THE BLACK CROWES, THE BIOGRAPHY OF LIONS

You've never heard THE BLACK CROWES like this before.

With its stunning musicianship and gutsy emotional peaks, LIONS is the sound of a band redefining themselves, uncompromisingly staking out new territory.

There are no easy phrases to encapsulate all the music on LIONS, THE BLACK CROWES' sixth album, their V2 debut and first produced by Don Was.

It is heavy and raucous at times. It's also expansive and tender in other spots. There are chunky riffs and ferocious grooves. It also possesses an acoustic grandeur. The production is captivatingly stripped down on some songs, and vividly textured on others.

LIONS rocks, shakes, and has a lot of deep soul. Not to mention a redemptive spirit that is joyous and uplifting.

The songs on LIONS–by RICH and CHRIS ROBINSON–are about need, desire and soul survival. Some of them have a tortured beauty and grace, like "Losing My Mind," where CHRIS sings, "Every time I fall/ I bring you along/Cuz I need you there," and the epic album closer "Lay It All On Me," a poignant mix of raw truths and self-realization. Other songs–like "Ozone Mama," "Miracle To Me" and "Soul Singin'"–were born from the sheer joy of being alive.

There's a lot to revel in on LIONS. RICH has crafted songs that are solid in their architecture and seamless in feel. He and the band–rounded out by drummer STEVE GORMAN, keyboardist EDDIE HARSCH and guitarist AUDLEY FREED–charge into "Lickin'," with its inventively stuttering riff, and they jump into the tricky time signature of the sprawling "Greasy Grass River." There's also the heavily percussive blues romp "Young Man, Old Man" and the funky guitar grooves of "Cosmic Friend" and "Midnight From The Inside Out."

LIONS was recorded in an unlikely location: an old Yiddish musical theatre on New York's Lower East Side that's been converted to a recording studio with remarkable acoustics. It's an environment that suited the now-New York-based band well. The sessions took place on the theatre's stage where the remarkable acoustics brought a live immediacy and warmth to the songs.

THE BLACK CROWES, revered as The Most Rock `N Roll Rock `N Roll Band In The World, have achieved worldwide sales exceeding 15 million albums and vast critical acclaim. Most recently, THE BLACK CROWES performed with Jimmy Page, playing together onstage the songs of Led Zeppelin and The Black Crowes plus vintage blues numbers. The tour-hailed as a historic collaboration-is captured on 2000's gold-certified album Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, Live At The Greek. On LIONS, THE BLACK CROWES don't back down from their original mission: to create rock and roll that is fierce and genuine. By further challenging themselves–sonically and emotionally–they've come up with their most distinguished album yet.