The Black Crowes' time would, it seems, be now.
Thanks to Chris Robinson's marriage to Kate Hudson ("Almost Famous"), two well-attended tours and a two-CD live set with Jimmy Page, a new label (V2 Records) and a summer shed tour with Oasis, the band's profile is higher than it's been in years. All of which is good, because the band's sales have been slumping since its third CD, 1994's "amorica."
Do the Crowes follow through? Yes. "Lions" is the band's best CD in ages, a 13-song Southern-fried carnival ride of muscular blues-rock riffs, R&B, gospel, a little folkish strumming, and psychedelic textures and motifs right out of late-period Beatles.
It's not that the Crowes (now Robinson, lead guitarist/brother Rich, keyboardist Ed Harsch, drummer Steve Gorman and guitarist Audley Freed) are doing anything THAT different — they've been making a stew out of the above ingredients since their debut CD in 1990.
Rather, "Lions" succeeds because they simply sound as though they're trying harder: From the upbeat neo-boogie of "Lickin"' to the gospelish "Soul Singing" to any number of songs that combine elements of funk and swaggering rock, the songs on "Lions" feel more complete.
The Page/Led Zeppelin influence is noticeable on several judiciously placed string sections and Rich Robinson's soloing on "Greasy Grass River," for example, and "Cypress Tree" marries a gentle strum to monster, climbing guitar riffs. While the band's last CD, "By Your Side," was certainly enjoyable enough, "Lions" trumps it with numerous songs that merge looseness and a live feel with a greater sense of wholeness, as if these songs were both off the cuff and carefully constructed.
And Chris Robinson is clearly in love — his happiness is all over "Lickin"' and the sweet "Miracle to Me" (which with any luck should be played at weddings from now on) and "Soul Singing," all three of which are among the best songs this band has ever cut. Now more than ever, the Black Crowes sound like a classic American rock 'n' roll band, not just a band with a bunch of classic influences. The comeback begins here.