WELL, the last Thirty Days have been interesting ones. Rumours have abounded about the Black Crowes and I'll get to all of those in a second. First though, what we know. TheBlackCrowes.com finally officially confirmed that the band is in fact in the studio and finishing their latest studio album. They are recording in New York City. This can be confirmed by several things. First, there have been more than a few Chris Robinson sitings in the Big Apple in the last thirty days, also there has been at least one Ed sighting. Now, we get to what we don't know. Who is playing bass on the new album? Although there has not been any official confirmation that Greg Rzab's brief stint with the Crowes is over, many fans seem to assume he is out because he did not appear at the "One For Woody" benefit. So, there are four guesses here. The first is that Greg is stll in the band and he will play bass. That is the safe bet, although it is not necessarily the most likely. The second is that a new bassist will be brought into the band and he will eventually be announced. The third is that the Crowes will go with a guest bassist on a song-by-song basis (ala Bridges To Babylon by the Rolling Stones - MSR). Finally, there is the very likely chance that Rich might play bass. He's done it before and he just put up a bass buitar for auction through ebay and the official Crowes website. That could be a clue, or it could be that we are all looking into one non appearance by Grag Rzab way too deeply. We'll just have to see. Maybe our little green friend from the 1999 European Tour will make a cameo on bass. Who knows? Who is producing the album? Don Was. This has not been officially confirmed by the band, but it seems to be common knowledge around the world. Various magazines have run info bits stating that Was is in fact producing the band's new album. Was has a history with Virgin (The Crowes new label is V2, an affiliate of Virgin) and his choice as producer looks to be a good one. Was has done his fair share of pop music, but he has also done some great albums with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers and The Rolling Stones (MSR). He is a producer who is known for getting the best out of an artist without putting a "mark" of his own on a record. He also happens to be a fantastic bassist... wait a minute, maybe we just stumbled onto a new clue in the bassist of the month mystery... maybe. There are also several unsubstantiated fan rumors. The first is that the Crowes are planning to release a new album (the next one?) in a "live" format, ala "In the Dark" by the Grateful Dead. The idea would be to play all of the songs for the album in a live venue (without a crowd). This would give the feeling of a live record, because there would be no manufactured songs with endless overdubs. It would also allow the band to play loosely without the confines of the studio. This rumor however says nothing about which songs these will be, so before anyone jumps to conclusions, here's what it could be. The band could release a live album of all their old songs (when the contract problems with Columbia are gone after the two year window prohibiting them from releasing any previously released material closes). Or, they could release an album of them playing all covers and unreleased material (aka Tall, Souled Out, The Band unreleased albums and studio sessions). This would allow the band to release a good portion of their old music with the current lineup. Or, they could release their new album, with all new material in this way. Or, this could be another rumor that is based on nothing and comes to nothing. But its out there, so lets float it and hope that something comes of it! Another rumor is the endless issue of a double album. Rich Robinson has spoken in interviews that he would like to do a double album this time around, and that the songs on the new album are like Amorica, dark and complex. He also said they had enough songs for a double album and that they had been working with Page on possible a few songs. Unfortunately, band members tend to say things and then back them up with nothing. You may recall that there was supposed to be an Amorica part 2 released in mid tour. The band recorded the entire Beacon run in 1995 for a live album. These things never came about, unfortunately. So, we will chalk this whole idea up to a rumor. It might happen. It might not. At the end of the day, the last 30 days have been typical in Amorica. The band has kept its thoughts and future well guarded and its fans have found out a few things and made up a few things. We shall see. |