The brothers Robinson, of Black Crowes fame, put together a disc that is truly increible. Culled from a 3-night sold out stand at The Roxy in LA. Featuring a first time ever acoustic mix of Black Crowes favorites, rarities, solo material, new songs and covers, the CD captures the intimacy of the performances from the brothers never before captured on tape. I was fortunate enough to catch them for a Brothers of a Feather show at the Variety Playhouse several months ago and it was a flawless show.
An Athens band that has paid their dues, I'm not sure why it took me so long to give these guys a chance. This album really caught my ear and has trapped me as a fan. The ballads of the blue-collar are treated with beauty and thoughtfulness, story-telling worthy of Dylan, Southern rock achieves a legitimacy deeper and more meaningful than Van Zandt's, angrily voiced, yet always supported by a heartbreaking sincerity only derived by rote. You can taste the stale smoke, cheap American beer, and sweat-infused dive in each applause and grumbling of the sun-burnt, five o'clock shadowed, slightly-tanked, everyman of this nation, big of heart, but perpetually ready to swing at any and every adversity. A veneration everything that is male, tales of social frictions and ultimate redemption, these are the anthems of Americana.
Stephen Stills found himself in a New York recording studio, laid down a few hundred dollars, told the engineer to roll tape, and this collection of songs is what came about. Finally remastered and released to the public, this album shows the beginnings of Crosby, Still, and Nash. Recorded in April of 1968 when Stills was just 23, "Just Roll Tape" is a tremendous set that shows Stills at the peak of his song-writing prowess.
