Artist: Black Crowes Title: “Warpaint Live” Label: Eagle Vision Release Date: 6/30/2009 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 4/5
We recently reviewed the excellent CD version of this concert HERE and now the chance to feel as though you were a part of the audience is at hand as the full concert is presented to you on the DVD release “Warpaint Live”. Yes this is the exact same show as was presented on the audio release but as you might realize, simply hearing it loses some of that concert magic which and lucky for the home viewer they did not swap a track here and there between the two releases and instead deliver the same tunes that we found on the double CD audio version. I’ve long enjoyed the Black Crowes for what they brought to the table as a band and they always seem to deliver in concert. You cannot help but feel the soulful groove that they lay down with apparent ease on tune after tune. The great difference about this live concert was that it took their “Warpaint” CD and delivered it live in sequential order for maximum fan enjoyment. There is a little bit of difference in the tunes from the studio release against the live versions and that comes by way of a little more extended jamming which is never bad when it comes to a band like The Black Crowes. There is some seriously good musicianship going on and when you watch Rich Robinson play you will be thinking aloud as you wonder why this guy does not get a lot more praise than he does. Chris Robinson’s voice is on top of the game with the recording and he proves himself to be one of the best Blues Rock singers of our time. There is such a passion in every note he utters here without question. Joining the Robinson Brothers is a truly killer band that features Luther Dickinson who not only offers up additional conventional guitar but also some amazing slide guitar as well. The concert captures you right from the get go with “Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution” and it was one of my fast favorites from both the studio and live release. It was interesting to find the Robinson Brothers delivering this full release to the apparently very interested audience and it just goes to show you that not every bands following deals with such a project the same way. I say this because Iron Maiden presented their entire “A Matter Of Life And Death” for their fans a couple of tours ago and where chastised for it while bands like Dream Theater often do their full new release these days and have fans attending two or three shows in a row. Maybe those Southern Fried Blues Rock fans and the Progressive ones are a little more giving than the straight ahead Heavy Metal ones. I don’t know. Continue reading “Warpaint Live” (DVD) by The Black Crowes→
Artist: The Black Crowes Title: “Warpaint Live” Label: Eagle Records Release Date: 4/28/2009 Genre: Blues Rock & Roll Rating: 4/5
Wasting no time since the 2008 release of their excellent “Warpaint” CD, The Black Crowes have returned with a live CD that presents that entire previous studio album and more on the appropriately titled “Warpaint Live”. This is not a new practice for bands to do in their career by delivering a studio effort and then releasing a concert CD or DVD film of the tour that supported it and such things have become commonplace for bands like Iron Maiden, Rush and Dream Theater and while The Black Crowes are very musically different from these acts, it was only a matter of time before the others followed suit on a usually successful practice. The double CD effort does its job by delivering the full “Warpaint” CD on the first disc from beginning to end and having heard this studio album I had to say that it works even better in the live sense. The Black Crowes are probably one of the finest artisans of the Blues Rock genre and it seems that when they get on the stage that they always manage to deliver a solid good time. If you don’t believe me just listen to the crowd response between the song breaks. “Warpaint” was an album that very simply works well as a single piece of music to listen to and by doing it in its entirety in the live sense the band shows their own strong belief in this full body of work also. Favorites of mine come via the albums opening track “Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution” and closer of “Whoa Mule” on the live “Warpaint” part of the show. From the sound of it, this is a show that I know that I would have enjoyed attending and it’s the pureness and richness of musical tone from the Robinson brothers who win me over with note after note. Chris Robinson as a vocalist is really one of the best that this genre has ever produced and he sings with such passion that it’s like a tangible thing. Continue reading “Warpaint Live” by The Black Crowes→
Artist: Brothers Of A Feather” Title: “Live At The Roxy” Label: Eagle Vision Release Date: 9/4/2007 Genre: Blues/Rock Rating: 4/5
Calling themselves “Brothers Of A Feather” for the tour, Chris and Rich Robinson from The Black Crowes stripped down to their acoustic basics and delivered a concert that would come off as one of the best in their careers. The DVD “Live At The Roxy” was filmed across the span of a three night appearance at the famous venue and found the brothers accompanied by two backup singers and a saxophone player for added warmth and body to the already rich melodies that they would deliver. The understated setting of the stage was that of a living room and the musicians sat on simple wooden chairs and played their hearts out much to the delight of the sold out crowd in attendance. The relaxing visuals and warm sounds that the brothers delivered made this one hell of a DVD to sit back and enjoy. I took this as a presentation that was not unlike that of the MTV show “Unplugged” as since all of the songs were delivered in this fashion it just made me think of it as such. The brothers cover a lot of ground with this set of shows and given that there were probably a lot more treats involved in the actual show, made me wonder why this was relegated to only a single DVD and opposed to being a double. They deliver Blues standards and solo material and of course the revered classics of their own, but while “Jealous Again” fits perfectly in this setting, we find tracks like “Hard To Handle” absent from the film. Maybe they did it at one of the shows but it isn’t here and I hardly missed it based on the overall quality of everything else that is delivered. The guitar playing of the pair is crisp and clean and Chris’ voice is the best that I have ever heard him over the years. Continue reading “Live At The Roxy” (DVD) by Brothers Of A Feather→
Artist: Brothers Of A Feather Title: “Live At The Roxy” Label: Eagle Records Release Date: 7/10/2007 Genre: Blues/Rock Rating: 4/5
Recorded over the course of three sold out nights at The Roxy, Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes deliver one of the most intimate and inspiring Blues Rock performances of their career. Calling the event “Brothers Of A Feather”, they sat down on chairs in a setting not unlike someone’s living room and performed acoustically with the accompaniment of two backup singers and the occasional saxophone to offer up some additional warmth to the music that they would deliver. The result of these three nights is an extraordinary recording and when you play the CD you will feel as if you were present in the room with them. The downside is that the full show ran about twenty songs and this CD only presents you with fourteen of them. Of course there are incredible highlights such as the rare and unreleased tracks like “Magic Rooster Blues” and “Darling Of The Underground Press” and the lengthy show stopping closer of “Thorn In My Pride”. From beginning to end one will find that the stripped down and bare bones approach to this material truly works and that the brothers are a couple of the finest musicians in the Blues Rock arena today. Continue reading “Live At The Roxy” by Brothers Of A Feather→
