Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes- Live At The Greek
(2000)
Vocals- Chris Robinson
Guitar- Jimmy Page, Audley Freed, Chris Robinson-(and vocals)
Bass- Sven Pipien
Drums- Steve Gorman
Keyboards- Ed Harsch
This album was recorded on the tour that Page and the Crowes did. They play Zeppelin classics for the most part, with a few old blues songs thrown in. The Crowes have surprisingly good chemistry with Page, and Page has really passed the test of time as he is still in top form. If you didn’t know, (and god I hope you do) Jimmy Page is the former Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist, and many, (including myself), consider him one of the greatest, maybe even THE greatest guitarist of all time. The Black Crowes first album, “Shake Your Money Maker” was released in 1990, and the last album since their breakup was “Lions”, released in 2001. To my knowledge Chris and Rich are both still touring (separately).
DISC 1
Celebration Day -3:42- This song, taken from “Led Zeppelin III”, starts off with some quick guitar playing, and works into the groove. The drums are a standout on this song, as well as Chris’s vocals. The guitar is in top notch, as it is in the rest of the album. A nice, quick song to open the album up. 4/5
Custard Pie -5:18- The song has an insane groove. You can’t help but get up and dance. This song has great bass, along with the usual great guitar and drums. This song has a great solo. No one can do this song as well as Zep, but Page and the Crowes come pretty **** close. 5/5
Sick Again -4:34- Again, this song has great rhythm and a killer groove. Maybe a little less bluesy than “Custard Pie”, but you get the same feeling. Drums, guitar, bass….everything is top-notch. 5/5
What Is And What Should Never Be -5:26- This is a Zeppelin favorite, but I’ve never really liked it at all until hearing the Crowes and Page do it. This song starts out with a slow, dreamy type flow, than explodes into a rocker. The lyrics, the whole effect, just make you feel like you’re floating along. A really good song, but not as great as some think, in my opinion. 3/5
Woke Up This Morning -4:14- This song, written by B.B. King, is a good one. It’s pretty much B.B. style blues. The performance is good; it just doesn’t really flow well with the other songs. The guitar is good, and the vocals are excellent, as it’s good to hear Chris actually singing instead of screaming. It’s good, but not great. 4/5
Shapes Of Things To Come -3:09- I don’t really like this song. First of all, the Crowes did do a good job playing it. It just isn’t anything special. The song itself has kind of a ballad type flow, then a descending guitar part, than back to the ballad type. I don’t know, it just doesn’t stand out. Mediocre at best. 2/5
Sloppy Drunk -6:05- This song is more bluesy than most of the songs on the album. It has kind of a bar band feel, as well. The guitar is great, as they jam for a while. The piano is a standout as well on this one. Good stuff. 4/5
Ten Years Gone -6:30- Here we are, back to the Zeppelin songs. This is one of my favorite Zep songs. The guitar is great. It starts out with a floaty, dreamy riff, than gets into a hard rocking groove, than it calms back down to the floaty riff. The drums are great as well, as they aren’t too aggressive, yet they provide just enough. The solo is absolutely great stuff. The vocals are really great as well. Awesome song. 5/5
In My Time Of Dying -9:33- This still stands with me as Zeppelin’s most badass song. It’s got a sinister slide riff. Everything about this song is dark and mysterious, especially the lyrics. The song changes form quite smoothly; it turns explosive and stays that way. The drums, guitar, vocals, and bass all stand out on this one. Another great song. 5/5
Your Time Is Gonna Come -6:02- This song starts out with some pretty nice organ playing, than it completely changes to the songs melody. Than, the guitars and drums bust into a hard rock groove. The guitar is great, as usual. The solo is really good. Not as good as the two before it, yet it is a really good song. 4/5
DISC 2
The Lemon Song -8:59- Another classic Zeppelin epic. It starts out as a slow, bluesy rocker; than it speeds up, than works its way back the slower part. It has great bass playing and even a bass solo (if you could call it that). Top notch, and it’s good to see more extended jamming. 5/5
Nobody’s Fault But Mine -6:41- I love the intro riff to this song. It’s simple, but it sounds great. This song isn’t as bluesy as most songs on the album, but it’s sweet anyway. The groove is just as good as “Custard Pie”. The drums are awesome on this song. The harmonica is pretty good, too. The guitar is awesome as usual. 5/5
Heartbreaker -5:50- This is the first song I learned on guitar, so yeah. The main riff is pretty awesome, just a simple, sinister riff. The song stops completely for part of the solo, but somehow it still fits in. The solo is awesome, by the way. Jimmy kind of messes it up a little, but he’s still the man. After the solo, the song changes a little, then goes back to the main part. Really, really good song. 4/5
Hey Hey, What Can I Do -3:30- Am I mistaken, or is that a mandolin in the background? This song sounds really rich and deep. It’s pretty much an upbeat rock song in the vain of “Your Time Is Gonna Come”. Good all around playing, good all-around song. 4/5
Mellow Down Easy -5:20- The opening drums to this song have kind of a swing feel, but that feel is gone once the guitars and harmonica kick in. It gets some of the swing feel back during the verses, but it starts to rock again. Not as good as most material on this album, but it’s not bad. 3/5
Oh Well -4:10- This is a Fleetwood Mac song, but you wouldn’t know if I didn’t tell you. It really has a Zeppelin feel to it. The intro riff is great, and then when they work into the call and answer feel of the verses, it’s sweet. This song rocks really hard, and the vocals are very good as well. The guitar, well, it’s awesome, what did you expect. I had always dreamed of Zeppelin doing this song, and this is the closest you can get. 5/5
Shake Your Money Maker -4:25- We get back to a more traditional blues feel now, with repetitive lyrics and dirty, bluesy guitar. The solo is awesome. The drums aren’t as good as the other songs, though, at least in my opinion. This isn’t as good as the Zeppelin tunes, but it still rocks. 4/5
You Shook Me -8:25- The great guitar that opens this song up basically sets the mood for the song. This song has some of the best guitar on the album, which is saying a lot. The beat’s good, as it chugs along with great bluesy guitar. The cold shriek that Chris lets out later in the song is pretty awesome. More good all around playing. Slow, gritty blues. 4/5
Out On The Tiles -3:39- This choice to play live was a surprise to me, as it’s not a very well known Zep song. This is a good, solid rocker. Pretty normal Zeppelin stuff. 3/5
Whole Lotta Love -5:34- I love how the guitar on “Out On The Tiles” works into this Zeppelin classic. What can be said? Possibly the ultimate Zeppelin song, maybe the ultimate classic rock song. The awesome main riff is a classic, and one of the most recognizable. The little dreamy part towards the middle goes on for a minute, than explodes into an awesome guitar part. Chris has some great screams and yells on this song, and the drumming, guitar, and bass are all great, and close the album up nicely. 5/5
This is one of the best live records I’ve heard. It also has some of the best guitar playing I’ve heard in a while. The Zeppelin songs are all great, and listening to this album prompted me to further explore the Black Crowes’ music. It sucks that they’ve broken up, as they brought back some great blues-rock. It’s also great to hear Page playing the Zeppelin classics again. Overall, I’m going to give this album a 4/5, only because if you’re not a Zeppelin fan, than you probably won’t like this album. But, for huge Zep fans like me, it’s great to hear all the classic Zeppelin tunes played by a newer band.
Tell me what you think, share thoughts.... :thumb:
