Customer Reviews

Freak N Roll Into the Fog

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Freak n' Roll is a 2CD set recorded by the Crowes at the Fillmore in S.F. And just as the Crowes are a great rock band, this is a killer rock disc. While it does contain some of the lesser songs in their catalog (like Only Halfway to Everywhere and Welcome to the Goodtimes), these sound much better in the live setting. Standout cuts include the long jammy versions of Soul Singing, Hard to Handle, the aforementioned Only Halfway to Everywhere, Remedy...hell, the whole disc is a treat. It closes with a great cover of the Night they Drove Ol' Dixie Down.

The band has never sounded better, especially with the return of guitarist Marc Ford...his interplay with Rich Robinson is fantastic...check out the great acoustic duet Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz. And the band is augmented by a 4 piece horn section and 2 backing singers.

If this is a taste of the Crowes to come (they are working on new material right now) then we are all in for a huge treat!

I would love to break it all down and rate each song on this album individually, but there is absolutely no need because every song is awesome. If you are a Black Crowes fan you will not be disappointed. If you are not a Black Crowes fan this album could make you one.

Their sound may be heavily influenced by 70's music, but it is timeless and will survive the ages. Highly recommended

Both DVD and CDs are incredible... Seems after playing with J Page, The Black Crowes found their path back to the freaking good rock'n'roll. There is not a track I dislike in the album, and the DVD quality is amazing. I wish I could have seen them alive, but who knows... another time. You will find everything in the show: R&B, Blues, Rock, Accoustic, duet guitar solos and more...

Couldn't resist, the 5th track on this live collection from the Fillmore in 2005 is "Welcome to the goodtimes" and that's exactly what the Black Crowes have delivered here. The band a in top form and deliver a 2 Hour + show with energy, passion and emotion.

Chris Robinson sings as well as I have ever heard, what a voice. The Live "At the Greek" back in 2000 with Jimmy Page was simply fantastic, well this new set is right up there.

For me the Black Crowes remind me of a mix of The Allman Brothers / Little Feat / Lynyrd Skynyrd with the swagger of early 70's Rolling Stones.
Together with Rich Robinson (gtr), Marc Ford (gtr), Steve Gorman (drums), Ed Hawrysch (Keys), Sven Pipien (Bass), Mona Lisa Young & Charity White (Backing Vocals) and the Left Coast Horns (David Ellis - Tenor Sax, Gavin Distasi - Trumpet, Joshi Marshall - Alto Sax and Marty Wehner - Trombone) the band are firing on all cylinders from the opening track "(Only) halfway to everywhere". "Sting Me", No Speak no slave", "Soul SInging", "Welcome to the goodtimes", "Jealous Again", Space Captain" and a jaw dropping 13 minute version of "My morning song" closes the opening set which just never let up and already had me thinking, wow, this is right up there with any live album I have ever heard... fantastic.

The second set starts of acoustically with "Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz" (Rich and Marc on acoustic guitars only, no vocals), and an acoustic version of "Cursed Diamond" (same twin guitars with Chris on vocals). Slowly the intensity of the second set increases as Rich stays on acoutic and Marc goes to electric lead joined by drums, keys and drums for a emotionally charged version of "She talks to Angels". At this stage I'm thinking... wow, what a well thought out and paced setlist, and it just kept getting better. "Wiser Time", a full out extended jam on "Non Fiction", a briiliantly soulful and almost gospel like "Seeing Things". "Hard to handle" was next with a very cool extended improvised middle section. Jaw dropping moment number two for me was the next track "Let me share the ride" - crowd goes crazy, this just rocks, the set was a 10/10 before this, now it's gone thru the roof! "Mellow Down easy" , the classic "Remedy" and a great working of "The night they drove old Dixie down" finish things off in style.

I really enjoyed this CD (and DVD), if this sounds remotely like your sort of thing, go for it, it's a top notch effort and has joined my personal list of "Great Live albums" that I've enjoyed over the last 30 years.

- "How the West was won" from Led Zeppelin (1972)
- "Made in Japan" from Deep Purple (1972)
- "Yessongs" from Yes (1973)
- "Welcome back my friends" from ELP (1973)
- "Too late to stop now" from Van Morrison (1974)
- "On your feet or on your knees" from Blue Oyster Cult (1975)
- "Live in London" from Bruce Springsteen (1975)
- "One more from the Road" from Lynyrd Skynrd (1976)
- "Frampton comes alive" from Peter Frampton (1976)
- "Live Bullet" from Bob Seger (1976)
- "Seconds Out" from Genesis (1977)
- "A Live Record" from Camel (1978)
- "Bursting Out Live" from Jethro Tull (1978)
- "Two for the Show" from Kansas (1978)
- "Playing the fool" Gentle Giant (1978)
- "Waiting fro Columbus" from Little Feat (1978)
- "Strangers in the Night" from UFO (1979)
- "Live Rust" from Neil Young (1979).
- "Paris" from Supertramp (1980).
- "Exit...Stage left" from Rush (1981)
- "Under a blood red sky" from U2 (1983)
- "Stop making sense" from Talking Heads (1984)
- "Live in the city of Light" from Simple Minds (1986)
- "Live adventures of the Waterboys" from the Waterboys (1986)
- "Operation Livecrime" from Queensryche (1991)
- "Without a safety Net" from Big Country (1992)
- "Secret World Live" from Peter Gabriel (1994)
- "Together in Concert" from Tim Finn, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga (2000)
- "Lve at the Greek" from Black Crowes and Jimmy Page (2000)
- "Live Scenes from New York" from Dream Theater (2000)
- "Hullabaloo" from Muse (2002)
- "Out West" from Gomez (2005)
- "Freak 'n' Roll - into the fog" from Black Crowes (2006)
- "Okonokos" from My Morning Jacket (2006).

