Before The Frost...Until The Freeze

After putting out the mediocre "Lions" album and then breaking up for several years, The Black Crowes made a nice creative comeback with "Warpaint" in 2007. The comeback continues with "Before The Frost", an album of all new material recorded live before a small audience in upstate New York. I am really enjoying this album and will take a bold step in stating that this may be my all time favorite Black Crowes release. The album is really quite mellow in spots with country, blues and folk influences abounding throughout the material. That is not to say that the album does not rock in spots including the second track "Been A Long Time" which features a smoking jam at the end showcasing the talents of guitarist Luther Dickson. The album even includes a disco song "I Ain't Hiding" which on paper should never work, but is surprisingly one of the highlights of the album. I normally loathe anything that comes close to disco, but not only is this song infectious, but it manages to rock as well. There is not really a weak track on the disc. "Good Morning Captain", "Appaloosa", "Houston Don't Dream About Me", and "The Last Place That Love Hides", are all slow and mellow, but retain great lyrics and a down home almost country feel. The songwriting on this album is top notch throughout ranks right up with the best this band has come up with. All in all if you are a Crowes fan this album is a must purchase. It may not rock as hard as some of its predecessors, but the band prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with 20 years after their formation.

I really loved Warpaint and really love this album also. It is a very laid-back jam style album with great lyrics. I totally dig the disco/funk style tune too. The main reason for this review is to let everybody know, who is wondering about the download of the second half of this release that it is available in both MP3 and FLAC formats. I am not sure what kbps the MP3 is because I downloaded the FLAC version. If you are not familiar with the FLAC format, I will try to explain. FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. It is a lossless compression. Where MP3 removes most of the high and low frequency information from the selected track and compresses the heck out of it, FLAC keeps all the musical information in a simple 2:1 compression. [...] I would highly recommend downloading the FLAC format. Yes, if you get the MP3 files, you can instantly put it on your portable player but you will never have the original music. If you download the FLAC version, you can burn a lossess CD for play and to keep. You can then very easily convert that CD to MP3 or convert from the FLAC file directly to MP3. There are many free programs to convert the FLAC file to MP3. Just Google it and start reading. I promise it is not hard. I will be happy to try and answer any questions anyone might have about FLAC.

Once you hear the 1st note you know this is going to be a great album, and I haven't even heard a lick from the 2nd album, Until The Frost (website won't allow download yet). The opening track, Good Morning Captain, is as good as a Black Crowes song gets. Luther Dickenson & Adam MacDougal are showcased right from the start. Not to take anything away from Marc Ford or Eddie Harsch, but Luther & Adam appear to have their heads in the right place and bring a much heavier souther flavor to the Black Crowes. To make the album even better, it was recorded live at Levon Helm's barn in Woodstock. The band sounds tight, and Larry Cambell even appears on a few songs playing banjo. All in all, there isn't a bad song on the album (even the techo-like "I Ain't Hiding" is pretty cool). I've followed these guys their entire career, and this is clearly the best line-up to date. With 2+ years playing together and two great albums (Warpaint was also excellent), the Black Crowes are on top of their game and one of the best live shows to see today. I can't wait to hear the album at Penn's Peak on the 9th. Thanks again guys for another outstanding album.

Others might say that Before the Frost...Until the Freeze marks a return to form for The Black Crowes. I disagree. This album is just an continuation of the musical progression of the band. The Robinson brothers have matured and so has their music. This album sounds like The Black Crowes. How can it not with the distinctive vocals from Chris? But it sounds like The Black Crowes have grown up. And that is a good thing. The previous release, Warpaint, was fine, but I have already listened to this album more times than Warpaint. But after listening to this record, you can see how Warpaint laid the foundation for this excellent album. Sure there are a few songs that I don't care for, but they are few and far between. And that is without even mentioning that this is a double album for the price of one. You can't beat that. Lastly, this album was recorded live in studio with an audience. Anyone who has ever seen The Black Crowes knows that they are at their best live and I think recording these songs live was an excellent choice and really brings out the best in the material. I hope the band keeps evolving and putting out new material of this quality. If you go back and listen to Amorica or Southern Harmony and then listen to Before the Frost...Until the Freeze, you will see how far the band has come.

Black crowes live recording makes great listening on vinyl!

元々僕は、彼らの楽曲の中では疾走感のあるロックナンバーより ミディアム‾スローなブルージーな曲が好みでそういう部分に 魅力を感じていました。今回のアルバムは僕好みの曲が多く 非常にゆったりと身を委ねていられる最高のアルバムです。 ダウンロードアルバムも素晴らしいし、ジャケットも良いので これはこれでCDとしてパッケージ化しても良いのではないかと 思います。あまりにも気に入ってしまったのでアナログ盤でも 買ってしまいました。アナログ盤は、2枚組でダウンロードの アルバムの楽曲も交えた曲順で構成されていてまた違う趣きを 感じさせてくれます。一応参考までにアナログ盤での曲順を 明記すると A 1. Aimless Peacock 2. Good Morning Captain 3. Been A Long Time 4. Greenhorn B 1. Appaloosa 2. Shady Grove 3. Garden Gate 4. Shine Along 5. Roll Old Jeremiah 6. Houston Don't Dream About Me C 1. I Ain't Hiding 2. Kept My Soul 3. Lady Of Avenue A 4. Make Gold 5. And The Band Played On D 1. What Is Home 2. So Many Times 3. A Train Still Makes A Lonely Sound 4. Fork In The River 5. The Last Place That Love Lives となっています。メンバーが本当に聴いてもらいたい 曲順ってどっちなんだろうと思ってしまいます・・・。 この曲順に編集して聴いてみてもおもしろいかも 知れませんね。 個人的に彼らのアルバムの中では最高傑作だと思っています。

Me encantan los cuervos, dude al principio por el precio y alguna crítica que leí. No lo dudes, un sonido más country de lo que nos tienen acostumbrados pero genial. Compre vinilo doble no me arrepiento.

Ich bin wahrlich nicht im Besitz aller Crowes Alben. Bis zu "Warpaint" kannte ich sie nicht einmal. Aber jenes album ließ aufhorchen. Und dieses hier in Kombination mit dem Download-album "Until the freeze" (das mehr country- und folk-lastige Stücke beherbergt) und der DVD zur Aufnahme (Cabin Fever) ist ein echter Schmaus. Das reicht locker an die Großtaten von Gov't Mule, den Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones etc. heran. Ich habe selten CDs in letzter Zeit so oft hintereinander gehört und mich so warm erfreut. Welch kompositorische Finesse! Alle beteiligten Musiker (auch Gastmusiker) sind Spitze und spielen fast spielerisch leicht miteinander zusammen. Das Ganze ist zwar live, aber sicherlich im Nachhinein noch abgemischt. Der Grundtenor ist aber live, wie man auf der DVD sehen kann. Und das Ganze haut einen wirklich um!! Wer micht total begeistert, ist Luther Dickinson als "zweiter" Gitarrist. Das Repertoir dieses Mannes ist enorm; technisch nur brilliant. Bin mal gespannt, ob er auch bei Warren Haynes mal auftaucht. 2 seiner Vorgänger haben ja mit dem dicken Bären schon zusammengespielt. Also: große Songs, traumhafte Arrangements, perfektes Zusammenspiel - KEIN Ausfall (!!). Eine wirkliche Empfehlung für Leute, die auf Southern-Blues-Rock (und drum herum) stehen.

Another good Black Crowes album!