At the time of its recording and release, fans of the Black Crowes did not realize the end was near. Sure, they “sold out” by having corporate sponsorship, (not to mention eye liner and glitter) on the “By Your Side” tour, and their previous album had been a glitzy-glamorous album of ready-for-radio singles, but they were the CROWES! They would return to their roots and keep on trekking through the ups and downs, just as they always had. And they did, at least for nearly a year. The album is bogged down with a lack of focus and the disturbing trend of Chris Robinson’s songwriting losing its wit.

It opens with “Midnight from the Inside Out,” a muddy rocker with drug references and a decent intro. It’s a better opener than the openers for other albums, but ultimately not as good a song as “Gone” or “Under a Mountain” - just a better intro. It leads directly into the first single, “Lickin’.” As a side note, all the songs lead into each other and the album flows along nicely like a concept album. They were probably trying to reconcile with the fact that they threw “Downtown Money Waster” right between “Wiser Time” and “Descending” on amorica. Anyway, “Lickin’” is just an exercise in Rich Robinson’s use of the toggle switch - not much more. It’s a brainless cock-rock song, or so one would think, until you get to the next song, the REAL brainless rocker of the album. “Come On” rocks hard, but doesn’t have much to back it lyrically. Party rock at its finest. “Are ya feelin’ me groove ya (do it) get right to ya (do it) creep right on up in your bones…” See? Brainless. I guess it’s nice to know they’re having a good time recording this, and I’m sure it kicked ass in concert. It just feels pointless in this setting, just like the phone ring in the background of the song.

Next, “No Use in Lying” and “Losing My Mind.” The first is a morose “screw you! It’s over!” song, complete with swirling guitars and excellent drumming from Steve Gorman. It’s the closest the Crowes get to the angry/depressed themes of Three Snakes and One Charm, and it’s followed with a pretty ballad. “Losing My Mind” borderlines between “sweet” and “sappy” with its chorus (“I love you, yes I love you/even though I know I should stay away/Because I hate you, yes I hate you/Even though it looks like I’m going to stay/And I think that I’m losing my mind”), but musically, it’s a very pretty song. It just works perfectly to counter the brash-ness of “No Use.” Too bad the next song is…

“Ozone Mama.” Funny coincidence that this is track 6, like “Heavy” was before it. It’s not nearly as bad as “Heavy,” though. See, “Heavy” was bad by everybody’s standards. This is just bad by the Crowes’ standards. Lyrically, it gets its point across less obviously than “Heavy” did, but ending every line with “y’all” gets irritating by the third or fourth line. Thankfully, the bitter feeling doesn’t stay long enough to dwell on. Why? Because ”Greasy Grass River” and “Soul Singing” are next! Yes, the live favorite (probably because it was the third song played every set for the Brotherly Love Tour… they used to have more varied setlists, I swear) and the second single, both pretty good. “Greasy” is the only real guitar showcase on the album with solos and, y’know, a memorable riff and the like. “Soul Singing” borderlines idiotic, but it just doesn’t cross it… it’s too genuinely HAPPY to be idiotic. It’s a celebration of being content with one’s life, and I personally can’t hold anything against that. It should have been the first single. The Crowes are above sex puns.

The winning streak continues through the end of the album. “Miracle to Me” is an even prettier ballad than “Losing My Mind.” And it’s a straight-ahead love song! Neat-O! Either way, it’s the best ballad on the album, and was rumored to be the third single from LIONS until the fans realized V2 records intended on leaving the band on their asses after “Soul Singing” and “Lickin’” failed. So, after that, we get more… uh… chant-ey, I guess. “Young Man Old Man” has Chris singing in a similar style to “Ozone Mama” (they say it’s, “scat singing,” but I’m no expert in styles of singing - I just do what I do) but with the lyrics to back it up… Alright, not really lyrics. Just an actual point, which is better than nothing. And it goes right into “Cosmic Friend,” what many feel is an ode to their keyboard/pianist, “Old Weird Ed.” Personally, an ode to John Lennon seems more likely (The chorus is pretty close to Lennon’s “Instant Karma”). It’s also like the Crowes’ version of a rock opera, since it’s separated into three parts: An intro, an instrumental interlude, and the actual song. It’s a cool song if you ignore the fact that the first verse of the actual song begins with “Down and dirty nappies, tired sad nasty.” The over-use of sound effects bogs it down, too (What’s up with the baby crying?), but it holds its own.

The last two songs end it with a bang. “Cypress Tree” steals the riff from “No Speak No Slave” and rocks hard, with a softer chorus that gives some contrast. And “Lay It All on Me” is a ballad that many thought might have been about their old guitarist, Marc Ford.

So there it is, a song-by-song review of the Black Crowes’ last album. It’s no Souther Harmony, but it’s an improvement over By Your Side. It’s the perfect Swan Song for them - a nice piece of work, and a nice explanation as to why they might want to call it quits, even for a little while.