I remember when The Black Crowes debut album Shake Your Money Maker came out in 1990. I was primarily listening to hair bands at the time, like most people. When Shake Your Money Maker came out it was like a breath of fresh air. The only other bands of the era that came close to sounding like traditional rock ‘n’ roll were Tesla and Guns ‘N’ Roses, but they were lumped in with the hair bands and in many ways they sounded like hair bands, too. But you could sense the influence of The Rolling Stones, Faces and The Kinks in Shake Your Money Maker. So much so that some of the songs sounded like they could have been written by those bands I’ve just named. Listening to it was something of a turning point for me, then, as it opened up my eyes to a world of rock music outside of hairbands and I started buying early Aerosmith albums, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, etc. Of course, those bands tended to take their looks seriously, but there was a sense that the music was the number one priority. Same with The Black Crowes. These guys didn’t seem to give a damn what they looked like. They just wanted to rock and to do so in a way that would honor their influences. That would seem to be Rich Robinson’s modus operandi with his new album, The Ceaseless Sight. The difference is that the influences he’s wearing on his sleeve here are slightly different than the influences that have informed most of The Black Crowes work. Here, you hear shades of the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, even a bit of The Eagles. But at this point The Black Crowes have been around for 25 years, which is longer than some of their influences were around for. These days, up and coming artists are surely influenced by The Black Crowes. And so Rich has had plenty of time to create a unique sound of his own while honoring his influences. It only takes one listen of The Ceaseless sight, his third solo album, to realize that. Rich has his own unique vision. If you don’t hear it in the music, then pay attention to the lyrics, which tend to be a bit more serious than your average rock ‘n’ roll fare. Take this line from “Down The Road”: “Down the road you leave behind the world you never knew you didn’t need to find.” It’s just one of the clever lyrics on an album chock full of ’em. And the lyrics aren’t merely clever, they’re soulful, they’re heartfelt, they tell stories. “The Giving Key” is a prime example of this, telling the story of someone whose significant other has passed away . “You got your halo, so let it shine down on me,” Rich sings while background vocalists harmonize gospel-style. It’s a touching number in the vein of The Black Crowes’ classic “She Talks To Angels.”
One of the other things that makes The Ceaseless Sight such a superb album is the guitar tone, which reeks of late nights of drinking whisky straight up, smoking copious amounts of weed and saying fuck you to the police. It’s raw and gritty and ready for war. It slices through your flesh and proceeds to swirl around inside your soul, nourishing it as it goes. It might hurt a little going in, but it’s worth it if you long for rock ‘n’ roll salvation.
RICH ROBINSON NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
May 24th – Mill Valley, CA @ Sweetwater SOLD OUT
May 25th – Aptos, CA @ Santa Cruz Blues Festival
May 27th – Los Angeles, CA @ Satellite
May 31st – Woodstock, NY @ Woodstock Session SOLD OUT
June 1st – Woodstock, NY @ Woodstock Session SOLD OUT
June 3rd – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live w/ Jackie Greene Band*
June 4th – New York, NY @ City Winery * SOLD OUT
June 5th – New York, NY @ Webster Hall w/ Jackie Greene Band *
June 6th – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club w/ Jackie Greene Band *
June 8th – Washington, DC @ The Hamilton w/ Jackie Greene Band*
June 10th – Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century Theater w/ Jackie Greene Band
June 11th – Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley w/ Jackie Greene Band
June 12th – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
June 27th – St. Charles, IL @ Arcada Theater
June 28th – Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads w/ Robert Randolph
Jul 1st – Vail, CO @ Bud Light Hot Summer Nights
Jul 2nd – Denver, CO @ Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom
Jul 15th – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Jul 16th – Spokane, WA @ Riverside Event Center
Jul 17th – Seattle, WA @ The Tractor
Jul 18th – Jacksonville, OR @ Pritt Pavilion w/ Tedeschi Trucks Band
Jul 20th – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Jul 22nd – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre w/ Tedeschi Trucks Band
Jul 24th – Crystal Bay, NV @ Crystal Bay Club Casino
Jul 25th – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
Jul 27th – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room
Aug 4th – Whitesburg, KY @ Summit City
Aug 6th – Bowling Green, KY @ Warehouse at Mt Victor
Aug 7th – Charlotte, NC @ Visulite
Aug 8th – Durham, NC @ Carolina Theater
Aug 9th – Charleston, SC @ Pour House
Aug 10th – Asheville, NC @ Asheville Music Hall
Aug 12th – Columbus, OH @ Woodlands Park Street Patio
Aug 14th – New Hope, PA @ Havana
Aug 15th – Teaneck, NJ @ Mexicali Live
Aug 16 – Scranton, PA @ Peach Music Fest
Aug 19 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre w/ Jonny Lang
Aug 21 – Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts
Aug 23 – Fairfield, CT @ Stage One
Aug 24 – Barstow, MD @ South Maryland Blues Festival
Aug 27 – Buffalo, NY @ Waiting Room
Sept 11th – Kitchener, ON Canada @ The Centre in the Square
*VIP TICKET PACKAGES AVAILABLE
EUROPEAN TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
June 18th – London, England @ The Borderline
June 19th – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
June 20th – Hengelo, NL @ Metropool
June 21st – Zoetemeer, NL @ Boerderij
June 22nd – Warsaw, Poland @ Progreja Music Zon
MORE DATES COMING SOON! http://www.richrobinson.net/tour-dates/
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