Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel [LP]

by Chris Robinson, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Overview

Perhaps it's unfair -- or at least slightly reductive -- to compare the Chris Robinson Brotherhood to the work of Rich Robinson, the estranged brother of the band's leader, but listening to their 2016 albums side by side illustrates the divide between the co-leaders of the Black Crowes. Flux, the fourth album by Rich, doubles down on the earthy Southern sounds that always rooted the Crowes, but Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel, the fourth LP by the CRB, is so light it floats away on its own haze. Apart from the knowing "Leave My Guitar Alone," the rhythms aren't blues-boogie, they're nimble funk-rock colored by a psychedelic sensibility that isn't about chops but rather endless expansion. It's jam music where the playing isn't the point: it's the vibe and, sometimes, the song. Robinson certainly luxuriates in his winding words, lyrics that conjure fleeting indelible moments, but what impresses is the structure -- he doesn't write hooks, he writes melodies, where the verses slide into the chorus then glide into a bridge -- and how the band underpins these tunes with interplay that feels loose yet tight: the performances often stretch for longer than six minutes but the CRB aren't aimless, they're simply riding their groove. Such accents as early-'70s analog synths and a couple of pastoral acoustic numbers may give Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel a throwback feel but the Chris Robinson Brotherhood aren't living in the past, they're pushing jam band tradition forward by keeping their expansion focused on funk. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/29/2016
Label:	Megaforce / Silver Arrow Records
UPC:	0020286221890
Rank:	73415

Tracks

1. Narcissus Soaking Wet
2. Forever As the Moon
3. Ain't It Hard But Fair
4. Give Us Back Our Eleven Days
5. Some Gardens Green
6. Leave My Guitar Alone
7. Oak Apple Day
8. California Hymn

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Chris Robinson   Primary Artist,Harp,Guitar,Vocals
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood   Primary Artist
Meg Baird   Vocals
Tony Leone   Drums,Mandolin,Percussion
Neal Casal   Guitar,Vocals
Adam MacDougall   Vocals,Keyboards
Ted Pecchio   Bass

Technical Credits

Neal Casal   Photography
Alan Forbes   Illustrations
Chris Albers   Sounds,Engineer
J.P. Hesser   Mixing,Engineer
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood   Composer,Producer
Allison Bridges Robinson   Artist
Lindsey Ross   Portraits