Tuesday, September 05, 2023

The Black Crowes' 'The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion' Box set Announced

One of the great albums released in the 1990s is set to receive a major and expanded reissue this fall! Check out the details below...Robert Kinsler


Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes.
Photo courtesy of Daryl Weisser 


THE BLACK CROWES 
THE SOUTHERN HARMONY AND MUSICAL COMPANION 
BOXSET ANNOUNCED 
 
Set For Release December 1, 2023, via UMe
Pre-Order HERE
 
Featuring Unreleased In-Studio Recordings, B-Sides, Live Rarities and The Original Album Now Remastered

(September 5, 2023) -- Today, world-renowned rock band The Black Crowes announce the box set of their chart-topping sophomore album, The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion, via American Recordings/UMeThe album, which entered the US Billboard album chart at No. 1 upon release in 1992, was named after a post-Civil War southern hymnal and is home to some of the band's biggest hits, including "Remedy," “Sting Me,” and "Thorn in My Pride” which were #1 on the Billboard Main Stream Rock Airplay chart for a combined total of 21 weeks. Rich and Chris Robinson, alongside producer George Drakoulias, revisited the archives for the instant classic album and created a special super deluxe edition featuring unreleased studio recordingsrare B-sides, a live performance from Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, TX, on February 6, 1993, and a newly remastered album from the original 1/4″ production master. Highlights for the forthcoming boxset include 14 unreleased recordings, including a new mix of the Memphis soul classic song "99 Pounds" originally by Ann Peebles and written by Don Bryant, and a previously unreleased studio recording of "Miserable." 

At the end of the Southern Harmony and Musical Companion recording sessions in early 1992, the band performed live on the famed Southern Tracks Studio floor in Atlanta, GA, on January 4, 1992. The session was captured by a film crew and, true to The Black Crowes form, turned into a party. These never-before-released until now, live, studio recordings, feature five songs, including their cover of Ry Cooder's "Boomer's Story." Also included in the super deluxe edition, Southern Harmony Live, featuring all the tracks off the album, performed live in Houston, TX, on February 6, 1993. This legendary and much-bootlegged show has now been mixed from the 24-track tapes and is available alongside the original album, which has been remastered from the 1/4″ production master.

The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is available for pre-order now on stunning 4LP, 3CD, 2 CD, and 1LP formats, which will be released on December 1, 2023. An exclusive, limited-edition “Remedy” Lyric T-shirt or Trucker Hat will also be available as Fan Packs bundled with the 1LP in the Black Crowes official store HERE.  A super deluxe digital audio will also be available to preorder on October 6. Fans who preorder the digital super deluxe will immediately receive a new mix of the Memphis soul classic song "99 Pounds."  Pre-order The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion here.

The Black Crowes Chris Robinson said, “We’ve always thought that the music on Southern Harmony and Musical Companion was made of a certain magic that was in the air for us in 1992.  This special box set represents all the ingredients of the spell we were under.”

“I always felt that Southern Harmony was us coming into our own as a band and creating our sound.” The Black Crowes' Rich Robinson elaborated. “We made the record in 8 days. Every song was one or two takes. No more than that. It was a snapshot of a band possessing all of its powers, and it still resonates with me to this day.”

The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion will be available in the following formats:
  • The Super Deluxe 4LP and 3CD Box Sets include the remastered The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion from the original 1/4” production master (LP1/CD1.)  (LP2/ CD2) “More Harmony: Unreleased, Outtakes and B-Sides” features a collection of nine songs from the Southern Harmony recording sessions at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, GA between December 1991 and January 1992, including two unreleased recordings “99 Pounds” and “Miserable.” On the last day of recording, the band played live, in studio on January 4, 1992, with covers of Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35,” and Ry Cooder’s “Boomer’s Story.” (LP3-4/ CD3) “Southern Harmony Live: February 6, 1993,” in Houston, TX., originally recorded on a 24-track tape. The performance features eight of the Southern Harmony album tracks and a seven-minute “Jam.”
     
  • Both the LP and CD box set include a reproduction of the original 132-page promotional hymn book featuring insights on the record and a set of lithographs of classic images from the Southern Harmony photo sessions. All LPs in the box are 180g vinyl. 
     
  • A limited-edition, e-comm exclusive of the 4LP Super Deluxe version will be signed by Chris and Rich Robinson.
     
  • The digital audio from the Super Deluxe will also be available to preorder on October 6. Fans who preorder the digital deluxe will immediately receive a new mix of the Memphis soul classic song "99 Pounds." 
     
  • The Deluxe 2CD set features the 2023 remaster of the original The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, plus a bonus CD, “The Best of the Box,” containing nine rare and unreleased sections from the super deluxe box set.
     
  • 1LP 2023 limited edition remaster of Southern Harmony and Musical Companion on 140g black vinyl, with the audio sourced from the original 1/4” production master tape.
     
