More energetic bluesy 70s styled tunes from Georgia’s southern rock stalwarts.
… and the boisterous brothers are back. No, not that pair from Manchester, but Chris and Rich Robinson, with a follow-up to 2024’s Happiness Bastards. Labelled “The Most Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World” by the Melody Maker, it’s not difficult to guess what’s on offer with this latest release, A Pound Of Feathers.
Profane Prophecy starts off with a transplanted Rolling Stones groove and cowbell. There’s lots of energy, handclaps and foot stomping aplenty and even a dog imitation at one point. Exhilaratingly fun and a good opening choice. Cruel Streak, which follows, keeps up the pace. It’s an up-tempo rocking blues (what else?) with nicely juddering staccato drums and a key shift which gives it extra bite.
Pharmacy Chronicles slows things down a few pegs into a narrative slide, blues and organ workout. Lyrically, it’s a tale of that unreal rock’n’roll world that you don’t get from a lifetime spent working in Aldi… Do the Parasite! What follows isn’t, despite its title, a Cramps-alike garage tune, but it’s not that far away in spirit. Fans of thumping kick drums and classic metal riffs will like this one. High and Lonesome is another where the title is likely to throw the listener off track; far from being a bluegrass type ditty, it’s a radio-friendly AOR mid-paced hum-along, although there is some fiddle that makes a brief appearance. Pleasingly, there’s a somewhat psychedelic instrumental break in the second half that might throw radio programme directors into confusion. Hurrah!
Queen of the B-Sides -a mere two minutes and two seconds in length- veers towards Guns’n’Roses ballad territory, but its brevity makes it a good argument for less being more. Having seemingly used up the allocation of slower tunes, it’s like that stomps back with a glam-rock meets ’60s blues earworm before further thuddery/thuggery roars out of the speakers on Blood Red Regrets. This one’s somewhat Zeppelin-esque in outlook, epic and grandiose in tone and riffage.
You call this a good time stays in a classic rock vein, with its rumbling AC-DC sounding guitars and a roll call of drug choices before the reflective, Jon Lord organ-styled dynamic up and down rifferama of Eros Blues. Matters are drawn to a close with Doomsday Doggerel, a good musical partner for the preceding Blood Red Regrets in its tone and 70s bluesy heaviness.
So, the Black Crowes rock’n’roll juggernaut rolls on. Time to dig out the bandanas, tight leather trousers and patchouli oil joss-sticks and warm the neck up for a bit of head-banging and air guitar!
