The Black Crowes: Amorica (2025 Deluxe Edition)

“You ask me why another road song
Funny I bet you never left home.”
–“Wiser Time”

Originally, the Black Crowes’ third album Amorica hit the streets on November 1, 1994. In November 2025, the band released a remastered 5 LP Deluxe Edition of Amorica culled from the original tapes. These recordings span from 1992-1994. The band founders Chris and Rich Robinson oversaw the reissue process with the acclaimed George Drakoulias who produced the first two Black Crowes albums.

The Black Crowes enjoyed tremendous success with Shake Your Money Maker (1990) and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992). They sold millions of both albums and contended as one of the world’s biggest bands. Pressure mounted on the Crowes before the release of their third album, and brothers Chris and Rich fought constantly.

Chris Robinson left Atlanta and moved to Los Angeles in 1993. The Crowes’ first two albums were recorded in Atlanta, and it was decided the third would be recorded in L.A.’s belly of the beast. That fall the Crowes began sessions for the lost Tallest sessions at Conway Studios. While in L.A., the band enjoyed the fruits of their success and operated as rock-n-roll vampires while trying to acclimate to their extreme success. Intense psychic weather surrounded the Crowes during these recordings.

The band’s formidable line-up on The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, Amorica and Three Snakes and One Charm included: Chris (vocals), Rich (guitars), Steve Gorman (drums), Johnny Colt (bass), Marc Ford (guitars) and Ed Hawyrsch (keys).

A certain amount of nostalgia surrounds Amorica. I became a Crowes fan in early 1990 with the release of Shake Your Money Maker. On that tour I saw them in Macon, Valdosta, and Savannah. I also attended the Atlanta gig at the Omni the night they were fired from the ZZ Top tour. In March of 92, I watched the Crowes perform at the 40-Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, as the “Roach Clips” where they played material from the soon-to-be-released Southern Harmony and Musical Companion with two new members, Marc Ford and Eddie Hawyrsch.

In April of 1992, the writer Stanley Booth and I attended the famous NORML rally the Crowes headlined in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park one month before the Crowes released Southern Harmony on May 12, 1992. I remember asking Booth what he thought of the Crowes Shake Your Money Maker album, and he said: “The Rolling Stones haven’t sounded that good in years.” Pound for pound, Amorica ranks as my favorite Black Crowes album. I remember the day I bought it from Wuxtry Records in Athens, Georgia. The other album I bought released that day was Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, which was cosmically produced by George Drakoulias.

This new Amorica boxset includes a memorable cover of Taj Mahal’s “Chevrolet”, which the Crowes played live frequently in 1995 and remains the only cover tune in the collection. “Song of the Flesh” and the stellar instrumental “Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz” (which first appeared on the 1998 Sho Nuff boxset) will only sound familiar to longtime Black Crowes fans.

Scrapped songs from the album Tall, an old jazz term for getting high, were released in 2006 in a double disc package called The Lost Crowes. These 2025 remastered versions sound far superior to any previous recording for any of these tunes. “Lowdown”–an early version of “Ballad in Urgency”–captures Rich Robinson and Marc Ford’s timeless six-string chemistry proving why guitar players admire the Black Crowes music. “Tied Up & Swallowed” a straight up cut-throat, rocker was often played live. An interesting original version of “Evil Eye” can be heard here that later appeared on the Crowes’ fourth album Three Snakes One Charm (1996).

“Dirty Hair Halo” another live favorite propelled by Rich’s sidewinding riff and the group’s musical telepathy sounds magnificent. The back-up vocals sound clearer. For the die-hard Crowe fans, “Feathers”, “Thunderstorm 6:54”, “Title Song” and “Bitter, Bitter You” represent time-travel back to the early 1990s. If you listen to “Paris Song” closely, you realize it contains the “Cursed Diamond” riff.

The Marie Laveau sessions—recorded in New Orleans at Daniel Lanois’ Kingsway Studio during October of 1992—preserves “Exit” and “Fear Years” written and performed during the 1992 tour. Chris Robinson recently said of this session: “What you hear on the Kingsway stuff is we’re romantically disillusioned.”

