Chris Robinson: What You and I Have Been Through

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * * )

The Black Crowes served their time as a Southern stoner band with considerable style (bellbottoms, sideburns, clouds of dope smoke) but got out before they were found out. Their final years weren't their best so frontman Robinson was wise to step off the merry-go-round and this reasonably focused solo debut errs towards the reflective and mellow.

The folk-tinged material (Silver Car), white soul stuff (Fables, Untangle My Mind) and simple balladry (Kids That Ain't Got None) suit him, and the overall impression is Robinson might have a distinctive and rewarding solo career that will leave the comparisons with the Crowes (and their comparisons with the Faces) behind.

Label: Shock