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Lions (album)

Lions is the sixth studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. It was released in 2001 as their first album on V2 Records following their departure from Columbia, and is their only studio album to feature guitarist Audley Freed. Lions was recorded in New York City in January and February of that year, and was produced by Don Was. Bass guitar duties were shared by Rich Robinson and Was, as Greg Rzab had left the band and was not replaced until the tour that followed the release of the album.

Lions
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 7, 2001
RecordedJanuary–February 2001 at Montana Rehearsal Studios and Theater 99 Recording in New York City
GenreSouthern rock, blues rock, hard rock
Length55:09
LabelV2
ProducerDon Was
The Black Crowes chronology
By Your Side
(1999)
Lions
(2001)
Warpaint
(2008)
Singles from Lions
  1. "Lickin'"
    Released: May 14, 2001 (UK)
  2. "Soul Singing"
    Released: July 23, 2001 (UK)

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at its peak position of 20, selling more than 53,000 copies in its first week. Lions received mixed reviews; although the overall sound of the album generally garnered praise, a frequent complaint was the lack of "memorable" songs. The critics who rated Lions lowest considered it a poor imitation of the band's influences, such as Led Zeppelin.

The band supported Lions with two North American tours (one with Oasis co-headlining), and a short tour of Europe and Japan in between. Soundboard recordings of several concerts were available for download to those who owned the album. Following the tour, the band went on hiatus until 2005.

Background edit

The Black Crowes began writing songs for the follow-up to their 1999 album By Your Side as free agents, having left Columbia Records through a loophole in their contract.[1] The decision to leave was driven by Columbia's promotion of By Your Side. According to band member Rich Robinson, "That record was destined to fail because ... [Columbia executives] just said, 'It's not going to do well ... It's no use wasting time or money.' "[1] The band also was frustrated by the label's request for albums sounding similar to their first, 1990's Shake Your Money Maker.[2]

In late 1999, lead vocalist Chris Robinson began a relationship with Kate Hudson, which would influence subtly the lyrics on Lions. The pair met at a Friday night party in Manhattan, which led to a Saturday stroll through Central Park and a Sunday move-in.[3] Their wedding at the Aspen, Colorado, ranch of Kurt Russell and Kate's mother, Goldie Hawn, followed on December 31, 2000.[1]

Before the 2000 tour with Jimmy Page, bassist Sven Pipien was fired after arriving late for a performance and missing the return flight. Rich said it was not enough to warrant termination, but Pipien's defensiveness when confronted about the incident was too much to handle. Greg Rzab and Andy Hess were considered as replacements; the band chose Rzab because he had more touring experience than Hess.[4] Rzab, however, departed before the recording of Lions.

In mid-2000, the band signed with Richard Branson's V2 Records.[5] Rich explained, "The cool thing about V2, the reason that we chose them, is that they told us, 'You guys go make the record you want to make. Then give it to us and we'll sell it.' That's what we needed to hear."[2] The freedom V2 afforded through its hands-off approach influenced not only the music, but the album title as well. According to Chris, "Lions is a symbol that stands for the fierce feeling and freedom that music allows you."[6]

Writing and production edit

Chris Robinson granted that the experience of playing Led Zeppelin songs with Jimmy Page influenced Lions, but not on a song-by-song basis. "Led Zeppelin's music is very dramatic and very dynamic. That's something we've attempted to do with our style also. I think it definitely affected how we make our music."[7] Funk and R&B were bigger influences than on past albums,[7] and "Miracle to Me" was influenced by Nick Drake.[2]

Chris claimed Kate Hudson's influence on his lyrics was subtle: "More so than a literal reference to her, it's the vantage point from where I'm writing. It's the reasons that I'm singing and it's the feeling. That is an influence far greater than the literal influence." He did grant, however, that "Soul Singing" and "Miracle to Me" were written with Hudson in mind, and explained that the album's track order roughly follows a path from confusion to clarity that mirrored his own.[1] Producer Don Was said of Chris, "I realized he was taking on something that was significant. He was writing about becoming a man ... There's a lot of old man/young man symbolism that's a self-conversation ... I don't know that anyone has actually chronicled being 33 [years old] as well as this album."[6]

Heated discussions during the writing of Lions were rare, owing to the Robinson brothers' usual method in which Rich writes the music and Chris writes the lyrics.[2] "Soul Singing" was the only song to cause disagreement; "I'd written this part where although the vocals changed the music stayed the same throughout. I thought we should add something or just not finish it, but Chris thought it was already a song, and a good one. So we talked about that one for a while", Rich recalled.[8]

