| Rich Robinson — The Ceaseless Sight (2x LP, 2014) |
Rich Robinson — The Ceaseless Sight
♦ When the Black Crowes either broke up or went on indefinite hiatus (it depends on who you ask and sometimes when you ask), guitarist Rich Robinson spent a few months with his family at home, figuring out what to do next.
♦ "This record represents a movement forward," guitarist tells us.
Birth name: Richard Spencer Robinson
Born: May 24, 1969, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Grew up: in the East Cobb County / Marietta suburbs of Atlanta
Notable instruments:
♦ Gibson Les Paul
♦ Gibson ES-335
♦ Fender Telecaster
♦ Gibson Dove
Album release: June 3, 2014
Record Label: The End Records/Circle Sound
Duration: 55:32
Tracks:
01. I Know You 4:13
02. Down The Road 4:11
03. One Road Hill 4:18
04. The Giving Key 5:45
05. This Unfortunate Show 3:47
06. In Comes The Night 4:16
07. Inside 4:01
08. I Have A Feeling 5:31
09. I Remember 3:49
10. In You 5:15
11. Trial And Faith 5:41
12. Obscure The Day 4:52
VINYL:
Disc: 1
1. I Know You
2. Down The Road
3. One Road Hill
4. The Giving Key
5. This Unfortunate Show
6. In Comes The Night
7. Inside
8. I Have A Feeling
Disc: 2
1. I Remember
2. In You
3. Trial And Faith
4. Obscure The Day
5. The Weight Of The Horse
6. Unchange
7. White Sea
8. Ever
All tracks written by Richard S. Robinson
CREDITS:
♦ Chris Athens Mastering
♦ Marco Benevento Keyboards
♦ Mike Birnbaum Mixing
♦ Chris Bittner Engineer, Mixing
♦ Laurent Chanez Photography
♦ Christopher Cruz Layout
♦ Amy Helm Vocals
♦ Joe Magistro Drums
♦ Steve Molitz Keyboards
♦ Katrine Ottosen Vocals
♦ Rich Robinson Guitar, Producer, Vocals
♦ Richard S. Robinson Composer
♦ Marq Spusta Cover Art
© Rich Robinson with The Black Crowes on September 19, 2010 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC - Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys tour — The Black Crowes with Rich Robinson © 2010 David Oppenheimer — All Rights Reserved
Editorial Reviews
♦ On the eve of the release of his third solo album, Rich Robinson, best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Black Crowes, stands ready to complete the solo artist evolution that he began ten years earlier. The Ceaseless Sight is an album that represents the full maturation of Rich as a songwriter, vocalist, and solo artist. The album finds Robinson stepping solidly into his own as a solo artist as he adds confident vocalist and lyricist to his accomplished musical resume.
Influence and sound:
♦ Robinson was greatly influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Allman Bros., Cactus, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, Captain Beyond, R.E.M., Led Zeppelin, John Fahey, & Nick Drake. Rich often employs open G in many of The Black Crowes’ songs and has also used open E, B♭, and G♭, giving Drake the credit for his use of open tunings. In Guitar World's "30 on 30: The Greatest Guitarists Picked by the Greatest Guitarists" (2010) Rich picked Peter Green as his all-time favorite guitar player.
_______________________________________________________________
♦ The Black Crowes may have gone on hiatus (and then off of it), but the band’s guitarist Rich Robinson never stopped making music. He co-founded the group with his brother Chris and drummer Steve Gorman in Atlanta in the late Eighties and went on to release his own albums in 2004 and 2011. On June 3rd, he’ll return with his third solo flight, The Ceaseless Sight via Circle Sound/The End Records.
