Review: The Black Crowes ‘Happiness Bastards’
By Hal Horowitz
Brothers planning on starting a band together may want to consider that path forward before taking the plunge, at least if history is any judge.
For every successful sibling musical collaboration (Sparks, early Allman Brothers Band, The Bees Gees [mostly], Devo and others), there have been plenty that were at best troublesome and often worse (The Kinks, Oasis, The Beach Boys, The Everly Brothers).
You don’t have to be a huge Black Crowes fan to know that the Atlanta outfit, founded by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson as Mr. Crowe’s Garden in 1984, falls into the latter bucket.
These two have notoriously feuded with each other since about the time of 1990s extraordinarily successful Shake Your Moneymaker debut. That dysfunctional relationship has resulted in enough breakups, re-formations, sabbaticals and uneven performances to require a scorecard for accurate tracking.
Both Chris and Rich have had relatively successful solo careers between BC stints. Rich released a handful of albums featuring his own name, Chris was more prolific with nearly a dozen titles under his, along with the ever changing personnel of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. In between, they occasionally regrouped for either a tour or another Crowes collection. But that also stopped after 2009s Before the Frost/Until the Freeze, their last set of originals before the twosome once again called it quits in 2015.
It’s probably no surprise that the Black Crowes’ have again put aside their differences and returned; initially on a 2019-2021 tour playing their entire debut (with pandemic time off) resulting in 2023s double live Shake Your Moneymaker Live. Only the Robinsons were along for most of those dates with a new batch of backing musicians.
For the studio follow-up, previous bassist Sven Pipien returns as three other musicians handle second guitar, drums and keyboards. Roots producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson) signs on to provide professional guidance behind the board for ten freshly penned tunes.
The good news is that little has changed in the Crowes’ approach over the ensuing 15 year gap. They haven’t gone hip-hop, heavy metal or even country (although Wilson contributes harmonies to one tune), preferring to reference old standby influences the Stones, the Faces, Aerosmith and the Georgia Satellites. Singer Chris is still channeling Humble Pie’s frontman, rugged soul shouter Steve Marriott. Those influences are especially prominent on the tough opening rocker “Bedside Manners” where he lambasts an ex-lover with “If you don’t want my diamonds /Don’t shake my tree” as Rich delivers nasty slide work.
They move to grimy blues rocking on “Bleed It Dry” with Chris blowing hard-boiled harp and singing with a passion seemingly restrained since the Crowe’s last studio outing. “Dark Cold Sun” adds maracas and a thimbleful of soul/funk undertones to the rugged rocker, yielding one of this disc’s gritty highlights.
The songs fly by with enthusiasm as the band thrashes and burns with Chris’ words tending to get blurred by the raucous, animated playing. You’ll need to check a lyric sheet to understand the plentiful, often slurred, singing.
Backing vocals from a trio (two female and one male) bring depth on the hard riffing “Follow the Moon,” another breathless rocker that compensates in sheer adrenaline what it lacks in a memorable melody. Chris shouts “If you’re gonna make an accusation/You better point your fingers soon/To leave the sun and follow the moon,” but it’s hard to know who he’s accusing. Best to go with the organic, guitar heavy flow.
A few ballads such as the Wilson enhanced “Wilted Rose” provide much needed breathers. The closing “Kindred Friend” also dials down the jittery intensity by referencing Neil Young’s Harvest-era folk/country, again aided by Chris’ harmonica, gospel backup, and a widescreen sound suggesting the Crowes’ earlier achievements.
Existing supporters eagerly anticipating the Crowes’ return will find plenty to enjoy on Happiness Bastards. It’s encouraging to have the brothers back writing and performing some solid new material as the Crowes try, generally successfully, to re-create past glories.
Pre-order Happiness Bastards HERE
“Wanting and Waiting”
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