Nobody else in the early '90s sounded quite like the Black Crowes. Led by the raspy voiced Chris Robinson, the band would've been more at home in the early '70s alongside Lynyrd Skynyrd. After all, the group combined blues, Southern rock, and hard rock to create its own unique flavor that propelled it upward. As a result, Shake Your Money Maker went quintuple platinum, and the follow-up, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, hit No. 1 in the U.S.
So naturally, the Black Crowes' third album, 1994's Amorica, was hotly anticipated, although the first choice of cover art invited some momentum-killing controversy. Amorica initially shipped bearing an image pulled from a 1976 issue of Hustler. It was an image of a female nether region, clad in American-flag bikini bottoms, with pubic hair creeping out. Several major Amorican, sorry, American retailers flat-out refused to stock such a suggestively decorated album, and a few big publications wouldn't run ads for the album. The Black Crowes label, American Recordings, offered an alternative cover, with the Old Glory swimsuit against a completely black background. Amidst cries of censorship, Robinson told the New York Post (via Billboard) that he was okay with the second cover because "some of the stores that don't want to carry" Amorica "are the only record stores in some of these towns." He then went on to say, "I want the kids who like the Black Crowes to be able to get the record."
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