♦ “I’ve always approached writing songs for an album as part of a larger work,” said Robinson. “This album as a whole is one piece and how it fits into my whole body of work is the other. My new record follows the path of my musical journey I’ve been on for 25 years. I feel a strong connection to where I’ve been musically, but more importantly where I’m going.” (http://www.rollingstone.com/)
Artist Biography by David Jeffries
♦ When the Black Crowes either broke up or went on indefinite hiatus (it depends on who you ask and sometimes when you ask), guitarist Rich Robinson spent a few months with his family at home, figuring out what to do next. There were some deaths in his extended family that just added to how strange it was adjusting to life without the Crowes, and how strange it was to be working on projects without his brother, vocalist Chris Robinson. He ended up building a studio in his Connecticut home and worked on his production chops. New avenues were opening, too, with Robinson composing the soundtrack for the 2001 film Highway while seriously working on his painting for the first time since the Crowes had formed.
♦ In 2003, he formed the four-piece band Hookah Brown, which toured a bit before Robinson realized he couldn't stand band politics any longer. Going it alone meant singing lessons, since the guitarist had never handled lead vocals. It took one lesson for Robinson to realize his technique was all wrong, but it built up his confidence and renewed his interest in releasing an album. Playing everything himself but the drums, Robinson soon had enough for an album. Joe Magistro took care of the drum parts, then guest appearances from ex-Crowes keyboardist Eddie Hawrsch and BR5-49's Donnie Herron were added, and the album was done. Robinson released the result, Paper, in August of 2004 on his own Keyhole label. Shortly afterward in 2005, the Black Crowes reunited and had a successful run of records, beginning with an acoustic duet with brother Chris called Brothers of a Feather in 2007. The next year, the Crowes released the full-length Warpaint, which was succeeded by the double-album Before the Frost...Until the Freeze in 2009. Two years later, the Crowes went on hiatus and Robinson released his second solo album, Through a Crooked Sun.
REVIEW
John Bohlinger
May 16, 2014 | Score: ***½
♦ The ’80s took the strut and swagger of ’70s rock and turned it into a soulless parody of itself, trading Les Pauls and velvet for pointy guitars and spandex. The Black Crowes thankfully closed that decade with glorious, ragged rock ’n’ roll that made you want to trash the dump and bring home a waitress. Rich Robinson’s Keith Richards-esque riffs and harmony singing were a driving force behind much of the overall sound of those classic albums. Now 25 years and over 25 million albums sold later, Robinson is releasing his third solo album.
♦ You can’t listen to Rich Robinson’s The Ceaseless Sight and not compare it to The Black Crowes, but you have to let the project be what it is: a Rich Robinson solo project. It’s no surprise that the guitar work sounds like a hybrid of the best of The Faces and The Stones but unexpectedly, some of the songwriting and playing would fit in with Allman Brothers and/or the folky side of John Mayer (“One Road Hill” could have come of Mayer’s Born and Raised). The guitar playing and tone smokes — you can almost hear the weed on these tracks.
♦ Rich has a warm, understated, neo-hippie voice that works well with the songs on this album, but I found myself hoping that “I Know You”and“The Giving Key” will it make on the next Black Crowes album. Although Rich Robinson’s almost folky voice works well with his songs, his brother Chris — who is pound for pound one of the all-time great rock singers — would take the chorus up an octave and rip the roof off the joint.
Must-hear tracks: “I Know You,” “One Road Hill”
Fortaken: http://www.premierguitar.com/
Also:
By Chuck Armstrong June 3, 2014 8:39 AM
:: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rich-robinson-the-ceaseless-sight/
INTERVIEW
:: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rich-robinson-2014-interview/
Website: http://www.richrobinson.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8KUX0Y3-ooP7GaE2m5J1w
Twitter: https://twitter.com/richsrobinson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richrobinsonmusic
Discography:
♦ Paper (Keyhole Records, 2004)
♦ Live At The Knitting Factory, NYC — 01/16/04 (Dynasonic, 2004)
♦ with Chris Robinson Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy (Eagle Records, 2007)
♦ Through a Crooked Sun (Circle Sound/Thirty Tigers, 2011)
♦ Llama Blues EP (Circle Sound/Thirty Tigers, 2011)
♦ "The Ceaseless Sight" (The End Records/Circle Sound, 2014)
______________________________________________________________
Picture:
Rich Robinson playing a 1964 Gibson ES-335 guitar with the Black Crowes at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival / Photo credit: by DickClarkMises
| Rich Robinson — The Ceaseless Sight (2x LP, 2014) |
♦ When the Black Crowes either broke up or went on indefinite hiatus (it depends on who you ask and sometimes when you ask), guitarist Rich Robinson spent a few months with his family at home, figuring out what to do next.
