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The first part of the '70s decade was, for Southern Rock, the most intensely prolific historical period (one that had Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers Band as its real crown jewels...), leaving the bands at the forefront (with 38 Special, Charlie Daniels Band, and Outlaws catering to all tastes) of the second part of the decade, the credit for transforming and personalizing the roots of a sound deliberately indebted to English rock and white blues that found fertile ground in the land of Albion between the mid-'60s and the end of the same decade. The '80s (for many, senseless and devoid of newness for the genre) saw a large number of bands (among which Molly Hatchet gained the most resonance, but also Rossington Collins Band and Stillwater, and if one wants to be broad-minded, why not consider Blackfoot as well) that managed to keep the interest alive in a sound so naturally raw and proudly symbolized by the waving of the Rebel Flag.
However, it may be the last glimpse of the second millennium that simultaneously represents a revival and growth of the southern rock capable of shining once more as it deserved, also through (and as one almost no longer expected) The Black Crowes. The band was led by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, who grew up with vinyl records of the Rolling Stones and Humble Pie, among others, and with a great love for the seventies, they managed to create a burning sound mixture that finds in the bare and raw riff the winning weapon of a striking ensemble sound.
With the dawn of 1990, the band from Atlanta boldly released "Shake Your Money Maker", their first ambitious recording step. The music that emerges is of great impact, a successful attempt to revive the origins on which rock'n'roll has always thrived. And if "Twice As Hard" also shows some Zeppelin-like aspirations, "Thick n' Thin" seems to be born of repeated listening to "Exile on Main Street", which every good rocker turns to when they feel like getting their blood flowing again. Following the apparent boogie of "Could I've Been so Blind", which succeeds well as a middle track, is the bluesy composure of "Seeing Things", while the fervor and riff of "Struttin' Blues" simultaneously recall the robustness of the Young brothers.
We are absolutely not just talking about simple replicants driven by an irrepressible desire for revival; the class is all there and can be perceived with a naked ear. The love for the idols with which the Robinson brothers grew up has been absorbed and reworked according to a modern taste with the original DNA present in all the tracks. A journey aimed at distinguishing a creative process far from a predictable nostalgia operation, resulting in the biting "Jealous Again" (chosen as the first single, not by chance), but also with the gentle "She Talks to Angels", which can even draw in the most distracted listener into a seductive universe of pleasure, into which one can be carried only through good music, never absent even in the necessary tribute to the late Otis Redding with a successful rendition of "Hard to Handle".
Forty-five minutes of high caloric power that mostly feeds on the musical abc generated during those two magical decades (the '60s and '70s, if anyone still had doubts) that to this day have proven to be the most experimental and creative for all the rock that came after. Five American freaks capable of entering the music world with an honest, perhaps not perfect, release, but one that warmly pays homage to the past, proving to be a product of its time, where the sound allows the heart to take the place of the sheet music.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Jealous Again (04:34)
Cheat the odds that made you brave to try to gamble at times
Well I feel like dirty laundry sending sickness on down the line
Tell you why
'Cause I'm jealous, jealous again
Thought it time I let you in
Yeah, I'm jealous, jealous again
Got no time, baby
Always drunk on Sunday, trying to feel like I'm at home
Smell the gasoline burning, boys out feeling nervous and cold
Oh yeah
I'm jealous, jealous again
Thought it time I let you in
Jealous, jealous again
Got no time, baby
Stop, understand me
I ain't afraid of losing face
Stop, understand me
I ain't afraid of ever losing faith in you
Never felt like smiling sugar wanna' kill me yet
Find me loose lipped and laughing, singing songs ain't got no regrets
Oh yeah
I'm jealous, jealous again
Thought it time I let you in
Jealous, yeah, I'm jealous again
Got no time, baby
Stop, understand me
I ain't afraid of losing face
Stop, understand me
I ain't afraid of ever losing faith in you
Don't you think I want to, don't you think I would
Don't you think I'd tell you baby if I only could
Am I acting crazy, am I just too proud
Am I just plain lazy, am I, am I, am I, am I
Jealous, jealous again
Thought it time that I let you in
Jealous, jealous again
Got no time to let you in
Oh yeah, I'm jealous, jealous again
Got no time now to let you in
Jealous, yeah, jealous again
Got no time, baby
Oh yeah
03 Sister Luck (05:13)
Worried sick my eyes are hurting
To rest my head I'd take a life
Outside the girls are dancing
'Cause when you're down it just don't seem right
Feeling second fiddle to a dead man
Up to my neck with your disregard
Like a beat dog that's walking on the broadway
No one wants to hear you when you're down
Sister luck is screaming out
Somebody else's name
Sister luck is screaming out
Somebody else's name
A flip of a coin
Might make a head turn
No surprise, who sleeps
Held my hand over a candle
Flame burnin' but I never weep
Sister luck is screaming out
Somebody else's name
Sister luck is screaming out
Somebody else's name
What a shame
(Repeat 2nd Chorus)
04 Could I've Been So Blind (03:44)
How could I've been so blind
So empty that I've never felt warm
Can I spell it out
Turn myself out of my home
Lookin' like a fool
Feelin' even worse than it seems
Tryin' hard as nails
Believin' only in myself
And now it looks like innocence is gone
I know right and I know what's wrong
Feeling lonely that's the way it goes
Sometimes
But my greatest fear
Paint a smile from ear to ear
Alone and cryin'
Living like this is no better than dying
I tell you baby things are gonna' change
Looking like we were caught out in the rain
Feeling lonely
That's the way it goes