The Black Crowes had previously sent Was demos to interest him in producing By Your Side, but Was believed the demos were good enough to be the album. Columbia Records disagreed with Was' assessment, however, leading to Kevin Shirley's hiring.[4] With complete artistic control under V2 Records, the band was free to hire Was for Lions. Recording took place in January and February 2001 at Montana Rehearsal Studios and Theater 99 Recording in New York City.[9] The recording sessions progressed as smoothly as the writing; only "Come On" caused conflict between the band and Was. Rich acknowledged, "We must have recorded 'Come On' about five times in different ways ... Then [Was] just took it away with him and came back with this different mix", which impressed the band, leading to its inclusion on the album.[8] The band ultimately was satisfied by the recording experience, finding that Was was devoted to helping realize their vision for the album rather than imposing his own.[2]

The sessions were recorded on tape and Pro-Tools simultaneously; the band ultimately chose to use the tape version, as they preferred its sound quality.[10] Most songs were recorded live with the band members playing together in one room,[5] and microphones set up to capture the overall sound rather than that of individual instruments.[11] Was felt this approach best approximated the feel of a Black Crowes concert, later noting that the Lions songs debuted at a private show in February 2001 "sounded exactly like the record."[11] Most of the recordings that comprise the album were recorded during preproduction, the purpose of which was to test arrangements. "[W]e didn't think we were recording the record. And it turned out to be great" said Rich.[12] Audley Freed played guitar on only three tracks because Rich did not want "the meat of the song, which is the riff", to get lost in a "wall of sound".[13] Though Rich brought his entire collection of guitars and a number of amplifiers, he mostly recorded with a 1954 Fender Esquire through a Harry Joyce amp. To achieve a resonator-like tone on "Soul Singing", he used a James Trussart metal-bodied electric.[14] The distinctive guitar riff on "Lickin'" was achieved by Rich using the pickup selector on a Les Paul as a kill switch - by turning down the volume on the neck pickup and then switching between the bridge and neck pickups he was able to achieve a staccato effect when playing the riff with just his fretting hand. Since Andy Hess did not join The Black Crowes until the above private show,[15] the band did not have a bassist during the recording sessions; Rich thus played bass on most tracks.[5] On "Lay It All on Me", however, Rich played piano, leaving the bass guitar duties to Don Was.[4]

A total of 20 songs were recorded during the Lions sessions. Of the seven cut from the album, four were mixed and mastered for potential release; three ("Last Time Again," "Love Is Now" and "Sleepyheads") appeared as B-sides, and the other ("The Pretty Gurl Song") circulates on a bootleg recording.[9]

Promotion and release edit

Soon after the Lions sessions, V2 Records threw a "completion party" at The Bank in New York City, at which The Black Crowes performed four songs from the new album, five songs from their catalog and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well".[15] The band then played scattered dates in the U.S. and UK, including an appearance on Later... with Jools Holland,[16] ahead of Lions' release. During this sequence of concerts, every song from the album was performed except "Losing My Mind" and "Ozone Mama"; the remaining two would be played on the album-supporting tour.[17][18]

Lions was released on May 7, 2001, in the UK and a day later in the U.S.; it subsequently debuted at its peak position of number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart,[19] and sold over 53,000 copies in its first week.[20] As of January 2002, the album had sold 192,000 copies in the U.S.[21]

Around the album's release, band members made numerous promotional appearances. Chris Robinson guested on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the day before the album was released in the U.S.,[22] and Chris and Steve Gorman appeared on The Howard Stern Show the following day.[23] The band performed "Soul Singing" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 10,[24] and was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk four days later.[25] A second late night television performance of "Soul Singing" took place on June 6, this time on the Late Show with David Letterman.[26]

"Lickin'" was the first single from the album; it peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks on May 19.[27] The song's promotional video was a compilation of various takes of a static, low-angle shot of the band performing the song on a tiny stage. Second single "Soul Singing" peaked at number 12 on the same chart on August 18;[28] its promotional video featured the band playing in a grassy field as the sun rises in the sky. A third single, "Miracle to Me", was canceled,[29] but not before a promotional video was shot of the band ostensibly recording the song in a studio. Videos also were filmed for "Come On", "Greasy Grass River" and "Cypress Tree". Despite not playing on the album, Andy Hess appears in some of these videos, all of which are available as streaming media on the band's official website.

