There’s a lot more to Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes’s Live At The Greek than we originally thought. A 25th anniversary set for 2025 features 36 tracks, including 16 previously unreleased tracks, available as a six-LP 180-gram black vinyl with individual sleeves, a foldout poster, and a removable top box: or as a 3-CD set in a six-panel digipak with a foldout poster; or as a double LP “Best Of” edition with 15 remixed and remastered tracks, pressed on an exclusive electric smoke-colored vinyl, and limited to 1,000 copies.
Recorded during an old-guard-meets-new situation in October 1999 at Los Angeles’ famous Greek Theatre. As one could expect with the combination of Led Zeppelin’s mercurial maestro and the loosey goosey Black Crowes, things sometimes work and sometimes don’t precisely…but the songs are surely full of a good time spirit. And really, whoever said rock and roll needs to be perfect.
From the messy two-punch opener of “Celebration Day,” and “Custard Pie,” with Chris Robinson’s barely-getting-there-vocals, to the missing chords and Page’s overly loud strumming, you have to mine a bit into this collection to get to the good gooey stuff. We get that midway on the first set with the Crowes rolling through their own “No Speak, No Slave,” and hit “Hard To Handle.”
Both Robinson’s vocals and Page’s leading make solid showings on these and overall, I think things are better when Page slips in with Crowes tunes than they with his. That being said, “Misty Mountain Hope” and “Ten Years Gone” end the first disc wonderfully.
There is a loud and killer read on “The Lemon Song,” a great raucous on “Shake Your Money Maker,” and a nod back to Page’s true past with an attempt at the Yardbirds’ “Shape of Things.” Thankfully things slow down, and we get a welcome respite with what might be the best song of all here featuring Page leading with his B-bender guitar on “She Talks To Angels.”
“Custard Pie,” “You Shook Me,” “The Lemon Song,” and “Ten Years Gone,” are also presented from a soundcheck run through called “Jam” as the very last bit. It’s a nice look into what the players were getting into before the show. The 25th anniversary edition of Live At The Greek is available exclusively on The Black Crowes’ official website.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
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