Cosmic America

Less than a decade after a multi-platinum debut album, the Black Crowes found themselves at a crisis point in 1998. Gone were lead guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Johnny Colt. Gone was their label. And the Crowes found themselves increasingly out of musical fashion. Enter Columbia Records, Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, VH1 Behind The Music, and a new batch of harder-rocking songs. By Your Side retained some of the DNA of its unreleased predecessor, but had a completely different vibe - less The Band and more late-period Aerosmith. Rich Robinson took on most (if not all) of the guitar work, as guitar solos gave way to layered riffs. The results were...interesting. Some of the songs yielded a welcome shot of adrenalin, some felt like they were missing a few pieces, and a couple ended up being among the worst songs the band would officially release in their career. It's not a bad album per se, but for a band as talented musically as the Black Crowes, it was a bit of a disappointment. Still worth listening to, though!