♦ "This record represents a movement forward," guitarist tells us.
Birth name: Richard Spencer Robinson
Born: May 24, 1969, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Grew up: in the East Cobb County / Marietta suburbs of Atlanta
Notable instruments:
♦ Gibson Les Paul
♦ Gibson ES-335
♦ Fender Telecaster
♦ Gibson Dove
Album release: June 3, 2014
Record Label: The End Records/Circle Sound
Duration: 55:32
Tracks:
01. I Know You 4:13
02. Down The Road 4:11
03. One Road Hill 4:18
04. The Giving Key 5:45
05. This Unfortunate Show 3:47
06. In Comes The Night 4:16
07. Inside 4:01
08. I Have A Feeling 5:31
09. I Remember 3:49
10. In You 5:15
11. Trial And Faith 5:41
12. Obscure The Day 4:52
VINYL:
Disc: 1
1. I Know You
2. Down The Road
3. One Road Hill
4. The Giving Key
5. This Unfortunate Show
6. In Comes The Night
7. Inside
8. I Have A Feeling
Disc: 2
1. I Remember
2. In You
3. Trial And Faith
4. Obscure The Day
5. The Weight Of The Horse
6. Unchange
7. White Sea
8. Ever
All tracks written by Richard S. Robinson
CREDITS:
♦ Chris Athens Mastering
♦ Marco Benevento Keyboards
♦ Mike Birnbaum Mixing
♦ Chris Bittner Engineer, Mixing
♦ Laurent Chanez Photography
♦ Christopher Cruz Layout
♦ Amy Helm Vocals
♦ Joe Magistro Drums
♦ Steve Molitz Keyboards
♦ Katrine Ottosen Vocals
♦ Rich Robinson Guitar, Producer, Vocals
♦ Richard S. Robinson Composer
♦ Marq Spusta Cover Art
Editorial Reviews
♦ On the eve of the release of his third solo album, Rich Robinson, best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Black Crowes, stands ready to complete the solo artist evolution that he began ten years earlier. The Ceaseless Sight is an album that represents the full maturation of Rich as a songwriter, vocalist, and solo artist. The album finds Robinson stepping solidly into his own as a solo artist as he adds confident vocalist and lyricist to his accomplished musical resume.
Influence and sound:
♦ Robinson was greatly influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Allman Bros., Cactus, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, Captain Beyond, R.E.M., Led Zeppelin, John Fahey, & Nick Drake. Rich often employs open G in many of The Black Crowes’ songs and has also used open E, B♭, and G♭, giving Drake the credit for his use of open tunings. In Guitar World's "30 on 30: The Greatest Guitarists Picked by the Greatest Guitarists" (2010) Rich picked Peter Green as his all-time favorite guitar player.
_______________________________________________________________
♦ The Black Crowes may have gone on hiatus (and then off of it), but the band’s guitarist Rich Robinson never stopped making music. He co-founded the group with his brother Chris and drummer Steve Gorman in Atlanta in the late Eighties and went on to release his own albums in 2004 and 2011. On June 3rd, he’ll return with his third solo flight, The Ceaseless Sight via Circle Sound/The End Records.
♦ “I’ve always approached writing songs for an album as part of a larger work,” said Robinson. “This album as a whole is one piece and how it fits into my whole body of work is the other. My new record follows the path of my musical journey I’ve been on for 25 years. I feel a strong connection to where I’ve been musically, but more importantly where I’m going.” (http://www.rollingstone.com/)
Artist Biography by David Jeffries
♦ When the Black Crowes either broke up or went on indefinite hiatus (it depends on who you ask and sometimes when you ask), guitarist Rich Robinson spent a few months with his family at home, figuring out what to do next. There were some deaths in his extended family that just added to how strange it was adjusting to life without the Crowes, and how strange it was to be working on projects without his brother, vocalist Chris Robinson. He ended up building a studio in his Connecticut home and worked on his production chops. New avenues were opening, too, with Robinson composing the soundtrack for the 2001 film Highway while seriously working on his painting for the first time since the Crowes had formed.
