'By Your Side' falls by the wayside

Review Score: (4/10)
By Your Side is subpar at best. The Crowes have yet to match the intensity and shear rocking power of Shake Your Moneymaker. Each of their last 4 albums has gone in a different direction, with Amorica probably being their best and most underrated effort since Moneymaker. By Your Side tends toward the anthemic style of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion which in my opinion is not a very good disc, but still pretty good for the Crowes. Most of the 11 tracks of By Your Side, if not all, have the gospel chorus singing along with Chris Robinson and it doesn't make very good results. Gone, are such catchy rockers from past albums, like "Under a Mountain", "She Gave Good Sunflower" and "Nebakanezer". In place of the rockers, we get sleepers such as the very cheesy "Heavy" and "Diamond Ring". Some life is shown in the two opening songs of the album: "Go Faster" and "Kickin' My Heart Around". These songs make the album seem like it could be a decent outing, but alas, it all falls to pieces after that. Maybe the absence of longtime bassist Johnny Colt did something. One may never know, but By Your Side is not very good.

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