Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
62
50 Cent
70
AFI
65
Air
70
Alice In Chains
53
Kris Allen
78
Amerie
79
Annie
76
Anti-Pop Consortium
86
The Antlers
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound
77
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
59
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
71
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Beak>
72
Brendan Benson
84
Biffy Clyro
72
The Big Pink
95
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
72
The Black Heart Procession
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
53
Bon Jovi
76
A.A. Bondy
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
83
Brother Ali
72
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
77
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
78
Califone
69
Mariah Carey
81
Brandi Carlile
72
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
71
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
82
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64
Exene Cervenka
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System
67
The Clean
84
The Clientele
72
Cold Cave
85
Converge
71
Eric Copeland
76
The Cribs
79
Cymbals Eat Guitars
62
Dashboard Confessional
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
77
Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
88
Destroyer
73
Do Make Say Think
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
67
Bob Dylan
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
61
Electric Six
44
The Entrance Band
69
Fanfarlo
71
Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
66
Orenda Fink
79
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
65
Calvin Harris
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
67
Hockey
67
Whitney Houston
80
Hudson Mohawke
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
68
Daniel Johnston
76
Norah Jones
77
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
75
Kid Sister
66
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
63
Mark Knopfler
73
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
85
Miranda Lambert
72
Ledisi
71
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
62
Leona Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
74
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
83
Patty Loveless
73
Lyle Lovett
79
Lucero
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
61
Maps
73
Mario
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
62
John Mayer
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
75
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
75
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
66
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie
76
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
82
Nirvana
96
Nirvana
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
64
OneRepublic
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
78
Osso
67
Alec Ounsworth
81
Owen
73
Paramore
78
Pastels And Tenniscoats
54
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
69
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
72
Port O'Brien
79
Q-Tip
79
R.E.M.
88
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
74
The Raveonettes
79
Real Estate
76
Jay Reatard
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78
Russian Circles
69
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78
Say Anything
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
78
Soulsavers
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
58
Squarepusher
55
Steel Panther
75
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
68
Joss Stone
83
Barbra Streisand
77
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79
The Swell Season
80
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
80
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
78
The Dutchess & The Duke
71
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74
Them Crooked Vultures
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
67
Third Eye Blind
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
73
Frank Turner
71
The Twilight Sad
60
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
69
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
70
Kurt Vile
65
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
73
Rufus Wainwright
78
Wale
57
Weezer
81
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69
Robbie Williams
59
Andrew W.K.
65
Wolfmother
84
The xx
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Lions
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 38 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: V2
Release Date: 08 May 2001
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock
Summary
'Lions' continues to build on the sound established in 1999's 'By Your Side,' with this outing produced by Don Was.
Also By This Artist: Warpaint
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Billboard
Lions is indeed a truer expression of the Crowes' potential: adventurous songwriting ensconced in a blues- and funk-inspired swagger.
Read Full Review >CDNow
Their latest, Lions, gets back to basics without going backward; the brothers Robinson are still ripping off the classics, sure, but they've expanded the history lesson from the Small Faces and Humble Pie to sharpening the attack with Zeppelinesque tricks and modern rock energy.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
The heart of Lions lies in the best ballads the band has ever waxed, such as the Led Zeppelin III-esque "Soul Singing" and the churning "Losing My Mind."
Read Full Review >Launch.com
Where the Robinson boys once seemed perpetually stuck in the butt-skankin', Faces-meets-Sticky Fingers pit, Lions draws more on communal southern boogie rock--slightly less on doofus monster guitar riffs. Not that Lions signals any reinvention, the Black Crowes are just masters at resaddling their one-trick pony.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
When the Crowes stumble into the right place, they soar. Indeed, at its best, their sixth album delivers the same streamlined pleasures that the group rediscovered on 1999's By Your Side.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
There's precious little of the extravagant muso twiddling and indulgent nonsense that has waylaid the band sometimes in the past.
Read Full Review >Revolver
While Lions roars with all of the classic rock bombast and Stones-y swagger we've come to expect from the Crowes, the album is sorely lacking in the magic that can only be achieved when the innately talented drive themselves to distraction in the pursuit of perfection. [May/June 2001, p.110]
Wall of Sound
With the exception of 1999's By Your Side, which showed flashes of the band's original brilliance, in recent years the songwriting of brothers Chris and Rich Robinson has deteriorated into a muddled mess of hard rock cliches. Lions is the low point of that decline.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Chris Robinson and crew get artier with their arrangements, but sacrifice the lived-in feel of previous work. [11 May 2001, p.81]
Blender
The line between this credible Faces-cum-Skynyrd jam band's best and worst material remains slimmer than even their most ardent fanatic might hope. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.105]
The Onion (A.V. Club)
With Lions, the band has dropped its biggest dud, a moribund disaster with no more than a tiny handful of salvageable songs.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
'Lions' is widdle-smothered great-grandadrock shite that Hendrix could whack off in ten minutes today, despite being dead. Pumped full of funk-rawk formaldehyde to stop the choruses dropping off, it boasts all the originality of a cloned baked bean and about as many tunes as a tractor makes trying to get out of a ditch.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 38 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Axe S. gave it a7:
The Crowes continue their foray into alternative rock (three snakes part II). 'greasy grass river', 'losin my mind', and 'cosmic friend' rank among the band's best songs. the whole album has a psychedelic feel, due in part to the post-post modern album artwork. like most Crowes albums, though, there are a couple of clunkers on lions.
Ken I gave it a10:
Great album. More hard Rock than other Crowe's albums.
tracey gave it a10:
the fact that the Real listeners have rated it higher than the critics says it all!another classic,all i can say is WOW!i can't stop listening to it.
BRANDON L gave it a10:
One of the most talented bands still touring today is The Black Crowes. Their music is not an imitation, but an innovation of how music can be on the cutting edge and at the same time stay connected to the roots of rock n roll. Chris's lyrics speak to the soul... TEN!!!
Jason M gave it a10:
I feel sorry for the critics who dissed this CD. HA HA HA It must be true... with their fancy words I wonder if they enjoy life ?! Anywho....WOW !!! I just can't get over this music. Does anybody else hear how 'Midnight' starts off so bad but then turns into a great song? And the next song 'lickin' is kinda stange?( my wifes favorite btw) and the rest of the record is just KILLER !!!!!!!! WellI think I know why. To put off the critics! HA HA HA HA HA "Baby don't ya see... the jokes are on you" INDEED !!!!!!!! my Souls' Singin' ..... critics can't make your soul sing ......AMEN .....Gone.........
Jimmy B gave it a10:
One Awesome Disk!!! Rock 'N' Roll with a lot of SOUL!!!!
jeff g gave it a9:
Some erratic seques in a few songs, but an amazing disc on every level. On first listen, may not appeal to big Crowes fans, but with a little patience, this will be a staple in your collection.