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic50/100[30]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [31]
dotmusic     [32]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[33]
The Gazette    [34]
Herald Sun     [35]
NME1/10[36]
Playlouder     [37]
Rolling Stone     [38]
Sonicnet     [39]
Wall of Sound53/100[30]

Media reviews of Lions were mixed. Numerous writers detected a Led Zeppelin influence (which was praised by some,[39][40][41] but panned by others)[42] and attributed it to The Black Crowes' recent tour with Jimmy Page.[42][43][44] Dave McKenna, writing for The Washington Post, compared Steve Gorman's drumming to that of John Bonham and found analogs to specific guitar and keyboard tones in Led Zeppelin albums.[41] Nigel Williamson of The Times found similarities in Chris Robinson's voice on "Come On" to that of Robert Plant, and wrote that the song "could almost be a Led Zeppelin II cast off."[43] Other reviewers noted similarities to Aerosmith;[42] Howard Cohen of The Miami Herald called "Lickin'" "the best Aerosmith single that band hasn't recorded in years."[40] The perceived lack of originality, though, turned off some critics. The Herald Sun's Andrew McUtchen inferred "The Black Crowes are unaware it's no longer the '70s and after one listen to Lions ... it's clear someone should tell them."[35] Everett True of Playlouder concurred, writing "It's blindingly obvious the Crowes are imitators, and always will be",[37] though Elysa Gardner, writing for USA Today, recognized the band "exhibit an energy and dexterity that compensate—at least somewhat—for their lack of invention."[45]

Many reviewers praised the sound of Lions but felt the songs were weak.[31][34][44] Writing for dotmusic, John Mulvey highlighted the "gutsy, no-messing sound", but appreciated "Cosmic Friend" for being "as impressively mad as you'd hope, too, beginning like Beatles psychedelia, taking in massive Brazilian drumming and a touch of pedal steel, before coalescing into furious heavy rock."[32] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Lions as a "powerful, textured hard rock record that covers a lot of ground, surging from powerful riffs to gospel choruses and funkier-than-expected riffs", though he also complained that "the songs can seem incomplete."[31] Critics disagreed on which songs were lacking, though. "Losing My Mind" and "Young Man, Old Man" were called "highlights" by Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun,[44] though elsewhere the former was called "woeful"[42] and the latter a "'Freddie's Dead' vamp" that should have been skipped.[46]

The lyrics of Lions were another target for the critics. Mark Beaumont of NME stated that the eloquence ends at the "Come awn come awn!/Everyone!" chorus of "Come On",[36] and Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club bemoaned that "hoary tropes abound".[47]

Concert tours edit

Shortly after the release of Lions, The Black Crowes and Oasis, with opening band Spacehog, embarked on a co-headlining tour of North American theaters and amphitheaters.[48] The Black Crowes had previously met Liam and Noel Gallagher and hit it off; "... so we called them and asked them if they were interested [in touring together]. And so they were like, 'Yeah, we'd love to!'" said Rich.[4] The Black Crowes performed last each night, and their seventy-five-minute set always included numerous songs from Lions. Members of Oasis typically would join them for an encore cover such as "Lucifer Sam",[49] "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"[50] or "Road Runner".[51]

The Black Crowes followed the tour with one-off dates and festivals across Europe and Japan, including shows opening for Neil Young.[52] Most of these shows, as well as most of the dates with Oasis, were made available by V2 Records as soundboard recordings. With Lions loaded in a CD-ROM drive, one could stream each show, as well as download one live track per week and one show in its entirety.[20]

Following a month-long break, the group returned to the road in late August for their Listen Massive Tour, with Beachwood Sparks as the opening band. The tour was billed as a return to two-hour shows featuring a rotating set list.[53] The September 11 show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles was canceled, but the band performed the next evening in Tucson, Arizona, as scheduled. All profits and merchandise sales from the following week's three shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York City were donated to the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund and the New York City Public/Private Initiative.[54] While in New York City, Chris and Rich performed "By Your Side" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[55] The Listen Massive Tour concluded with a 140-minute show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 31.[56] This would be Andy Hess and Audley Freed's last show as band members, as The Black Crowes went on hiatus shortly thereafter.

Track listing edit

All songs written by Rich and Chris Robinson.

  1. "Midnight from the Inside Out" – 4:21
  2. "Lickin'" – 3:42
  3. "Come On" – 2:58
  4. "No Use Lying" – 4:57
  5. "Losing My Mind" – 4:26
  6. "Ozone Mama" – 3:54
  7. "Greasy Grass River" – 3:20
  8. "Soul Singing" – 3:54
  9. "Miracle to Me" – 4:42
  10. "Young Man, Old Man" – 4:14
  11. "Cosmic Friend" – 5:23
  12. "Cypress Tree" – 3:41
  13. "Lay It All on Me" – 5:29
Japanese version
  1. "Love Is Now" – 4:22

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[58] 74
Canada Billboard Top Canadian Albums[59] 20
Dutch Albums Chart[60] 78
France Album Chart[61] 141
Germany Album Chart[62] 66
Scottish Albums Chart[63] 30
Sweden Album Chart[64] 51
UK Albums Chart[65] 37
US Billboard 200[66] 20
US Billboard Top Internet Albums[67] 8

