NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 One of the more puzzling live albums of all time came out in 2000. It featured songs from a two-night stand with The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin icon Jimmy Page. But fans hoping to hear 鈥淗ard to Handle鈥 or 鈥淪he Talks to Angels鈥 were out of luck. Bizarrely, not a single Black Crowes song was on it.
Twenty-five years later, that misstep has been fixed. The 36-track 鈥淛immy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek,鈥 restores 16 previously unreleased songs and offers a better window into a unique trans-Atlantic rock combination.
鈥淭he whole project was special, very electric for us, very something very alive,鈥 says singer-songwriter Chris Robinson. 鈥淚 think we were all 鈥 for lack of a better word 鈥 just abuzz with what we were doing as a band, as an outfit together.鈥
The live tracks were recorded at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles over two nights in October 1999. It captured musicians who were cooking after previous stops at New York City's Roseland Ballroom; the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts; and The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.
鈥淚 think we really felt like it wasn鈥檛 the Black Crowes with Jimmy Page. It was one thing, it was one group,鈥 says Chris Robinson. 鈥淲e really felt connected and tied. I just think we just had a really high energy level, and we knew we were onto something that was powerful.鈥
An album missing something
The album that came out had Zeppelin tunes like 鈥淐elebration Day,鈥 鈥淚n My Time of Dying鈥 and 鈥淲hole Lotta Love,鈥 as well as old blues and R&B standards like 鈥淲oke Up This Morning,鈥 鈥淪loppy Drunk,鈥 鈥淢ellow Down Easy鈥 and 鈥淪hake Your Money Maker,鈥 plus the Yardbirds鈥 鈥淪hape of Things to Come鈥 and Fleetwood Macsa国际传媒 鈥淥h Well.鈥
But no Black Crowes songs were included due to contractual reasons: The band had just left their label and weren't allowed to use anything from their catalog.
鈥淲e were happy with what came out. We were bummed that we weren鈥檛 able legally to put our songs on the record,鈥 says songwriter and guitarist Rich Robinson. Adds his brother Chris: 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 surprised by how inept that decision was.鈥
鈥淚 felt really bad about that because they extended this hand of friendship that I could come and join the band,鈥 says Page. 鈥淚 felt really sad because I knew the versions that we did were really good of their songs.鈥
The anniversary edition of 鈥淟ive at the Greek鈥 includes the once-dropped Black Crowes' tunes 鈥淣o Speak No Slave,鈥 鈥滺ard to Handle," 鈥淲iser Time," 鈥淩emedy鈥 and a version of 鈥淪he Talks to Angels,鈥 which Rich Robinson says Page took "to a totally different direction and a new level.鈥 Zeppelin tunes like 鈥淢isty Mountain Hop鈥 and 鈥淏ring It on Home鈥 are also included.
In addition to Page and the brothers, the band on stage included Sven Pipien on bass, Eddie Harsch on keyboards, Audley Freed on guitar and Steve Gorman on drums. Page says he felt loose and connected with the guys.
鈥淚n the past, whenever I knew it was going to be recorded, say in the Zeppelin days, I鈥檇 always get really nervous,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut with this, I didn鈥檛 have any of that anxiety or anything. We were on a wave.鈥
Hits and some soundchecks
Fans will delight in the restored songs but also in some outtakes, including five songs at soundcheck and the never-before-released song Rich Robinson and Page wrote while jamming, called simply 鈥淛ams.鈥
鈥淚 think the surprises are the things that really excite us as well,鈥 says Chris Robinson. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 even know that we had this extra material or the other things that we hadn鈥檛 really thought about until this project came around.鈥
The concerts at The Greek capture a partnership that would endure. Page and the Crowes would go on a full-length American tour in the summer of 2000 and are friends today.
鈥淲e were all then joined in the hip when we were playing, and it was just such a joyful event to for me to be playing with these guys, and I guess them to be playing with me, too,鈥 says Page.
The album re-release comes as The Black Crowes are enjoying a creative patch, earning nod last year for 鈥淗appiness Bastards,鈥 nominated for best rock album alongside the Rolling Stones.
Chris Robinson is philosophical about the timing of the anniversary release. Despite the songs sitting in a vault for a quarter of a century, he's just happy they can now be heard.
鈥淚 do have a firm belief that things happen when they鈥檙e supposed to happen because they鈥檙e supposed to happen," he says. "And if you play around with that too much, it might not have the same resonance, you know?鈥
___
This story has been updated to correct the years since the release to 25 instead of 26.
