The Magic Door

Whether with The Black Crowes or with his Brotherhood, Chris Robinson has remained devoted to classic rock values. Where once The Rolling Stones and The Faces were his obvious influences, with a touch of The Allman Brothers Band, Robinson has now settled on exploring the outer reaches of The Grateful Dead (again with a touch of The Allman Brothers Band). The Magic Door is the follow-up to Big Moon Ritual, released just three months earlier. It's another mind-melting outing with silvery guitars, way-out keyboards, and a massive improvisation in "Vibration & Light Suite" to keep the jam-band circuit engaged. A garage-rock take on Hank Ballard's "Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go" could have been culled from the first Dead album. The Black Crowes' ballad "Appaloosa" breaks out the acoustic guitars for a vintage folk break. "Little Lizzie Mae" cranks out a blues Bob Dylan would be proud of. The Neal Casal/Adam MacDougall/Chris Robinson–penned "Sorrows of a Blue Eyed Liar" is an audiophile's dream in guitar-tone heaven.