Built upon the ashes of Georgia-based roots-rockers the Black Crowes, the Magpie Salute finds guitarist and vocalist Rich Robinson forming a soulful new legacy alongside former bandmates Marc Ford and Sven Pipien. The band made a strong start with sold-out shows in 2017, and a self-titled, live debut album that served as a musical manifesto while revealing note-perfect influences. Thrilling covers of Delaney & Bonnie’s “Comin’ Home” and the Faces’ “Glad and Sorry” sat alongside reimagined excursions through the Black Crowes’ “Wiser Time” and “What is Home,” as well as urgent riff-rocker “Omission” reclaimed from 2003 side project Hookah Brown.
2018’s “High Water I” album revealed where the first album was leading, featuring original songs written by Robinson, Ford, and former Moke singer John Hogg. Songs like the swaggering Memphis-Zeppelin fusion of “Send Me an Omen” revel in the band’s command of blues-based southern rock and soul music. The sound springs from a deep well.
“You probably wouldn’t be able to hear some of the biggest influences in my music,” says Robinson. “Nick Drake has a lot to do with how I play and write. R.E.M. was a huge influence on us growing up, because it was something that was very creative and beautiful from the South. I feel like we’ve over-genrefied music. When I was younger, Neil Young was rock and roll, and so were Otis Redding, Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan – even Neil Diamond and Carole King.”
The band is most excited about playing new songs like piano-thrumming waltz “Sister Moon,” swaggering New Orleans-styled “Take it All,” and improvisational launching pad “High Water.” Still, fans can expect a few Black Crowes favorites at the Metro on Saturday.
“We’re not interested in being Black Crowes-lite and just playing a bunch of my old songs,” says Robinson. “On the flip side, I’m proud of what the Black Crowes accomplished and how much that music means to people. I’m always going to play those songs.”
The fluid and bluesy “Color Blind” describes a proud mixed-race child who wonders “when will the world catch up with me?” The song is evolved from classic anthems of togetherness including Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.”
“John Hogg wrote that lyric,” says Robinson. “His mom is from Africa and his dad’s from Sweden. I remember talking to him about what a difficult but brilliant perspective he must have on the world. I was blown away by how John put it into a context that anyone can understand.”
“For The Wind” alternates between hushed folk-guitar verses and a feral chorus riff. The song describes embattled souls who persevere, weary but determined and wiser.
“’For the Wind’ was something that I’ve had for a while, and this is the band that could play it,” says Robinson. “There’s a feeling of how the world is shifting. I think it’s ultimately going to be for the good, but there’s a reset that’s happening in the world, and we’re experiencing it. That’s pretty much what that song is about.”
* The Magpie Salute, 8 p.m. Jan. 26, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $29 (ages 18+); etix.com.
Jeff Elbel is a local freelance writer.
