The Black Crowes - The Black Crowes: Live (2002)

The title is simple, and it describes exactly what you'll get -- two discs and 19 tracks of the Black Crowes in concert, tearing through fan favorites and chart hits. The album is culled from a series of concerts the group did on their farewell 2001 tour, with Rich Robinson sequencing the entire thing to flow close to an actual concert, right down to his brother Chris' winding, sometimes embarrassing stage patter. Though this isn't as gutsy or revelatory as the dynamite live album with Jimmy Page, it's still a really good live album, finding the band in fine form -- Chris is in good voice, the band rocks hard, and the versions here, while not drastically different than the album versions, find the band stretching out where necessary. In short, it's nuthin' fancy, just what a good rock & roll band does. And the Black Crowes are certainly a good rock & roll band, with a deep catalog of strong songs and a good sound, all evident here. True, this is pretty much the province of the dedicated, but those that are devoted fans will find this to be a sweet swan song.~Stephen Thomas Erlewine