THE BLACK CROWES
By Your Side (Columbia)
Rating: 5 out of 7
By Rob O’Connor

   After spending the past few albums sucking up the bongwater and getting floppy, the Black Crowes have come back with an album that returns them to the raunch 'n' roll of their early work. While they've been accused of being too overtly derivative of the early '70s Rolling Stones and Faces, it's a great improvement over the countless "alternative" groups currently aping last year's trend. The Crowes' unswerving devotion to slide guitar excesses, white-boy lead-singer jive, and juke-joint partying is true to the sleazy, elitist rock stardom they worship. Not every track bristles with the gut-busting energy of the album's first three tunes, but sufficient firepower charges throughout. "Only A Fool" adds a nice touch of horn. "Heavy" gets stuck, however, in a lame wash of unfunky organ and boogie riffs. Robinson is nowhere near as tuneful as he needs to be. But for sheer cockiness, these jerkos are in it for the long haul.