After picking up their first "live" album a few years back I was very hesitant to purchase this one.

To say the last one was "lacking" would be generous. It was a weak, lazy performance that was recorded and released in poor bootleg quality.

This release redeems any and all faith you've ever had in The Crowes. It's a tight sounding, bluesy, energetic, rocking good show!

The Sound Quality is stellar! If you are a fan of The Black Crowes you need to own this one.

While The Black Crowes have made some amazing studio work (Amorica, Three Snakes and One Charm, and most recently, Warpaint), they have always remained a great live band. Freak and Roll Into The Fog is just that....a fantastic document of one of rock and roll's hardest working bands for the last 20 years at the Filmore in San Fransisco, August 5th, 2005. This 2CD set contains the Crowes at their most exciting, rawest, and most energetic. Chris Robinson's voice is top notch, and the interplay between the guitarists Rich Robinson and Marc Ford is chemistry in the making.

The set begins strangely enough with the rarely played (Only) Halfway To Everywhere, which turns into a funk-soul jam with an incredible guitar solo by Marc. Sting Me and No Speak No Slave are given the royal treatment, and sound more amplified then they do on record. The 11-minute Soul Singing is unbelievable, featuring a psychedelic jam that might as well be a new song. Welcome To The Goodtimes is next, a faitful version with horns added for better emotion. Jealous Again is just good, honest rock and roll.

The real centerpiece though, lies in the 13-minute My Morning Song, one of the Crowes best. A long winding powerful jam erupts in the middle, and the "southern rock and roll preacher" part just seems to last forever, that you don't want it to stop. Finally, when it comes to the chorus, it is highly cathartic and reminds you of why you love this band in the first place.

The second set begins innocently with acoustic guitars, with strange interplay between Rich and Marc on Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz. Then, an incredible unplugged version of Cursed Diamond is next, with Chris 's powerful emotional singing at front range. She Talks To Angels is next. I never cared for this song, but they do it well here. Wiser Time and Nonfiction (both from Amorica) are also respected well here, the latter turning into a strange Pink Floyd-esque jam with Dave Ellis on soprano sax.

Finally, the Crowes get even more soulful and funky. Seeing Things has to be heard to be believed, a true soul classic. Share The Ride/Mellow Down Easy is 50's blues, Crowes style. Hard To Handle gets no complaints here, and even has a Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers jam tacked at the end. Finally, Remedy brings more of the hit quotion into the set, and is played faithfully. And, as an added treat, the band plays the classic The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down as an encore. This, I think, is one of the best covers I've ever heard, a great rendition that does The Band justice.

This is a fantastic slice of rock and roll pie by one of the greatest rock and roll bands ever. IF you love classic rock and roll done live, get this today!

I always heard people say that the Black Crowes were one of those bands to bring back rock 'n' roll. I always believed them but I never really... UNDERSTOOD them. After hearing this show, I now know EXACTLY what they meant.

This is just pure, raw, solid rock and friggin' roll. Phenomenal stuff. The horns and the backup singers add a whole new element to the show, and the band themselves are spot-on with their playing.

If you want a new rock album, buy this!

I am very biased here as I don't believe the Crowes can do any wrong...and as such this review is simply my opinion that they have delievered a great live performance once again. The group, the backup singers and the horns make a powerful listening rock and roll experience. That's it. Simple. If you like The Black Crowes, you will love this recording.

When the Black Crows first hit, Rolling Stone did a very nice review on the band. One of the things Chris Robinson talked about was the live concert done by Humble Pie in the early 70s called "Rocking the Fillmore" where all the crowd noise and talking between Steve Marriot and the crowd was left in the recording. If you haven't gotten this, don't wait any longer. It's one of the best rocking live albums ever done and Chris talked about how much he loved that album and that he wanted to do a live one like it. Well, this is the one. This cd is one of the rockingest most powerfull live albums I've heard in a long time. This is the one he always wanted to make and you need to do yourself a favor and get it because they nailed it .

Wanna find out how good your dvd player is? Buy this one, sit back, and enjoy.Today, these guys are doing what I love to listen to most, and that's carrying the torch, and then BECOMING it.A MUST OWN.