Two Sides Of The Same Soul (from the album network: http://www.albumnetwork.com/netmags/gocomtoc.htm) Brothers Chris And Rich Robinson Offer Their Own Insights Into The Unleashing Of Lions By Jeff Silberman "For whatever reason, we've been pigeonholed over the years as either a classic rock band, a Southern rock band or whatever, ever since day one," states Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson. "It makes it easier for [labels] to sell you somehow, but it also turns around and slaps you in the face six months later if you allow yourself to be labeled. We really have been an island unto ourselves for 12 years now and we've never really put out records that have been fad-ish." Indeed, The Black Crowes have stayed true to themselves over the course of a half-dozen albums, yet in a sense, their most popular tracks have overshadowed the breadth of their musical terrain. The true diversity and color of their music gets its best showcase yet in their latest effort, Lions, on V2 Records. The blues and R&B roots of their passionate brand of rock is spiked with tasty shots of reggae, soul and folk. Combine the raw power of "Midnight From The Inside Out" with the soulful inflections in "Greasy Grass River" and "Soul Singin,'" the fresh-sounding Zep riffs in "Cosmic Friend" and the intoxicating melodic twists of "Lickin'"--artfully captured by producer Don Was--and you have a classic Black Crowes album that is still fresh and unique. "People ask us what kind of music we play," the guitarist says. "Now we say we play Black Crowes music. To get even more general than that, it's soul music--which doesn't necessarily mean it's R&B, it's just music from and for the soul." Hitting Musical Chairs In a sense, the Crowes' new record sounds particularly distinctive in a radio environment swamped with an influx of "angry young man" extreme rock and rap/punk hybrids. Singer Chris Robinson admits that the Crowes are a different animal. "That music really doesn't inspire me or knock me out," he says. "It's not that I'm not open to [the latest rock trends] or that I don't keep an ear open, I'm just interested in different things. Music is an all-consuming passion in my life and I listen to so much--I like hip-hop records and the rock that tends to be country/psychedelic/pop music from California or something. Right now I don't hear a lot of stuff [on the radio] with a lot of soul. The current music today is like professional wrestling and we're playing soccer; it's the World Cup in our world, but the rest of the world is hitting people with folding chairs, which is cool, but our music comes from a different place. We're just influenced by more R&B and funk than we are by heavy metal and pap. "Our music doesn't come from looking at the competition," Chris continues. "We're trying to make the most soulful, interesting rock & roll music that we can with the tools we feel comfortable expressing ourselves [with] and that's what you get. This record is an accumulation of experience, the things that happen in your career, which are things that happen in your life. Within that, I think Lions is easily the best record that we've ever made, but we approached every record the same way. It's just that the time, different situations, producers and places in our lives are all a little different." These songs come before anything else. That's the reason we continue to humiliate ourselves and go through this whole fuckin' thing--[for] the privilege to express ourselves, talk about this life and the things we go through. --Chris Robinson What It Was... So what made Lions stand out? Rich credits working with producer Don Was. "Don was like, 'Make the record you want to make and I'll help you make it,'" he recalls. "It was a really pleasant experience: 'This is cool; let's focus more on this,' instead of just saying, 'No, that sucks, let's just fuckin' do this.' It was definitely more conducive to being creative and being who we've always wanted to be. Plus, he went back, listened to our records and really focused on the positive element of the fact that we've changed with every [release]. And it hasn't been a conscious change--it's just been the way music goes through us in a weird way." Chris also points to his songwriting relationship with brother Rich. "Rich and I really communicated on a different level on this album," he says. "The last few years have found us getting closer and being able to deal with each other better and write some really good songs. With this record, we really got deeper into that and expressed ourselves more clearly and the most honestly. When we were finishing up the recording, it was like, wow, that was quite an experience. But the last year or so has been quite an experience anyway." Turning A Page The Crowes' biggest musical experience over the past year was their tour with Jimmy Page. "After being in this band for so long, to go out not only to play someone else's music, but to play and get inside Jimmy's music, was a different place for us," Chris says. "It gave us a new place to approach our music. Our tours and musical experiences had all been based around our music and experimenting within that. Then we got to be Led Zeppelin for a summer, [which] was cool. It was just nice to see how someone else does it and to see their dynamics. If you're open to those things, you're going to learn something." "Touring with Jimmy, if anything, helped me realize what I do or what the band does," Rich affirms. "It helped us get to a level where a Black Crowes record doesn't sound like anyone but us. So, in a weird way, playing with Jimmy and picking his songs made what we do very obvious and helped me and Chris move forward in the songwriting. And Lions is a pretty forward record for us." Yet Rich asserts that Page didn't overtly influence his songwriting, even though a song like "Cosmic Friend" sounds worthy of being included on Houses Of The Holy. "'Cosmic Friend' is such a bizarre song [with] a weird time signature and reggae elements," he says. "To me it has has nothing to do with Jimmy, but everyone hears what they hear differently. People hear what they want to hear, but when I wrote those songs, they came from a completely different place." However, Chris offers a slightly different perspective: "Jimmy's always been an influence on Rich, which shows on a lot of our records," he says. "And you can't escape the fact that when you're on the same stage every night with the guy, you're gonna pick up some things." It Takes A "Lickin'"... Meanwhile, back at the new album, the wide variety of sounds offered by the Black Crowes has made the choice of debut track to radio less than easy. Should they go with the classic Crowes' sound in "Come On," or something a bit different? The answer seems to be the latter, as "Lickin'" should be smoldering on your desks as you read this. What's more, the brothers Robinson claim to have little interest in whatever is considered to be their "classic" sound or if it'll fit in with current radio trends. "Anything [on Lions] could be considered a typical Black Crowes track, so I really don't know what [a "classic Black Crowes song"] mean," Chris says. "If anything, I think 'Lickin'" is perfect, because there's a lot of music in our catalog that hasn't been represented on the radio." As far as fitting in with the current radio mentality goes, "Who fuckin' knows what they're playing?" Rich wonders aloud. "It seems that it changes from day to day. I'm still a believer that I can only write music that means something to me. I can't guess what millions of people, or even a thousand people, are going to like. As an 'artist,' or whatever you call yourself, you have to write what makes you feel good. You have to write what expresses how you're feeling; that's a really personal thing. Then, if people like it, great. If they don't, well that sucks, but it is what it is." But They Keep On Tickin'... So The Black Crowes carry on, kings of their own rock jungle. While they'd love to be more popular, they're not about to sell out for it. "A lot of bands came and went because couldn't deal with [mass success]," Chris says. "I would love more people to be into our music. We've always made records to try to have hit records, it's just we're not going to change what we're about just because everybody else did. Music is sacred to us and it's always been that way. "The commitment we made to making music is far greater than putting a price on what beauty or what freedom means to us," he continues. "Our goals have pretty much stayed the same: These songs come before anything else. That's the reason we continue to humiliate ourselves and go through this whole fuckin' thing--[for] the privilege to express ourselves, talk about this life and the things we go through. Music really is an intricate part of our daily lives; it's how we see things--the people we love and the people we hate." "What is success? Being around for this long and being able to do what we do is success," Rich adds. "Have we sold 60 million records? No. It would be great for us to sell millions of records, but on our own merit." More Than Almost Famous Of course, Chris Robinson also achieved considerable notoriety of late when he tied the knot with Oscar-nominated actress Kate Hudson (what, you think we'd do an entire story and not bring this up?). All of a sudden, Chris and his young bride's lives have been fodder for several tabloid exposes. But if it's not about the music, that kind of notoriety is essentially meaningless. As Chris notes, "I've never let other people's shit bother me and it's not ever going to bother my wife and I."