  • An exclusive, limited-edition “Remedy” Lyric T-shirt or Trucker Hat will also be available as Fan Packs bundled with the 1LP in the Black Crowes official store HERE.
Track Listing
 
4-LP SET
 
LP1- The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion  
  1. Sting Me (Side A)
  2. Remedy (Side A)
  3. Thorn In My Pride (Side A)
  4. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye (Side A)
  5. Sometimes Salvation (Side A)
  6. Hotel Illness (Side B)
  7. Black Moon Creeping (Side B)
  8. No Speak No Slave (Side B)
  9. My Morning Song (Side B)
  10. Time Will Tell (Side B)
 
LP2- More Companions: Unreleased, Outtakes and B-Sides 
  1. 99 Pounds (Side C)
  2. Miserable (Side C)
  3. Rainy Day Women No 12 & 35 (Side C)
  4. Boomer’s Story (Side C)
  5. Darling of The Underground Press (Side C)
  6. Sting Me (Slow) (Side D)
  7. Bad Luck Blue Eyes, Goodbye (Side D)
  8. Sometimes Salvation (Side D)
  9. Black Moon Creeping (Side D)
 
LP3- Southern Harmony Live: February 6, 1993 (Houston, TX) 
  1. No Speak No Slave (Side A)
  2. Sting Me (Side A)
  3. My Morning Song (Side A)
  4. Jam (Side B)
  5. Thorn in My Pride (Side B)
 
 
LP4- Southern Harmony Live: February 6, 1993 (Houston, TX) 
  1. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye (Side C)
  2. Black Moon Creeping (Side C)
  3. Hotel Illness (Side C)
  4. Sometimes Salvation (Side D)
  5. Remedy (Side D)
 
3-CD SET
 
CD1- The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion 
  1. Sting me
  2. Remedy
  3. Thorn In My Pride
  4. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye
  5. Sometimes Salvation
  6. Hotel Illness
  7. Black Moon Creeping
  8. No Speak No Slave
  9. My Morning Song
  10. Time Will Tell
 
CD2- More Companions: Unreleased, Outtakes and B-Sides 
  1. 99 Pounds
  2. Miserable
  3. Rainy Day Women No 12 & 35
  4. Boomer’s Story
  5. Darling of The Underground Press
  6. Sting Me (Slow)
  7. Bad Luck Blue Eyes, Goodbye
  8. Sometimes Salvation
  9. Black Moon Creeping
 
 CD3- Southern Harmony Live: February 6, 1993 (Houston, TX)
  1. No Speak No Slave
  2. Sting Me
  3. My Morning Song
  4. Jam
  5. Thorn in My Pride
  6. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye
  7. Black Moon Creeping
  8. Hotel Illness
  9. Sometimes Salvation
  10. Remedy  
 
LP1 
 
DISC 1
  1. Sting Me (Side A)
  2. Remedy (Side A)
  3. Thorn In My Pride (Side A)
  4. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye (Side A)
  5. Sometimes Salvation (Side A)
  6. Hotel Illness (Side B)
  7. Black Moon Creeping (Side B)
  8. No Speak No Slave (Side B)
  9. My Morning Song (Side B)
  10. Time Will Tell (Side B)
 
2CD
 
DISC 1
  1. Sting Me
  2. Remedy
  3. Thorn In My Pride 
  4. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye 
  5. Sometimes Salvation
  6. Hotel Illness
  7. Black Moon Creeping
  8. No Speak No Slave
  9. My Morning Song
  10. Time Will Tell
 
DISC 2
  1. 99 Pounds
  2. Darling of The Underground Rainy Day Women No 12 & 35
  3. Sting Me (Slow)
  4. Thorn in My Pride
  5. My Morning Song
  6. Black Moon Creeping
  7. Sometimes Salvation
  8. Remedy
 
 
DIGITAL ALBUM 
  1. Sting Me
  2. Remedy
  3. Thorn In My Pride 
  4. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye 
  5. Sometimes Salvation
  6. Hotel Illness
  7. Black Moon Creeping
  8. No Speak No Slave
  9. My Morning Song
  10. Time Will Tell
  11. 99 Pounds
  12. Miserable
  13. Rainy Day Women No 12 & 35
  14. Boomer’s Story
  15. Darling Of The Underground Press
  16. Sting Me (Slow)
  17. Bad Luck Blue Eyes, Goodbye
  18. Sometimes Salvation
  19. Black Moon Creeping
  20. No Speak No Slave
  21. Sting Me
  22. My Morning Song
  23. Jam
  24. Thorn in My Pride
  25. Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye
  26. Black Moon Creeping
  27. Hotel Illness
  28. Sometimes Salvation
  29. Remedy

Photo credit: Mark Seliger


Follow The Black Crowes:
Instagram: @theblackcrowes
Facebook: @theblackcrowes
Twitter: @theblackcrowes
 
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About The Black Crowes

In 1990, when journalists were lamenting the death of rock, as cheesy pop and hair metal dominated the charts, Atlanta’s Black Crowes gave the genre a swift and much needed kick in the ass with Shake Your Money Maker. Fueled by singles “Jealous Again,” “Twice As Hard,” “She Talks To Angels,” and the break-through cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle,” the band immediately took the rock world by storm, topping Rolling Stone’s “Best New American Band Readers Poll” in late 1990. The Black Crowes went on to release eight studio and four live albums, selling in the tens of millions along the way; they sold out shows around the world; had legendary guitarist Jimmy Page join as a member; got kicked off a tour with ZZ Top for insulting the sponsor; got screwed by bad record deals; got married and divorced, fought amongst themselves and against the rest of the world. In other words, they’ve done everything a legendary rock group should do.

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