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t was no surprise to anyone that after The Black
Crowes split in 2015 – after three decades and
more than 30 million album sales – the feuding
Robinson brothers went their separate ways.
Guitarist younger sibling Rich made a handy
solo album, Flux, before forming The Magpie Salute,
a bunch of rock’n’rollers with a sure grasp of
Americana, southern blues and heavy psychedelia.
It’s been quite a journey already. And this is the music
that shaped it.THE FIRST MUSIC I REMEMBER HEARING
It has to be Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s
Déjà Vu [1970]. My dad was a musician
and a huge Stephen Stills fan, and
I remember hearing those amazing
harmonies. There was a feeling on
that album that I tapped into and that
I continue to tap into to this day.THE MOST UNDERRATED
BAND EVER
There are bands that I got into later in the
day that were doing some really cool, far-
out shit, and one of them is Moby Grape.
That first album [Moby Grape, ’67] is particularly great.
There are some really cool chords, great melodies and
incredible vocals. Sadly you don’t hear a lot of people
talking about them these days.THE GUITAR HERO
Obviously there are the greats – Jimmy Page, Keith
Richards, Peter Green, Jeff Beck. In particular, the first
two Jeff Beck records, Tr u t h [’68] and Beck-Ola [’69], are
incredible. So I’ve always appreciated people who can
play like that, but ultimately songs are my thing.was fucking amazing, even his seventies solo records.
There’s some stunning footage of him on YouTube,
singing Gasoline Alley a cappella.THE SONGWRITER
You can never discount Mick and Keith or Lennon and
McCartney. And as far as a single artist goes, Bob Dylan
wrote more great songs than anyone. The Beach Boys
were just seen as this surf band in America, but the
depth of Brian Wilson’s writing was so vast that you
couldn’t really tap into it.THE GREATEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME
The one record that brings me joy
every time I listen to it is Exile On Main
St [Rolling Stones, ’72]. For me it’s
how rock’n’roll can be and should be.
Loving Cup was the song that really hit
me. It jerked me out of whatever I was
doing. And Tumbling Dice is the perfect
rock’n’roll song.THE GREATEST LIVE ALBUM
It has to be Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! [Rolling
Stones, ’70]. There’s so much energy
and feeling. I was a kid when I first heard
the Stones. Then later on, after going
down the punk rock/alternative road for
a while, I got back into them. They had
such a variety of stuff, from rock‘n’roll to
blues and R&B. It set the platform for the
Black Crowes.THE BEST RECORD I MADE
Chris and I wrote The Southern Harmony
And Musical Companion [’92] in three days.
That record just flowed out of us. We’d
just been touring Shake Your Money Maker
for twenty-two months, and I’d already
written songs like My Morning Pride and
Thorn In My Pride on the road. And when
we got home it took me three minutes
to write the music for Sometimes Salvation
and five minutes for Bad Luck Blue Eyes
Goodbye. We went into the garage over the
weekend, then recorded the whole record
in eight days. Like all the best things, that
record just happened.THE WORST RECORD I MADE
Maybe one of my solo records here or there. I don’t really
look back too much and have regrets – and I wouldn’t
have put out a record that I wasn’t happy with at the time- but as you get older you have more wisdom. So you can
say: “Well, I would’ve done that differently.”
MY ‘IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE’ SONG
There’s a song by Fruit Bats called Singing Joy To The
Wo r l d [2009], written by Eric D Johnson. It’s not some
sappy love song, it’s very moving. It talks about love in
far more realistic and human terms. It’s so beautiful.THE SONG I WISH I’D WRITTEN
Gates Of Eden [Bob Dylan, ’65]. It’s not necessarily a very
complicated musical piece, but there’s this beautiful
chugging quality to it, with lyrics that feel like a Da
Vinci painting of humanity. It’s full of universal themes
that we all deal with and struggle with. This is a song
that’s always inspired me.The Magpie Salute’s High Water II is out now
via Provogue.“Every time I hear Rod Stewart sing I go:
‘F**k, man!’ He’s a brilliant singer.”
The
Soundtrack
Of My Life
The Magpie
Salute’s Rich
Robinson
on the special
records, artists
and gigs that
are of lasting
significance
to him
Interview: Rob Hughes