References edit

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External links edit

lions, album, lions, sixth, studio, album, american, rock, band, black, crowes, released, 2001, their, first, album, records, following, their, departure, from, columbia, their, only, studio, album, feature, guitarist, audley, freed, lions, recorded, york, cit. Lions is the sixth studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes It was released in 2001 as their first album on V2 Records following their departure from Columbia and is their only studio album to feature guitarist Audley Freed Lions was recorded in New York City in January and February of that year and was produced by Don Was Bass guitar duties were shared by Rich Robinson and Was as Greg Rzab had left the band and was not replaced until the tour that followed the release of the album LionsStudio album by The Black CrowesReleasedMay 7 2001RecordedJanuary February 2001 at Montana Rehearsal Studios and Theater 99 Recording in New York CityGenreSouthern rock blues rock hard rockLength55 09LabelV2ProducerDon WasThe Black Crowes chronologyBy Your Side 1999 Lions 2001 Warpaint 2008 Singles from Lions Lickin Released May 14 2001 UK Soul Singing Released July 23 2001 UK The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at its peak position of 20 selling more than 53 000 copies in its first week Lions received mixed reviews although the overall sound of the album generally garnered praise a frequent complaint was the lack of memorable songs The critics who rated Lions lowest considered it a poor imitation of the band s influences such as Led Zeppelin The band supported Lions with two North American tours one with Oasis co headlining and a short tour of Europe and Japan in between Soundboard recordings of several concerts were available for download to those who owned the album Following the tour the band went on hiatus until 2005 Contents 1 Background 2 Writing and production 3 Promotion and release 4 Critical reception 5 Concert tours 6 Track listing 7 Personnel 8 Charts 9 References 10 External linksBackground editThe Black Crowes began writing songs for the follow up to their 1999 album By Your Side as free agents having left Columbia Records through a loophole in their contract 1 The decision to leave was driven by Columbia s promotion of By Your Side According to band member Rich Robinson That record was destined to fail because Columbia executives just said It s not going to do well It s no use wasting time or money 1 The band also was frustrated by the label s request for albums sounding similar to their first 1990 s Shake Your Money Maker 2 In late 1999 lead vocalist Chris Robinson began a relationship with Kate Hudson which would influence subtly the lyrics on Lions The pair met at a Friday night party in Manhattan which led to a Saturday stroll through Central Park and a Sunday move in 3 Their wedding at the Aspen Colorado ranch of Kurt Russell and Kate s mother Goldie Hawn followed on December 31 2000 1 Before the 2000 tour with Jimmy Page bassist Sven Pipien was fired after arriving late for a performance and missing the return flight Rich said it was not enough to warrant termination but Pipien s defensiveness when confronted about the incident was too much to handle Greg Rzab and Andy Hess were considered as replacements the band chose Rzab because he had more touring experience than Hess 4 Rzab however departed before the recording of Lions In mid 2000 the band signed with Richard Branson s V2 Records 5 Rich explained The cool thing about V2 the reason that we chose them is that they told us You guys go make the record you want to make Then give it to us and we ll sell it That s what we needed to hear 2 The freedom V2 afforded through its hands off approach influenced not only the music but the album title as well According to Chris Lions is a symbol that stands for the fierce feeling and freedom that music allows you 6 Writing and production editChris Robinson granted that the experience of playing Led Zeppelin songs with Jimmy Page influenced Lions but not on a song by song basis Led Zeppelin s music is very dramatic and very dynamic That s something we ve attempted to do with our style also I think it definitely affected how we make our music 7 Funk and R amp B were bigger influences than on past albums 7 and Miracle to Me was influenced by Nick Drake 2 Chris claimed Kate Hudson s influence on his lyrics was subtle More so than a literal reference to her it s the vantage point from where I m writing It s the reasons that I m singing and it s the feeling That is an influence far greater than the literal influence He did grant however that Soul Singing and Miracle to Me were written with Hudson in mind and explained that the album s track order roughly follows a path from confusion to clarity that mirrored his own 1 Producer Don Was said of Chris I realized he was taking on something that was significant He was writing about becoming a man There s a lot of old man young man symbolism that s a self conversation I don t know that anyone has actually chronicled being 33 years old as well as this album 6 nbsp Soul Singing source source Chris believed Soul Singing sufficed with one instrumental section throughout Rich argued a second section was needed 8 This 23 second sample contains