Album of the Minute – The Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Feb 26, 2010 by Nick
A lot of bands make great debut albums and then promptly crap their pants on their second release. That was not the case with this band.
The Crowes were on the road for 2 years after releasing “Shake Your Money Maker”. The album sold over 3 million copies and had monster radio hits “She Talks To Angels” and the Otis Redding cover “Hard to Handle”. It would be a tough act to follow. So on New Years Day 1992 the band reconvenes in Atlanta, Georgia to record the follow up. They had already fired original guitar player Jeff Cease and replaced him with Marc Ford who had been playing with Burning Tree. Keyboardist Ed Harsch was also added to the lineup, a move that would pay dividends for the next 15 years. When the band emerged 8 days later they had completed “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion”.
I think TSHAMC is this band’s finest moment. It really is the perfect album. You can tell immediately the band had obviously benefited from two years on the road and the addition of Marc Ford and Ed Harsch had the band playing at a level it could not have just a year earlier. The band announces their arrival on this record with back to back rockers “Sting Me” and “Remedy”. This is where you really hear the interaction between Rich Robinson and Marc Ford on guitar. They create a sound reminiscent of “Sticky Fingers” era Rolling Stones. They then stretch out on the tunes “Thorn in My Pride”, “Bad Luck Blue Eyes” and “Sometimes Salvation”. This portion of the album really foreshadows the direction the band was heading in at that point. They could no longer be compared to a 3 chord bar band. They were playing more complex arrangements that were showing their growth while sticking to their roots.
The second half of this album is where they really turn things up. Chris displays his fine harmonica playing on “Hotel Illness” while singing ” I got a head full of sermons and a mouth full of spiders”. They follow that up with two absolute ass kickers “No Speak No Slave” and the ferocious “My Morning Song”. The album is finished off with a fine cover of the Bob Marley song “Time Will Tell”. I have always thought the band wears there influences on their sleeves and it really shows on this album all the way down to the album cover which is a nod to the classic album “The Band” by The Band. If you want to know what a band sounds like when it is hitting on all cylinders put this album on and let it play. While you are listening to it remember that it was made in 8 days. What have you accomplished over the past 8 days?
Later,
Nick
Posted in Album of the Minute