“On That Hallow Night”–a dynamic instrumental–captures the Crowes cohesive sound with a snakebite riff and deep groove that emerges as an unheard gem. An early rendition of “Girl From a Pawnshop” can be compared to its final version on Three Snakes and One Charm. “Bewildered” sounds mighty fine with keyboardist Eddie Hawrysch high in the mix. An acoustic version of Amorica’s “Nonfiction” is interesting, and as many times as I’ve heard the song this rendition sounds refreshing. Live at AIR Studios in London from a performance on October 25, 1994, showcases the Crowes powerful onstage dynamic on “A Conspiracy”, “P. 25 London”, “Wiser Time”, and “High Head Blues”.

The 1976 bicentennial Hustler cover of a woman’s America flag bikini showing a bit of pubic hair was the Amorica album cover. In my humble opinion, Amorica contains the best artwork of any Black Crowes album with Southern Harmony a close second. Chris used an old typewriter for the lyrics in the album sleeve. The album images reflect a glorious indulgence. The pubic hair brought criticism from retailers like Walmart who demanded an alternate cover, or they refused to sell Amorica. At the time, Rich Robinson said of the hypocrisy: “You can show people killing each other on TV with guns and shit, but a woman’s pubic hair is SO offensive.”

In the studio, the Crowes filmed a psychedelic-fueled party where the Crowes played songs from Amorica. Earlier this year, Chris elucidated on the famous gathering: “I had this idea. I’ve always been into film. At the time, I’m obsessed with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the whole party scene with half-naked girls, body paint, and all the groovy, trippy stuff. I’m also interested in Terry Southern’s The Magic Christian with Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. There’s a scene where they take LSD on the train in the English countryside. When the acid kicks in, the seats go back into this room and there’s people in costumes. The Pope is there with nuns. I was like, let’s throw a party in the studio, we’ll invite people, we’ll hire girls in body paint, and we’ll project blue skies and clouds on the wall. We’ll have a full bar. You can’t come in unless you take psilocybin, mushrooms, and whatever else you want, and you have to pick a costume to wear. The photos in the Amorica packaging were taken at the party.”

Amorica was recorded at Sound City during May and June of 1994. The group’s versatile, polyrhythmic and muscular style operated at a zenith. J.J. Puig produced Amorica. Musical guests Jimmy “Two Fingers” Ashurst (mandolin), American Music Factory member Bruce Kaphan (pedal steel), Eric Bobo (percussion) and Jellyfish’s Andy Sturmer contributed “assorted musical gifts” on these sessions. Chris told writer David Cavanagh from the English magazine Q about recording Amorica after they scrapped an entire album: “It’s more focused. That’s what it is. It’s like a focused thing. It’s a different vibe. A perfectly good album is one thing, a great album is another. To us, it wasn’t great. And this (Amorica) is.”

True enough.

For the Amorica or Bust and subsequent 1995 tour cycle, the Crowes opened for the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Page & Plant as well as headlined the H.O.R.D.E tour with the Amorica songs in heavy setlist rotation. The Crowes chose the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans as their opening group, and this live collaboration onstage proved undeniably potent. Amorica captures a deep and wide sound showcasing the group’s maturity as musicians. Sonic precision on a rock and roll razor’s edge exists in these rare grooves.

The furious opener “Gone” finds Marc Ford playing the EBow for the first time as Chris sings: “Good riddance, I am gone.” “A Conspiracy” served as the first single from Amorica. “High Head Blues” displays the Crowes’ musical dexterity with tinges of Latin influence. The slow burning “Cursed Diamond” offers a vulnerability amid dark musical energy. In “Nonfiction” Chris sings: “Clouds conspire above my head/I overheard them say I wish he was dead”. “She Gave Good Sunflower” proves the band’s swinging prowess.

“P. 25 London” stands as a whirling-dervish fever rocker. “Ballad in Urgency” is a beautiful number that morphs into a signature composition, “Wiser Time”. “Downtown Money Waster” exists as the dark horse tune with its wicked, mercurial acoustic sound. Chris Robinson sings what he knows about:

“To my lowdown downtown money waster
Your saving grace was that I liked to taste ya
But your flower is spoiled
Too easy to make ya
You got a .38 and your book of revelation
I got a .44 and a load of temptation.”

Amorica’s final song, “Descending”, is driven by Ed Hawrysch’s beautiful piano creating a visceral emotion as the rest of the band plays at their most tasteful and low-key. Brilliant.