The Black Crowes — The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (Super Deluxe)
Qobuz reissue review (December 2023)
As far as sophomore slumps go, bands have done a whole lot worse than The Black Crowes. Their debut, Shake Your Money Maker, blew through the stultified 1990 mainstream rock scene with a shameless pillaging of southern rock, Memphis soul, and arena swagger that may have been largely unoriginal, but was delivered with such infectious, sleazy sincerity that it was unsurprising that it racked up hit after hit and wound up going multi-platinum. A clear fork in the road presented itself to the band when it came time for the follow-up: Continue being the best bar band in America or dig in and make an “artistic statement” that risks derailing their ascent like so many other bands before them? Well, apparently the Crowes said “Why not both?” and emerged with The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, in which they dove even deeper into their roots to emerge with a singular take on gutbucket Americana.
Still thick with the charm and audaciousness that defined the best moments on Money Maker, the 10 tracks of Southern Harmony are all-killer-no-filler, yet still remarkably dynamic in tone and tenor. Although the opening fusillade of “Sting Me,” “Remedy,” and “Thorn in My Pride” front-loads the album with its biggest hits, the album truly reveals its treasures when it moves past those straightforward rockers and ballads and gets murkier. Having enlisted a new guitarist (Marc Ford) and keyboardist Eddie Harsch, the band’s sonic palette had grown and matured, so on cuts like “Black Moon Creeping” and “My Morning Song,” the brothers Chris and Rich Robinson get to flex their weirdo urges and stretch out into proto-jam-band territory. And yes, there’s a cover here, but instead of a barnstormer like Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” it’s a cathartic, soulful take on Bob Marley’s “Time Will Tell.” While Southern Harmony didn’t sell quite as well as its predecessor, its chart hits and double-platinum status were none too shabby, and, when combined with the album’s creative accomplishments, it positioned the band as a long-term artistic contender rather than a good-time supernova. This incredible anniversary edition excellently expands on that theme, delivering unreleased outtakes, live-in-studio performances, and a fierce live concert that show just how powerful and inspired the Crowes were during this era.
