MattA75's Full Review: Amorica by The Black Crowes
This is part two of my five part series on the five most under-rated albums of the 90s.
As the Black Crowes came off their highly successful "High as the Moon" tour in late 1993, they wanted to try and keep their momentum going. So they entered the studio and started recording what was to be their third album, Tall. However, the dueling Robinson brothers, guitarist Rich and lead vocalist Chris, were at their lowest point. They spent $600,000 recording and mixing and throwing away Tall. Ironically, a couple of songs from those sessions (most notably Title Song and Pastoral) would be performed live and become die hard fan favorites.
Having learned from the Tall experience, the band regrouped and began writing yet again. This time, the results were much more cohesive. They were obviously still not nearly as tight a unit as they had been upon entering the studio for the previous album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. That album took barely a week to record. However, after the Tall experience, the band as a whole were determined to get this thing done.
Amorica was recorded over a three month span in 1994. It was released in late 1994, and it immediately became the subject of a media controversy over the cover, depicted above. An American flag type bikini bottom and some women's pubic hair. Chris Robinson would later joke that the original title with this cover was Stick Out Your Corkscrew With the Black Crowes. In an effort to appease uptight chains like Wal-Mart, the Crowes produced a more friendly cover with any hint of a woman being blacked out.
Amorica is a good album, and one that is heavily influenced by the band's own heavy influence at the time: drugs. Lots of drugs. If Aerosmith were the "Toxic Twins" in the 70s, then the Black Crowes were the "Biohazard Brothers." What's most impressive is that the drugs seem to have cleared Chris Robinson's mind, as his lyrics on this album stand high above just about every other Black Crowes album (although the follow up to this record, 3 Snakes and One Charm, had some amazing lyrics on it). Furthermore, the band is in fine fine shape, as they sound tight, and yet loose enough to give the music the jamband quality that began to permeate around the band about this time.
The album opens with a simple rockin tune called Gone. The interesting thing about this song is that it's really the only song that truly sounds like the Black Crowes of Shake Your Money Maker, and yet at the same time, it doesn't. It has a cocky swagger to it but the lyrics are bitter, hurtful even ("i want you to stab me, do it, do it, 'cause you know it don't hurt").
After that, the old Black Crowes gets thrown out the window. A Conspiracy, the first single, is next and this begins the eclectic trip that is the rest of Amorica. At times I love this song, and at others, it does nothing for me. Right now I love it. I like the "wah wah" guitars and the sarcastic as hell vocal delivery.
Throughout the album, there are ballads sprinkled. This wasn't really new territory for the band (She Talks To Angels was a ballad and one of their biggest hits), but in a way it was because of Robinson's new found lyric writing ability. Cursed Diamond is the first ballad and it's one of my all time favorite songs period. It starts off with some simple guitar chords and Chris' emotional and fragile voice:
i lose myself
i forget myself
sometimes i fault myself
i might fight myself
but then i make amends
After that, the band kicks in and the chorus starts, in a way that can only be described as both soulful and catchy:
i want to shine for you
i want to sparkle too
just like a diamond cursed
well you know it don't get worse
you know that i'll save you time
your trouble now is mine
hold me baby
hold me girl
and i will laugh with you
With Nonfiction, you begin to feel how much of a jamband the Crowes want to become at times. It's a slower number, but it's gorgeous in both it's simplicity and it's drug induced sensibility. And Ballad in Urgency is such an appropriate title as that song just sounds like Robinson is going to die right after singing this song.
But it's the closing piano ballad Descending that is the best ballad on the album. For one, it showcases the all too frequently left out Eddie Harsch, the band's keyboard and organ player. Second, about halfway through the song it starts driving forward with passion and intensity. And lastly, it is Chris Robinson's best vocal performance to date on a Black Crowes album. While Cursed Diamond is the better song lyrically (and there are days where I think it's the better song period), Descending has this quality to it where the title fits the music perfectly. I can't really say that about Cursed Diamond.
The other track of note is the country-ish rock and roll song Wiser Time, a song about being on the road and wondering if the tours were ever going to end. I think the band perfectly captured the essence of the road, this song sounds like a traveling song. And I think they captured the essence of life on the lines:
on a good day, it's not every day
we can part the sea
and on a bad day, it's not every day
glory beyond our reach
There are two duds on this record. Firstly is P25 London, a number that is great on the chorus but on the verses I want to scream and put a bullet into my CD player. And then there's Downtown Money Waster, an Old West type song that well, sucks, to put it succinctly.
All in all, Amorica isn't the band's best overall album. However, it's a quality album full of diverse songs and sounds, and the lyrics are top notch for most of it. It may take you a few listens (or maybe even more than that), but no matter how hard you try, you will be converted: you will become an Amorican.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.