When the Robinson brothers resurrected the Black Crowes name in the early 2020s, it was easy to be cynical and see it as a cash grab bankrolled by LiveNation, and perhaps there was some truth to that. The dysfunction that once plagued, and at times fueled, much of their first act now seems largely gone; Chris and Rich Robinson have re-centered and refocused on what matters: the music.
That renewed focus is immediately apparent in A Pound Of Feathers: the album is stripped down, sounding almost like a punk version of the Rolling Stones or Faces brand of blues-based hard rock that the Crowes have been playing since their inception. There are very few added details: some keys here and there, some backing vocals, but everything is built around riffs and beats. The spirit is raw and direct, closer to Royal Trux than to the Grateful Dead or the Allman Brothers Band.
Even sonically, the record feels more urgent and less defined. This is Exile-era Stones, a working rock and roll band grinding it out in a humid basement, not an ornate prestige album packed with guests and recorded in an expensive studio in Switzerland. Rich Robinson’s riffs are meaty and mean, and his slide playing is rough and ready, at times sounding like a rambunctious saxophone. Chris Robinson’s vocals are more aggressive than they have been in a while. Even on the slower songs and ballads, he leans into a full soul shouter mode.
Consequently, the album may be slightly less diverse than some of their past offerings, but it makes up for it with sheer raucousness, a sense of aggression even. It also stands as a cohesive statement from a band that has gone through multiple incarnations and has chosen to scale things back to basics. Few bands forty years into their career sound this vital, this pissed off, and at the same time this happy to be doing what they do best.
If this album proves anything, it is that rock and roll is not just a young man’s game. There is still plenty of fire left in these old birds, and more importantly, they sound like they know exactly how to use it.
Genre: Rock
Release date: March 13th, 2026
Produced by: Jay Joyce
Label: Silver Arrow
Rating: 8/10
The Black Crowes @ L'Olympia, Paris - October 5th, 2022
Bob Dylan @ La Seine Musicale, Boulogne-Billancourt - October 25th, 2024
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ La Défense Arena, Nanterre - May 15th, 2023
Guns N' Roses @ La Defense Arena, Nanterre - July 13th, 2023
Gogol Bordello @ Élysée-Montmartre, Paris - June 17th, 2023
Jesse Malin @ la Boule Noire, Paris - February 18th, 2023
Steve Earle and the Dukes @ Trabendo, Paris - July 2nd, 2018
Gogol Bordello @ Le Trianon, Paris - December 9th, 2017
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit @ Café de la Danse, Paris - November 2nd, 2017
The Pretenders @ Salle Pleyel, Paris - June 26th, 2017
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ P.O.P.B., Paris - July 5th, 2012
Tom Petty @ Le Grand Rex, Paris - June 27th, 2012