Shake Your Money Maker (album)

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For the song, see Shake Your Moneymaker (song).
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker.png
Studio album by
the Black Crowes
ReleasedFebruary 13, 1990 (1990-02-13)
Recorded1989
StudioSoundscape Studios, Atlanta; Chapel Studios, Paramount Studios and Grandmaster Studios, Los Angeles
Genre
Length44:50
LabelDef American
ProducerGeorge Drakoulias
The Black Crowes chronology
Shake Your Money Maker
(1990) 		The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
(1992)
Singles from Shake Your Money Maker
  1. "Jealous Again"
    Released: 1990
  2. "Hard to Handle"
    Released: 1990
  3. "Twice As Hard"
    Released: 1990
  4. "She Talks to Angels"
    Released: 1990
  5. "Seeing Things"
    Released: 1991

Shake Your Money Maker (also stylized as The Black Crowes Present: $hake Your Money Maker[2]) is the debut studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes, released on February 13, 1990 on Def American Recordings. It is the only album by the band to feature guitarist Jeff Cease. The album is named after a classic blues song written by Elmore James. The Black Crowes have played the song live many times over the years, but it is not included on this album.

Shake Your Money Maker peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and two of its singles, "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels", reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard" and "Seeing Things" were also charting singles in the United States. Shake Your Money Maker is the Black Crowes' best selling album, having sold more than 5 million copies.[3]

On January 8, 2021, the Black Crowes announced that a 30th anniversary edition of the album would be released on February 26, 2021, containing the original album remastered in addition to three previously unreleased songs, outtakes, two demos from the Mr. Crowe's Garden era, and a live performance set recorded in 1990 at Center Stage in Atlanta. Previously unreleased track "Charming Mess" was released on the same day as the announcement.[4]

Background and production[]

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson had formed Mr. Crowe's Garden in 1984.[5] In 1988 George Drakoulias saw the band at a show they did in New York City and had them signed to Def American the same year; they changed their name to the Black Crowes shortly after.[6]

The recording sessions began in the summer of 1989 in Atlanta and Los Angeles, with Drakoulias producing the album. Some tracks include retained songs from the Mr. Crowe's Garden era such as "Could I've Been So Blind" and "She Talks to Angels", whose riff had been written years ago by then-17 year old Rich Robinson[7] with lyrics written by Chris, which were inspired by a heroin-addicted girl he "kinda knew" in Atlanta.[8] The band also chose to record a cover version of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle", which would prove to be their breakthrough single.[9]

Four music videos for "Twice As Hard", "Jealous Again", "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels" were filmed to promote the band and the album,[10] and subsequently aired on MTV.

Release and reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau(dud)[11]
CMJ(favorable)[12]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[13]
Melody Maker4/5 stars[14]
Q4/5 stars[14]
Rolling Stone3/5 stars[15]

When the album came out in February 1990, critical reception was mostly favorable. Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, and its readers and critics voted the Black Crowes "Best New American Band" in 1990;[16] the band appeared on the cover of the magazine's 605th issue (May 1991) following their firing from the ZZ Top tour in March that year. The issue's interview of Chris and Rich Robinson compared the band to 1970s acts, with journalist David Fricke explicitly citing Faces and The Rolling Stones and Rich Robinson mentioning Aerosmith.[17] AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, praising Rich Robinson's guitar playing and Chris Robinson's "appropriate vocal swagger".[1] Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+ and stated, "The Black Crowes are to the early Rolling Stones what Christian Slater is to the young Jack Nicholson: a self-conscious imitation, but fine enough in its own right. Authentic bluesmen these Crowes will never be, but their sheer energy earns 'em the right to trash it up."[13]

"Hard to Handle", "Jealous Again" and "Twice As Hard" broke into the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, respectively reaching the first, fifth and eleventh position. By the end of the year, Shake Your Money Maker had sold one million copies[citation needed] and eventually sold two million more,[5] thus receiving triple platinum certification. In 1991, "She Talks to Angels" and "Seeing Things" respectively reached the first and second position of the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Twice As Hard" 4:09
2."Jealous Again" 4:35
3."Sister Luck" 5:13
4."Could I've Been So Blind" 3:44
5."Seeing Things" 5:18
6."Hard to Handle"
3:08
7."Thick n' Thin" 2:44
8."She Talks to Angels" 5:29
9."Struttin' Blues" 4:09
10."Stare It Cold" 5:13
11."Live Too Fast Blues/Mercy, Sweet Moan" (hidden track)
1:08
Bonus tracks (1998 reissues)
No.TitleLength
11."Don't Wake Me"3:33
12."She Talks to Angels (Acoustic)"6:19

30th Anniversary Edition[]

Disc 1: Original Album Remastered[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Twice As Hard" 4:10
2."Jealous Again" 4:36
3."Sister Luck" 5:14
4."Could I've Been So Blind" 3:44
5."Seeing Things" 5:18
6."Hard to Handle"
3:08
7."Thick n' Thin" 2:42
8."She Talks to Angels" 5:30
9."Struttin' Blues" 4:10
10."Stare It Cold" 5:15
11."Mercy, Sweet Moan"
 
