MATTY'S PICKS--The Black Crowes' 'Southern Harmony and Musical Companion': Bluesy boogie with soul

I will start by saying that I love the Black Crowes and I don't care what anyone else (i.e. indie pop/punk rock/art rock purists) thinks. This is a band with soul that makes you want to shake what the Good Lord gave ya every time you throw on one of their albums. 'Southern Harmony...' is a fantastic album and even though it's not as popular as the Crowes' debut ('Shake Your Moneymaker'), I think that it is a better, more musically mature collection. It has the great singles ("Remedy", "Sting Me"), but the tracks deeper into the album ("Hotel Illness" and "No Speak No Slave" for example) are uniformly excellent. What turned me onto the album the most was the guitar playing. This is one of my absolute FAVOURITE guitar albums. The Crowes picked up more technically gifted guitarist Marc Ford, replacing Jeff Cease, and the difference is noticeable. The solo on "Sting Me" is magnificent and the rest album has Ford's signature fiery licks all over it. Adding an organist and some female backing vocalists really flesh out the sound as well. Not to be outdone by Ford, Rich Robinson's riffs recall the best of classic Stones, Aerosmith, Faces, Skynyrd and Zeppelin without sounding derivative. Brother Chris wails, croons, and screams like a banshee with the effect being nothing less than marvelous throughout. The Robinsons and Co. made some great albums after this (especially 'Amorica'), but never quite replicated emulating the fire, passion, grit, and soul of 'The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion'. A true gem...