Sometimes
Chorus:
Could I ever have been so blind
Could I ever have been so blind
Could I ever have been so blind
Could I ever have been so blind
Solo
Could I ever have been so blind
Could I ever have been so blind
Hardest thing I ever had to do
Was stand up straight and tell it all to you
Look you right in the eye
Tell you baby sorry but I have lied
And now it looks like innocence is gone
I know right and I know what's wrong
Feeling lonely that's the way it goes
Sometimes
(Repeat Chorus 4 times)
05 Seeing Things (05:18)
I find it hard to shed a tear
You brought it all on yourself my dear
Wrong, yes I may be
Don't leave a light on for me
'Cause I ain't comin' home
It hurts me baby to be alone
Yes, it hurts me baby
A hundred years will never ease
Hearing things I won't believe
I saw it with my own two eyes
All the pain that I can't hide
And this pain starts in my heart
And this love tears us apart
You won't find me bent down on my knees
Ain't bendin' over backwards baby
Not to please
'Cause I'm seeing things for the first time
I'm seeing things for the first time, oh yeah
I'm seeing things for the first time
In my life, in my life
I used to dream
Of better days that never came
Sorry ain't nothin' to me
I'm gone and that's the way it must be
So please I've done my time
Lovin' you is such a crime
You won't fine me down on, on my knees
Won't fine me over backwards baby
Just to please
'Cause I'm seeing things for the first time
I"m seeing things for the first time
Seeing things for the first time
Oh I'm seeing things for the first time
Yeah, seeing things for the first time
I'm seeing things for the first time
Yeah, I'm seeing things for the first time
In my life, in my life
06 Hard to Handle (03:07)
Baby, here I am, I'm a man on the scene
I can give you what you want, but you got to come home with me
I forgot some good old lovin' and I got some more in store
When I get through throwin' it on you, you got to come back for more
Boys and things that come by the dozen
That ain't nothin' but drugstore lovin'
Hey little thing let me light your candle
'Cause mama I'm sure hard to handle now
Yes around
Action speaks louder than words and I'm a man of great experience
I know you got another man but I can love you better than him
Take my hand, don't be afraid, I'm gonna prove every word I say
I'm advertising love for free, so you can place your ad with me
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen
That ain't nothing but ten cent lovin'
Hey little thing let me light your candle
'Cause mama I'm sure hard to handle now
Yes around
Yeah, hard to handle now, oh baby
Baby, here I am, I'm a man on your scene
I can give you what you want, but you got to come home with me
I forgot some good old lovin' and I got some more in store
When I get through throwin' it on you, you got to come a-runnin' back for more
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen
That ain't nothing but drug store lovin'
Hey little thing let me light your candle
'Cause mama I'm sure hard to handle now
Yes around
Hard, hard to handle now, oh yeah
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen
That ain't nothing but ten cent lovin'
Hey little thing let me light your candle
'Cause mama I'm sure hard to handle now
Yes around
07 Thick n' Thin (02:44)
Got a chainsaw buzzin'
Who's that cussin'
Eyes start blinkin'
The boys all start their wishing
Left holdin' the bag again
Buring it at both ends
Don't believe she's a friend
Chorus:
Thick, thick & thin
Let it loose now, let it go to the wind
Got my clock tock tickin'
Hear the madame start bitchin'
See the boys itch itchin'
Do girls ever know what they're missin'
But it sounds like shit to me
Last laugh mine will be
I don't believe she is clean
Chorus:
Thick, baby, yeah, thick & thin
08 She Talks to Angels (05:29)
She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family
She paints her eyes as black as night, now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah, she gives a smile when the pain comes
The pain's gonna make everything alright
Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes, the hair is from a little boy
And the cross is someone she has not met, not yet
Says she talks to angels
Says they all know her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
She don't know no lover
None that I ever seen
Yeah, to her that ain't nothing
But to me, yeah me
It means everything
She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
Oh yeah, there's a smile when the pain comes,
The pain's gonna make everything alright, alright yeah
She talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
Oh yeah-eah-eah, angels
Call her out by her name
Oh-ooh-oh-oh angels
They call her out by her name
Oh-oh, she talks to angels
They call her out
Yeah-eah-eah, they call her out
Don't you know that they call her out by her name?
10 Stare It Cold (05:14)
Under the weather
I never got better
Wrapped up in my disease
Mile away, she want to count my day
Look a little older in the light
Under the weather
Feelin' very heavy
Never up for no air
Sea legs start to wigglin'
And sick I'm still feelin'
Just know I never cared
Don't you want to feel it
Don't you want to stare it cold
Don't you want to feel it
Don't you want to stare it cold
Never thought about it
And never no questions
Seein' where I've gone wrong
No kiss made it magic
'Cause that old girl has had it
Then it's time for me to run along
(Repeat Chorus 4 times)
(Repeat verse 1)
(Repeat Chorus 4 times)
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Other reviews
By shooting star
From the first notes of the distorted guitar in "Twice As Hard," it is clear that the group is not used to frills but to a raw, hard, and especially direct style.
The gem of this album, and one of the most beautiful songs in their entire discography, is "She Talks To Angels," where acoustic guitar and organ transport the listener on a decadent yet profound journey.
By Karter4
Shake Your Money Maker is one of the few albums that enter not just my brain but also my heart.
The Black Crowes offer an essential rock, raw, hard, yet easy to listen to for everyone.
By LendryWhite
"Shake Your Money Maker is one of those albums I would definitely take to a desert island and never tire of listening to."
"It manages to combine in a rather original mix, genres like Blues, rock, and hard rock, all spiced with a bit of American Spirit."