distinctly different verse and chorus thus Rich won the argument Problems playing this file See media help Heated discussions during the writing of Lions were rare owing to the Robinson brothers usual method in which Rich writes the music and Chris writes the lyrics 2 Soul Singing was the only song to cause disagreement I d written this part where although the vocals changed the music stayed the same throughout I thought we should add something or just not finish it but Chris thought it was already a song and a good one So we talked about that one for a while Rich recalled 8 The Black Crowes had previously sent Was demos to interest him in producing By Your Side but Was believed the demos were good enough to be the album Columbia Records disagreed with Was assessment however leading to Kevin Shirley s hiring 4 With complete artistic control under V2 Records the band was free to hire Was for Lions Recording took place in January and February 2001 at Montana Rehearsal Studios and Theater 99 Recording in New York City 9 The recording sessions progressed as smoothly as the writing only Come On caused conflict between the band and Was Rich acknowledged We must have recorded Come On about five times in different ways Then Was just took it away with him and came back with this different mix which impressed the band leading to its inclusion on the album 8 The band ultimately was satisfied by the recording experience finding that Was was devoted to helping realize their vision for the album rather than imposing his own 2 The sessions were recorded on tape and Pro Tools simultaneously the band ultimately chose to use the tape version as they preferred its sound quality 10 Most songs were recorded live with the band members playing together in one room 5 and microphones set up to capture the overall sound rather than that of individual instruments 11 Was felt this approach best approximated the feel of a Black Crowes concert later noting that the Lions songs debuted at a private show in February 2001 sounded exactly like the record 11 Most of the recordings that comprise the album were recorded during preproduction the purpose of which was to test arrangements W e didn t think we were recording the record And it turned out to be great said Rich 12 Audley Freed played guitar on only three tracks because Rich did not want the meat of the song which is the riff to get lost in a wall of sound 13 Though Rich brought his entire collection of guitars and a number of amplifiers he mostly recorded with a 1954 Fender Esquire through a Harry Joyce amp To achieve a resonator like tone on Soul Singing he used a James Trussart metal bodied electric 14 The distinctive guitar riff on Lickin was achieved by Rich using the pickup selector on a Les Paul as a kill switch by turning down the volume on the neck pickup and then switching between the bridge and neck pickups he was able to achieve a staccato effect when playing the riff with just his fretting hand Since Andy Hess did not join The Black Crowes until the above private show 15 the band did not have a bassist during the recording sessions Rich thus played bass on most tracks 5 On Lay It All on Me however Rich played piano leaving the bass guitar duties to Don Was 4 A total of 20 songs were recorded during the Lions sessions Of the seven cut from the album four were mixed and mastered for potential release three Last Time Again Love Is Now and Sleepyheads appeared as B sides and the other The Pretty Gurl Song circulates on a bootleg recording 9 Promotion and release editSoon after the Lions sessions V2 Records threw a completion party at The Bank in New York City at which The Black Crowes performed four songs from the new album five songs from their catalog and a cover of Fleetwood Mac s Oh Well 15 The band then played scattered dates in the U S and UK including an appearance on Later with Jools Holland 16 ahead of Lions release During this sequence of concerts every song from the album was performed except Losing My Mind and Ozone Mama the remaining two would be played on the album supporting tour 17 18 Lions was released on May 7 2001 in the UK and a day later in the U S it subsequently debuted at its peak position of number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart 19 and sold over 53 000 copies in its first week 20 As of January 2002 the album had sold 192 000 copies in the U S 21 Around the album s release band members made numerous promotional appearances Chris Robinson guested on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the day before the album was released in the U S 22 and Chris and Steve Gorman appeared on The Howard Stern Show the following day 23 The band performed Soul Singing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 10 24 and was inducted into Hollywood s RockWalk four days later 25 A second late night television performance of Soul Singing took place on June 6 this time on the Late Show with David Letterman 26 Lickin was the first single from the album it peaked at number 9 on Billboard s Mainstream Rock Tracks on May 19 27 The song s promotional video was a compilation of various takes of a static low angle shot of the band performing the song on a tiny stage Second single Soul Singing peaked at number 12 on the same chart on August 18 28 its promotional video featured