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42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bringing it all back home, February 22, 2003
By 1990, the hard rock sound, which peaked in the early 70s, had long since worn out its welcome. It had progressed to the point of becoming a ludicrous parody of itself. Groups like Motley Crue, Poison and Def Leppard were the logical progression of the 70s hard rock sound. They took the look, sound and theatrics of the 70s rockers to ridiculous proportions. This was thanks in part to KISS, who proved that image could be more important than music. By the late 70s, rock groups were taking things a step further and exaggerating the look and style of Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and Steven Tyler. By the early/mid 80s, the hard rock look and sound pioneered by the aforementioned names had reached the point of absurdity. Hair metal was all the rage and MTV had ushered in a video era where the look was now just as important as the music, if not more so. With this new image, the quality of the music suffered immensely. This new generation of rockers was so enraptured with the rock and roll lifestyle that they completely forgot about musicianship and artistry. This music is now affectionately known as Cheese Metal or Hair Metal. Music that seems laughable nowadays, with snicker-inducing hair and fashion to match. Music that could, in no way, be taken seriously by any true lover of music. The trend wore on and throughout the late 80s, many now-forgotten hair metal groups came and went. Then, in 1990, a group came out of Georgia with a completely different ideology. This group, The Black Crowes, was making music that was completely out of style in this world of hair spray and spandex. Their debut, Shake Your Money Maker, was full of tight, fiery spurts of boogie-rock, the likes of which had not been heard on a major record since the mid-70s. Songs like "Twice As Hard" and "Jealous Again" stood out like a sore thumb amidst the dreary sea of synthesized, phony hard rock of 1990. This was rock that went back to the basics. This was rock that was genuine. Rock that forsook image and style and concentrated on the music and the interplay between musicians. Shake Your Money Maker was a godsend for rock fans who were tired of rockers who leaped about on the stage in tight pink pants while flames erupted from the stage floor. This is real rock and roll. This is not an image. This is music. The Black Crowes took the influence of the best of the early 70s scene. Lead singer Chris Robinson encapsulated the 70s rock lead singer. Summoning a bit of Rod Stewart (The Faces), Steve Marriot (Humble Pie), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Paul Rodgers (Free/Bad Company) and Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) with each song, Robinson took the lead-singer image and idea back to its roots. The guitar work of Rich Robinson and Jeff Cease was concise and bluesy, recalling the Mick Taylor-era Rolling Stones. The stinging slide guitar on "Twice As Hard", must have been a revelation since nearly every bit of blues influence had been drained since the hair-metal revolution. Songs such as "Could I've Been So Blind", "Seeing Things" and "Thick N' Thin" resuscitated the deceased blues-rock form with vibrance that was sorely lacking from even the best of the mainstream rock acts. Shake Your Money Maker proved that good, old-fashioned rock and roll had not died. The Black Crowes brought it back to life. Los Angeles' Guns N' Roses was the only other group to come close to retro blues-rock with their "Appetite For Destruction", but they were too nihilistic and nasty to truly channel the spirit of classic early 70s rock. Shake Your Money Maker and its follow-up "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion" was overshadowed by Nirvana's "Nevermind", which took rock and roll in a new, unexplored direction. However, The Black Crowes were really the only group to give classic rock lovers their fix of hard riffs, tasty solos and bluesy, wailing vocals. Shake Your Money Maker is an important album, and an oasis in the desert of the 1990 rock scene. This is probably the only 1990 album that sounds as if it could have been recorded in 1973. In 30 years, Shake Your Money Maker will still sound great, whereas most of 1990's other musical offerings will be long forgotten, and more than likely, unlistenable.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hey Little Thing Let Me Light Your Candle..., July 16, 2001
The Black Crowes' debut effort 'Shake Your Moneymaker' is an excellent lesson to aspiring musicians on pure energy. Of course, 'Moneymaker' is the band's most well-known disc - containing not only 'Twice As Hard,' and 'She Talks To Angels,' but also easily the band's best received track: the killer version of Otis Redding's 'Hard To Handle.' Although Nirvana is the band credited with killing off the hair metal and (original) bubblegum popsters with their album 'Nevermind,' 'Shake Your Moneymaker' easily played a part in the transformation. In 1990, a time when hair metal still held it's grasp over most of the populace, it was almost unheard of a straight rock or blues album to chart very high in the Billboard Top 200. But of course, the Crowes decided to prove that theory wrong. And they sure did. Borrowing heavily from the blues oriented rock of artists of