Misty Morning Slop!

“‘Live At The Greek’ is a joyous, frantic, hoarse-throated and red-eyed ritual of celebration. It is life-affirming rock and roll music filled with voodoo, bad moonshine, and ghosts. Packed with the energy and manic intensity of a burning barn full of cranky mules.”- Me

“‘Live at the Greek’ isn't a landmark release, and only hardcore Page, Black Crowes, and Zeppelin fans are likely to want this, no matter how vibrant and lucent these faithful interpretations are.”- Steve Erlewine (AllMusic)

“WRONG, nerd.”- Me

I shouldn’t be too hard on the old establishment rock crits for not being able to see the future. In the year 2000, A heavily truncated, internet-only version of this album came out, and it was awesome. It’s the Black Crowes playing Led Zep songs live with Jimmy Page. Why would it not be incredible? It may have come out at the wrong time, I reckon, as rock and roll was starting to feel a little unwell in the early years of this century, a pre-cursor of the absolute semi-comatose malaise it finds itself in now, at least on the mainstream front. The album hit #64 on the US charts, farted, and died.

Last month, The Crowes/Page re-released the album. This time, it is chock-full and complete, with the entire list of songs that were learned and played live on this tour. Including some stone cold Black Crowes classics featuring Page as third guitarist (along with Rich Robinson and Audley Freed, both of whom are stellar here), and a few blues and RnB stompers that were left off of the original release due to record company tomfoolery.

In the current musical climate, with all of the tracks present (that’s THIRTY SIX tracks, none of them skippable), it is much more obvious that this gargantuan record is a full tilt boogie woogie party on wheels. A landmark (mudshark?) album.

I defy you to listen to any of these tunes and not feel enervated and passionate about the healing power of bluesy rocknroll. It makes me want to hurl garbage cans and start fires, running down the street with my Fruit of the Looms around my ankles. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t do that every day. Anymore.

Most live albums bring you the music and the crowd noises, but fail to bring the party. Not so in the case of “Live at the Greek”. This is not an album to listen to sitting down. You want to be up for this one, on your feet, spilling your beverage of choice all over your shirt and pants as you gyrate suggestively about your living room.

The band is absolutely on fire, hammering out a tight-but-loose blues wailin’ crunch, and while Page of course is his usual sloppy but absolutely inspired self (even though video from these shows reveals that he was disappointingly not wearing his dragon pajamas), the real MVP here is Chris Robinson. C-Rob is incensed throughout the 36 tracks, living up to the incredibly tall order of out-shrieking Robert Plant while stamping the songs with his own, much more soulful Marriott-meets-Stewart rasp n’wail. He excels at the drunken, charismatic ring master role while also taking on the darker, more mystical lyrics with the perfect mix of foreboding and over the top, wide-eyed histrionics. He is every bit the equal to ol’ Percy here, and on some of the tracks, he does it better. That’s right, you heard me. Plus, Chris dances around like a sullen, sultry gypsy lady with eyeliner and a slight peach fuzz mustache, while Plant was more interested in standing still so you could count his chest hairs. 236, by the way.

Apparently, after the tour, the Crowes’ relationship with Ol’ Dragon Pants soured somewhat, which is why it’s so nice to see them all together in new pics promoting the album’s reissue. I want them to be friends. I don’t know why, that’s just what I want.

Fave Tracks: A joyous cover of Little Walter/Willie Dixon’s “Mellow Down Easy”, an ethereal and anthemic version of Zep’s “Your Time Is Gonna Come” (guitar tones to die for) and the raw, unrelenting pummel of the Crowes’ “No Speak No Slave” (see video below).

Long story long….yes, you do need to own this landmark rock and roll album. It belongs on a short list of the greatest live rock and roll albums of all time. Darn Tootin’.

-CM