the band playing in a grassy field as the sun rises in the sky A third single Miracle to Me was canceled 29 but not before a promotional video was shot of the band ostensibly recording the song in a studio Videos also were filmed for Come On Greasy Grass River and Cypress Tree Despite not playing on the album Andy Hess appears in some of these videos all of which are available as streaming media on the band s official website Critical reception editProfessional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingMetacritic50 100 30 Review scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 31 dotmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 32 Entertainment WeeklyC 33 The Gazette nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 34 Herald Sun nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 35 NME1 10 36 Playlouder nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 37 Rolling Stone nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 38 Sonicnet nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 39 Wall of Sound53 100 30 Media reviews of Lions were mixed Numerous writers detected a Led Zeppelin influence which was praised by some 39 40 41 but panned by others 42 and attributed it to The Black Crowes recent tour with Jimmy Page 42 43 44 Dave McKenna writing for The Washington Post compared Steve Gorman s drumming to that of John Bonham and found analogs to specific guitar and keyboard tones in Led Zeppelin albums 41 Nigel Williamson of The Times found similarities in Chris Robinson s voice on Come On to that of Robert Plant and wrote that the song could almost be a Led Zeppelin II cast off 43 Other reviewers noted similarities to Aerosmith 42 Howard Cohen of The Miami Herald called Lickin the best Aerosmith single that band hasn t recorded in years 40 The perceived lack of originality though turned off some critics The Herald Sun s Andrew McUtchen inferred The Black Crowes are unaware it s no longer the 70s and after one listen to Lions it s clear someone should tell them 35 Everett True of Playlouder concurred writing It s blindingly obvious the Crowes are imitators and always will be 37 though Elysa Gardner writing for USA Today recognized the band exhibit an energy and dexterity that compensate at least somewhat for their lack of invention 45 nbsp Young Man Old Man source source 25 second sample from Young Man Old Man containing portions of the introduction compared to Sympathy for the Devil by John Milward of Sonicnet 39 and the verse called a Freddie s Dead vamp by Teresa Gubbins of The Dallas Morning News 46 Problems playing this file See media help Many reviewers praised the sound of Lions but felt the songs were weak 31 34 44 Writing for dotmusic John Mulvey highlighted the gutsy no messing sound but appreciated Cosmic Friend for being as impressively mad as you d hope too beginning like Beatles psychedelia taking in massive Brazilian drumming and a touch of pedal steel before coalescing into furious heavy rock 32 Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Lions as a powerful textured hard rock record that covers a lot of ground surging from powerful riffs to gospel choruses and funkier than expected riffs though he also complained that the songs can seem incomplete 31 Critics disagreed on which songs were lacking though Losing My Mind and Young Man Old Man were called highlights by Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun 44 though elsewhere the former was called woeful 42 and the latter a Freddie s Dead vamp that should have been skipped 46 The lyrics of Lions were another target for the critics Mark Beaumont of NME stated that the eloquence ends at the Come awn come awn Everyone chorus of Come On 36 and Stephen Thompson of The A V Club bemoaned that hoary tropes abound 47 Concert tours editFurther information The Tour of Brotherly Love and Listen Massive Tour Shortly after the release of Lions The Black Crowes and Oasis with opening band Spacehog embarked on a co headlining tour of North American theaters and amphitheaters 48 The Black Crowes had previously met Liam and Noel Gallagher and hit it off so we called them and asked them if they were interested in touring together And so they were like Yeah we d love to said Rich 4 The Black Crowes performed last each night and their seventy five minute set always included numerous songs from Lions Members of Oasis typically would join them for an encore cover such as Lucifer Sam 49 Can t You Hear Me Knocking 50 or Road Runner 51 The Black Crowes followed the tour with one off dates and festivals across Europe and Japan including shows opening for Neil Young 52 Most of these shows as well as most of the dates with Oasis were made available by V2 Records as soundboard recordings With Lions loaded in a CD ROM drive one could stream each show as well as download one live track per week and one show in its entirety 20 Following a month long break the group returned to the road in late August for their Listen Massive Tour with Beachwood Sparks as the opening band The tour was billed as a return to two hour shows featuring a rotating set list 53 The September 11 show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles was canceled but the band performed the next evening in Tucson Arizona as scheduled All profits and merchandise sales from