yesteryear like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, The Crowes released an album that was sheer rock fury. Not the most intelligent album lyric-wise, but that was more than made up for by the sheer fury and raw energy of the album. Not as polished as the band's later releases, like 'Lions' for example, 'Moneymaker' was appealing if only for the honesty and power it held over the listener. The combo of brothers Rich (guitars) and Chris (vocals)Robinson is easily one of the best brother teams in rock, and also one explosively talented duo. The album is filled with raucious guitar licks and some powerfully musical vocals. Many of the tracks even feature background piano work that adds very well to the atmosphere of the disc. The first two tracks of the disc, 'Twice As Hard' and 'Jealous Again' are rock 'n' roll romps typical of most of the band's catalogue. Just fun, unabrashed fury, and easily singable lyrics. From there, the album softens a little for a quieter ballad, 'Sister Luck' a strong track that's very beautiful and surreal. 'Could I've Been So Blind,' though runs straight back into the hard rock vein, with pumping drums and guitars throughout and Chris Robinson wailing like a siren. 'Seeing Things' is yet another ballad, very akin to 'Sister Luck' and the other ballad on the disc, 'She Talks To Angels.' And of course, track six is the album's swan song, The Crowes cover of Otis Redding's 'Hard To Handle,' a song that the Crowes had more luck with than Redding himself. The song is fun to listen to, and even funner to sing along to and jump around playing air guitar. It's just one of those songs that has that undefinable attraction, an attraction that few bands can get right. Of course, the Crowes have it, as do a lot of the classic rock bands of the past. The guitar rocks and the vocals are flat-out killer. I've heard so many different interpretations of the lyrics that it's not even funny. Go ahead, sing it out loud: 'Hey little thing let me light your candle/'Cause mama I'm so hard to handle, now/Yes I am' Thick N' Thin is another rocker, beginning, somewhat appropriately, with the sound of a car wreck. Very cool guitar licks and riff s throughout, and the somewhat weak lyrics are more than made up for by the sheer rocking appeal. 'She Talks To Angels' is the disc's strongest piece lyrically, a tale of a girl with drug addiction. It also serves as the best ballad of the disc, and another one of the band's biggest hits. And, finally, the disc ends with two more rockers, the aptly titled 'Struttin' Blues' and 'Stare It Cold.' More powerful guitar riffs, the standard for the disc, are perpetuated by more of Chris Robinson's fun, singable lyrics. Although not the disc's best pieces, they mantain that same charm that a lot of songs by different bands lack. Unfortunately, I ended up buying the un-remastered version of the disc, so I'm not sure about the bonus tracks, but I've heard a lot of good things about them, especially the demo of 'She Talks To Angels.' On the whole though, 'Shake Your Moneymaker is easily one of the best pure rock and roll albums in a long time. While being fun, it's also extremely emotive, and catchy as hell! If you're sick of all the music that is out there today, do check out not only 'Moneymaker,' but also the rest of the band's catalogue. After all, you can't go wrong with America's most rock and roll rock and roll band (no, not a typo, it's repeated twice).
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I for one am jealous., September 6, 2002
This is an extremely solid debut. There isnt anything particularly revolutionary included here, certainly no groundbreaking progression down uncharted musical avenues. What you buy here is ten perfectly crafted hard rock gems with a pop spin, not a single one of which would sound out of place on nearly any classic 70's rock n roll album you could care to mention.
The Crows play gritty, stomping rock n roll with a swagger and natural approach that other bands would die for, and spend much time trying to emulate with little success. The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Faces, Chuck Berry, early Aersomith....the Crowes wear their influences on their sleeve with pride, and are a better and more acceptable band for it.
'Twice as hard' and 'Jealous again' are two back to back classic openers, suffused with rolicking piano and the southern drawl of Chris Robinson's vocals crooning out the catchy, singalong choruses with gusto.
'Sister Luck and 'Could I've been so blind' take a lighter approach, swaying almost in the breeze and segueing neatly into the emotive 'Seeing things', a song about 'how wonderful it is to fall in love......or maybve it aint about that at all'. An emotional, epic sounding number it remains. The hit single, 'Hard to handle', am Otis Redding cover is marvelously catchy, particularly well executed an played. 'She talks to angels' is a masterful ballad, which Rich purportedly wrote when he was just 16, with a maturity and sense of melody belying his age.
Two rabid rock numbers, 'Struttin blues' and 'Stare it cold' drag the album to a wonderful and fitting conlcusion.
Superb record. The Crowes may have gone on to record more mature, complex and essentially better albums than this, yet the masterful simplicity and inherent likeability of this material makes it a must buy.
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