The Black Crowes

Georgia boys with a talent for bending time, the Black Crowes emerged in 1990 with a sound that — on tunes like their debut hit, "Jealous Again," and the broke-down ballad "She Talks to Angels" — hearkened back 20-odd years to the classic rock of the Stones and the Allman Brothers Band. But, as led by the brother-to-brother team of singer Chris and guitarist Rich Robinson, the Crowes were no oldies revue, injecting everything from the Allmanesque Southern-soul groove of "Remedy" to the slide-soaked stomp of 2008's "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution" with a force that seized the moment on its own righteous terms.

Fly into Next Steps for more Black Crowes.

From the young, fresh fellows of "Sister Luck" to the road-tested bluesmen of "Ballad In Urgency," the Black Crowes have evolved into their own kind of outfit, picking up sounds from the past and present and melding them into the timeless output of a well-seasoned crew. Which means that the ringing rocker's checklist "Virtue and Vice" comes off with the same force and flair as the late-night saloon sounds of the heart-to-heart "Lay It All On Me," while let-loose live tracks like a too-tasty "Lickin'" pack a powerful punch.

Wing it on into the far corners of the Black Crowes catalog in Deep Cuts.

Like any great musical duo, the Brothers Robinson have their own unique, sometimes volatile, dynamic — it can make for bumps in the road, but it can also catalyze the kind of sonic sparks that make for great rock 'n' roll. To demonstrate, Deep Cuts offers — along with some choice Crowes album tracks and live kickers — both Chris and Rich on their own (Chris' epic "40 Days," Rich's slightly psychedelic "Yesterday I Saw You"), and the brothers on their own together, with live duets, including a moody "Roll Um Easy" and a folky, acoustic "Over the Hill."

"Hey, little thing, lemme light your candle," shouts Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson, blazing it up and then some on the band's breakthrough 1990 cover of the Otis Redding firecracker "Hard to Handle." The song was a smash, and the band took the torch and ran with it. Over the next couple of decades, they surpassed their own status as retro-rockers with a feel for '70s Brit rock and heavy Southern jams (check out "Struttin' Blues" or "Thorn In My Pride") to create their own special brand of smokin', guitar-based grooves. Our Black Crowes Essentials brings you their best, from the dual-guitar attack of "A Conspiracy" to the slide-and-harp Delta sounds of "Whoa Mule" to white-hot live glories, like a lean and mean "No Speak No Slave."