the following week s three shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York City were donated to the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund and the New York City Public Private Initiative 54 While in New York City Chris and Rich performed By Your Side on Late Night with Conan O Brien 55 The Listen Massive Tour concluded with a 140 minute show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston Massachusetts on October 31 56 This would be Andy Hess and Audley Freed s last show as band members as The Black Crowes went on hiatus shortly thereafter Track listing editAll songs written by Rich and Chris Robinson Midnight from the Inside Out 4 21 Lickin 3 42 Come On 2 58 No Use Lying 4 57 Losing My Mind 4 26 Ozone Mama 3 54 Greasy Grass River 3 20 Soul Singing 3 54 Miracle to Me 4 42 Young Man Old Man 4 14 Cosmic Friend 5 23 Cypress Tree 3 41 Lay It All on Me 5 29 Japanese version Love Is Now 4 22Personnel editThe Black Crowes Chris Robinson vocals harmonica Rich Robinson guitar bass guitar piano on Lay It All on Me vocals Steve Gorman drums percussion Ed Harsch keyboards Audley Freed guitar on Ozone Mama Greasy Grass River amp the outro of Young Man Old Man only 4 57 Additional musicians Don Was bass guitar on Come On and Lay It All on Me Teese Gohl string arrangement Craig Ross lead guitar on Greasy Grass River Maxine Waters Oren Waters Rose Stone and Julie Waters background vocals on Soul Singing Production Don Was producer Pete Angelus personal manager Amy Finkle management Chris Ribando recording Montana Rehearsal Studio and Theater 99 Ray Martin recording Theater 99 Raeann Zschokke recording assistant The Sickamore Avenue High School Mixing Squad mixing The Record Plant and Electric Lady Studios Don Was Chris Ribando Adam Olmstead Steve Mandel mixing assistant Chris Lord Alge mixing Come On Losing My Mind and Soul Singing Derek Phelps guitar tech John Noodles Weber drum tech Jane Oppenheimer minister of information Jennifer Gunderson production coordinator Ron Kimball Studios cover photograph Zoren Gold photography Minori retouching V2 Image Control art directionCharts editChart 2001 Peakposition Australian Albums ARIA 58 74 Canada Billboard Top Canadian Albums 59 20 Dutch Albums Chart 60 78 France Album Chart 61 141 Germany Album Chart 62 66 Scottish Albums Chart 63 30 Sweden Album Chart 64 51 UK Albums Chart 65 37 US Billboard 200 66 20 US Billboard Top Internet Albums 67 8References edit a b c d Goodman Dean May 24 2001 Black Crowes Singer in a Whole Lotta Love Reuters a b c d e Thomas Ernie 2001 The Black Crowes At Long Last They Have an Album to Crow About Midwest Beat Archived from the original on May 23 2006 Retrieved July 10 2008 Guzman Isaac May 15 2001 The Black Crowes Hatch a Lovebird Daily News pp Now 36 a b c d e Cohen Jonathan May 16 2001 Roaring Like Lions Rich Nude as the News Archived from the original on January 20 2003 Retrieved June 2 2008 a b c Cohen Jonathan April 14 2001 Black Crowes Find Themselves On Lions Billboard 113 15 Billboard Music Group 12 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 Retrieved March 23 2008 a b Devenish Colin May 30 2001 Chris Robinson Don Was talk of the Black Crowes Lions liveDaily Archived from the original on October 4 2003 Retrieved January 24 2011 a b Cohen Jonathan May 10 2001 Roaring Like Lions Chris Nude as the News Archived from the original on March 13 2003 Retrieved June 2 2008 a b c Callaghan John June 2001 The Lion The Spliff amp The Wardrobe Guitar 11 12 38 44 ISSN 1525 5549 OCLC 41594333 a b The CrowesBase Lions crowesbase com Retrieved March 20 2008 Cook Dennis Workingman s Hallelujahs And Bohemian Hymns A tale of The Black Crowes today blackcrowes com Archived from the original on July 8 2011 Retrieved June 11 2008 a b Walsh Christopher March 24 2001 Don Was amp Black Crowes Lions Roar At Theater 99 Billboard 113 12 Billboard Music Group 41 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 Ellis Bill May 6 2001 Spontaneity rocks The Black Crowes roar in with Lions and no tamer The Commercial Appeal Memphis TN Scripps p G1 McCollum Brian May 31 2001 Black Crowes Oasis bill feels natural to bandmates Detroit Free Press Detroit MI Knight Ridder Thompson Art September 2001 Pot rock the Black Crowes groovy eclecticism rules Lions Guitar Player 35 9 San Francisco CA Miller Freeman Publications 74 80 ISSN 0017 5463 a b The CrowesBase February 3 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved March 11 2008 The CrowesBase April 10 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 The CrowesBase May 20 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 The CrowesBase May 22 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 Graff Gary July 31 2001 The Black Crowes Follow Their Own Flight Path Broadcast Music Inc Archived from the original on June 6 2011 Retrieved July 8 2011 a b The Black Crowes Roar onto the Charts with Lions Debuting in the Top 20 Press release Mitch Schneider Organization May 21 2001 Archived from the original on February 25 2018 Retrieved June 9 2008 Basham David January 11 2002 Got Charts Making Grammy Predictions Counting Crowes Broadcast Music Inc Archived from the original on October 21 2012 Retrieved March 12 2008 The Daily Show Chris Robinson Comedy Central May 7 2001 Archived from the original on July 16 