-school rock with their own modern sensibilities. Even the backup singers on this album are outstanding. I`m here to tell ya, these guys are very, very good.

After the 80's ended its decade of nearly 100% trash, I thought I would have to listen to 60's & 70's music forever to get that fist clenching "pump" of true classic rock. Then this album came around in '92 -- a "classic" in its own right -- and I don't use this term lightly. While I love the Crowes, I feel that this album is their finest by far. In the context of classic rock overall, I feel that Southern Harmony is the best album (chronologically speaking) since Pink Floyd's, "The Wall" in 1979, and there has been no album since to touch it. "Sometimes Salvation" is intense -- or "heavy" (as the Crowes might describe it) and "My Morning Song"are two standouts -- but all songs on the album are fantastic. Last two Crowes albums are fair -- I hope they can duplicate the genius of Southern Harmony once again. Buy it!

Not enough can be said about the Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (an apt title). But I'll try. This is the album the Rolling Stones wish they could have made, during their Southern/Country excursions -- not to knock the Stones at all, this album just rocks. Somewhere on the Family Tree of Rock, there's a branch that ends with this exquisite flower of an album. Any time I see a magazine or whatever with the "Top 100" rock albums, if the SHaMC isn't in the Top 20, that list is garbage.

Throughout the tracks, the Crowes reach full groove -- filling all the sonic space. The musicianship is awesome and it's clear the band was enjoying this time in the studio. Chris Robinson's energy is at typical peak, and I find his singing is filled with immense warmth and passion, ironic considering almost all of the lyrics appear to be bitter jabs (a' la Dylan) against a former lover. After years of returning to this one, it's clear it meets the ultimate test of Album Rock, which is improvement over time, like a fine wine.