Disc 2: Outtakes and Demos[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Charming Mess"3:32
2."30 Days in the Hole"3:46
3."Don't Wake Me"3:35
4."Jealous Guy"4:57
5."Waitin' Guilty"3:04
6."Hard to Handle" (With Horns Remix)3:12
7."Jealous Again" (Acoustic Version)4:50
8."She Talks to Angels" (Acoustic Version)6:23
9."She Talks to Angels" (Mr. Crowe's Garden Demo)5:11
10."Front Porch Sermon" (Mr. Crowe's Garden Demo)3:57
Disc 3: Live at Center Stage, Atlanta (1990)[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Introduction"0:15
2."Thick n' Thin"2:42
3."You're Wrong"6:32
4."Twice As Hard"4:23
5."Could've Been So Blind"4:15
6."Seeing Things"5:51
7."She Talks to Angels"6:20
8."Sister Luck"5:36
9."Hard to Handle"3:30
10."Shake 'Em on Down"4:28
11."Get Back"4:55
12."Struttin' Blues"5:01
13."Words You Throw Away"13:44
14."Stare It Cold"5:19
15."Jealous Again"5:38

Notes

  • "Live Too Fast Blues/Mercy, Sweet Moan" follows the bonus tracks on the 1998 reissue of the album.
  • "Live Too Fast Blues/Mercy, Sweet Moan" does not appear on digital or streaming versions of the original album, thus cutting the track listing down to 10 songs.
  • The bonus tracks were originally part of the recording sessions at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta.[19]

Personnel[]

The Black Crowes

Additional personnel
Production
  • George Drakoulias – producer
  • Rick Rubin – executive producer (credited on the sleeve only after the album became successful)[20]
  • Pete Angelus – personal manager
  • Dave Bianco – remixing on "Twice As Hard"
  • Alan Forbes – artwork, art direction, design
  • Greg Fulginiti – mastering
  • Tag George – assistant engineer
  • Michael Lavine – photography
  • Ruth Leitman – photography, cover photo
  • Lee Manning – assistant engineer, mixing, mixing engineer
  • Brendan O'Brien – engineer, mixing
  • Leon Zervos – mastering

Charts[]

Weekly Charts

Chart (1991) Peak
US Billboard 200[21] 4
UK Album Charts (OCC)[22] 36

Singles[]

Year Title Chart Highest

position

1990 "Jealous Again" The Billboard Hot 100[23] 75
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 5[23]
"Hard to Handle" 1[24]
"Twice as Hard" 11[25]
1991 "Hard to Handle" The Billboard Hot 100 26[24]
"She Talks to Angels" 30[26]
"Seeing Things" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 2[27]
"She Talks to Angels" 1[26]

Certifications[]

Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA[28] 1995 5× Platinum

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Huey, Steve. "Shake Your Money Maker – The Black Crowes". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  2. ^ "The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  3. ^ Curtis, Gregory (January 30, 1997). "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  4. ^ "'SHAKE YOUR MONEY MAKER' 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION BOX SET + NEW TRACK "CHARMING MESS"". The Official Website of The Black Crowes. 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Black Crowes – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  6. ^ "25 Years Ago: The Black Crowes Release Their Debut Album". ultimateclassicrock.com. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  7. ^ "What's So Bad About the Black Crowes?". rollingstone.com. 1991-05-30. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  8. ^ Chris Robinson (interviewee) (August 7, 2007). Moving From SYMM TO SHAMC (1992). YouTube. Event occurs at 1:54. Retrieved January 12, 2010. 'She Talks to Angels', you know, is about a girl I kind of knew in Atlanta, who was a goth girl, who was into heroin.
  9. ^ "Rock Rewind: The Black Crowes "Hard To Handle"". recordingconnection.com. 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  10. ^ "The Black Crowes Official Videos". theblackcrowes.com. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  11. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: The Black Crowes". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  12. ^ 2000
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Marsh, Dave (25 January 1991). "The Death of Rock?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  15. ^ Coleman, Mark (31 May 1990). "Shake Your Money Maker by The Black Crowes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  16. ^ The Black Crowes at the Rolling Stone website
  17. ^ What's So Bad About The Black Crowes? at the Rolling Stone website's archives.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Shake Your Money Maker (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) by The Black Crowes". Apple Music. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  19. ^ Shake Your Money Maker re-issue liner notes.
  20. ^ "The Black Crowes And Rick Rubin "Executive Producer" Credit Fight". feelnumb.com. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  21. ^ "The Black Crowes Shake Your Money Maker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  22. ^ "shake your money maker | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Black Crowes Jealous Again Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Black Crowes Hard To Handle Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  25. ^ "The Black Crowes Twice As Hard Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Black Crowes She Talks To Angels Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  27. ^ "The Black Crowes Seeing Things Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  28. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
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