2011 Retrieved July 8 2011 The CrowesBase May 8 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 The CrowesBase May 10 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 Rock Walk inducts the Black Crowes Robinson Gallagher talk Brotherly Love tour LiveDaily Archived from the original on June 21 2008 Retrieved May 31 2008 The CrowesBase June 6 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 Mainstream Rock Tracks Billboard 113 20 Billboard Music Group 80 May 19 2001 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 Mainstream Rock Tracks Billboard 113 33 Billboard Music Group 93 August 18 2001 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 The CrowesBase The Pretty Gurl Song crowesbase com Retrieved May 31 2008 a b Critic Reviews for Lions Metacritic Retrieved January 27 2013 a b c Erlewine Stephen Thomas Lions The Black Crowes Allmusic Archived from the original on July 8 2011 Retrieved March 8 2008 a b Mulvey John May 3 2001 dotmusic Album Review dotmusic Archived from the original on November 8 2001 Retrieved June 18 2008 Cherry Robert May 11 2001 Lions Review Entertainment Weekly Retrieved January 27 2013 a b Lepage Mark May 10 2001 Destiny s Child surviving nicely The Gazette pp D15 a b McUtchen Andrew June 7 2001 CD Reviews Herald Sun pp Hit 64 a b Beaumont Mark May 2 2001 Album Review Black Crowes Lions NME Archived from the original on April 23 2007 Retrieved June 18 2008 a b True Everett May 14 2001 Review Lions by Black Crowes Playlouder Archived from the original on January 13 2002 Retrieved June 18 2008 Kemp Rob May 8 2001 Lions Rolling Stone Archived from the original on April 17 2008 Retrieved July 15 2009 a b c Milward John May 8 2001 Dancing Days Aren t Here Again Sonicnet Archived from the original on June 4 2001 Retrieved June 6 2008 a b Cohen Howard May 9 2001 New releases from The Black Crowes Powderfinger Mandalay The Miami Herald a b McKenna Dave May 9 2001 Black Crowes Excellent Mimicry The Washington Post pp C05 a b c d Donovan Patrick June 15 2001 CD Reviews The Age a b Williamson Nigel May 5 2001 New pop albums The Times a b c Stevenson Jane May 6 2001 Well at least they can sing Toronto Sun pp S20 Gardner Elysa May 29 2001 Staind Weezer return angry mischievous Sticky Fingaz goes deep Black Crowes go nowhere USA Today pp 6D a b Gubbins Teresa May 9 2001 Reviews of releases by David Byrne Black Crowes and more The Dallas Morning News Thompson Stephen May 8 2001 Music The Black Crowes Lions The A V Club Archived from the original on January 18 2012 Retrieved July 8 2011 The Black Crowes and Oasis Triumphantly Launch Their Tour of Brotherly Love Press release Mitch Schneider Organization May 18 2001 Archived from the original on February 26 2018 Retrieved June 9 2008 The CrowesBase June 8 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved June 9 2008 The CrowesBase June 1 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved June 9 2008 The CrowesBase May 31 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved June 9 2008 The Black Crowes Announce European Tour Dates Press release Mitch Schneider Organization June 20 2001 Archived from the original on February 25 2018 Retrieved June 9 2008 The Black Crowes Kick Off Listen Massive Tour Shows Feature 2 Hours of Black Crowes Press release Mitch Schneider Organization June 20 2001 Archived from the original on February 25 2018 Retrieved June 9 2008 The Black Crowes Donate All Profits and 100 Merchandise Sales to WTC Relief Fund Press release Mitch Schneider Organization June 20 2001 Archived from the original on February 25 2018 Retrieved June 9 2008 The CrowesBase September 20 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved June 9 2008 The CrowesBase October 31 2001 crowesbase com Retrieved June 9 2008 Fazio Steve Audley Freed A Close up Interview Syntrillium Software Archived from the original on January 27 2002 Retrieved March 9 2008 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 PDF ed Mt Martha Victoria Australia Moonlight Publishing p 31 Hits of the World Billboard 113 21 Billboard Music Group 48 May 26 2001 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 The Black Crowes Lion Hung Medien Retrieved November 20 2021 The Black Crowes dans les Charts Francais lescharts com Archived from the original on 2012 11 02 Retrieved July 8 2011 Offizielle Deutsche Charts in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved November 20 2021 Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved November 20 2021 The Black Crowes in Swedish Charts swedishcharts com Archived from the original on 2012 01 11 Retrieved July 8 2011 Warwick Neil Jon Kutner Tony Brown August 2004 The Complete Book of the British Charts 3rd ed London Omnibus Press p 143 ISBN 978 1 84449 058 5 OCLC 55529587 The Billboard 200 Billboard 113 21 Billboard Music Group 74 May 26 2001 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 Top Internet Album Sales Billboard 113 21 Billboard Music Group 56 May 26 2001 ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 1532948 External links editThe Black Crowes official website Lions at MusicBrainz Lions at Metacritic nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lions album amp oldid 1175681458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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