♦ In 2003, he formed the four-piece band Hookah Brown, which toured a bit before Robinson realized he couldn't stand band politics any longer. Going it alone meant singing lessons, since the guitarist had never handled lead vocals. It took one lesson for Robinson to realize his technique was all wrong, but it built up his confidence and renewed his interest in releasing an album. Playing everything himself but the drums, Robinson soon had enough for an album. Joe Magistro took care of the drum parts, then guest appearances from ex-Crowes keyboardist Eddie Hawrsch and BR5-49's Donnie Herron were added, and the album was done. Robinson released the result, Paper, in August of 2004 on his own Keyhole label. Shortly afterward in 2005, the Black Crowes reunited and had a successful run of records, beginning with an acoustic duet with brother Chris called Brothers of a Feather in 2007. The next year, the Crowes released the full-length Warpaint, which was succeeded by the double-album Before the Frost...Until the Freeze in 2009. Two years later, the Crowes went on hiatus and Robinson released his second solo album, Through a Crooked Sun.
REVIEW
John Bohlinger
May 16, 2014 | Score: ***½
♦ The ’80s took the strut and swagger of ’70s rock and turned it into a soulless parody of itself, trading Les Pauls and velvet for pointy guitars and spandex. The Black Crowes thankfully closed that decade with glorious, ragged rock ’n’ roll that made you want to trash the dump and bring home a waitress. Rich Robinson’s Keith Richards-esque riffs and harmony singing were a driving force behind much of the overall sound of those classic albums. Now 25 years and over 25 million albums sold later, Robinson is releasing his third solo album.
♦ You can’t listen to Rich Robinson’s The Ceaseless Sight and not compare it to The Black Crowes, but you have to let the project be what it is: a Rich Robinson solo project. It’s no surprise that the guitar work sounds like a hybrid of the best of The Faces and The Stones but unexpectedly, some of the songwriting and playing would fit in with Allman Brothers and/or the folky side of John Mayer (“One Road Hill” could have come of Mayer’s Born and Raised). The guitar playing and tone smokes — you can almost hear the weed on these tracks.
♦ Rich has a warm, understated, neo-hippie voice that works well with the songs on this album, but I found myself hoping that “I Know You”and“The Giving Key” will it make on the next Black Crowes album. Although Rich Robinson’s almost folky voice works well with his songs, his brother Chris — who is pound for pound one of the all-time great rock singers — would take the chorus up an octave and rip the roof off the joint.
Must-hear tracks: “I Know You,” “One Road Hill”
Fortaken: http://www.premierguitar.com/
Also:
By Chuck Armstrong June 3, 2014 8:39 AM
:: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rich-robinson-the-ceaseless-sight/
INTERVIEW
:: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rich-robinson-2014-interview/
Website: http://www.richrobinson.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8KUX0Y3-ooP7GaE2m5J1w
Twitter: https://twitter.com/richsrobinson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richrobinsonmusic
Discography:
♦ Paper (Keyhole Records, 2004)
♦ Live At The Knitting Factory, NYC — 01/16/04 (Dynasonic, 2004)
♦ with Chris Robinson Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy (Eagle Records, 2007)
♦ Through a Crooked Sun (Circle Sound/Thirty Tigers, 2011)
♦ Llama Blues EP (Circle Sound/Thirty Tigers, 2011)
♦ "The Ceaseless Sight" (The End Records/Circle Sound, 2014)
______________________________________________________________
Picture:
Rich Robinson playing a 1964 Gibson ES-335 guitar with the Black Crowes at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival / Photo credit: by DickClarkMises