Before the Frost...Until the Freeze is a 2009 double album by blues-rock

Blues-rock

Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...

 band The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...

. It was recorded before a live audience at Levon Helm

Levon Helm

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....

's Woodstock, NY studio, The Barn in late February and early March, 2009.
The album was produced by long time band collaborator Paul Stacey

Paul Stacey

Paul Stacey is a British guitarist and producer, best known for his work with Oasis and The Black Crowes.Paul Stacey's early work included the 1990s band, The Lemon Trees and Denzil....

, and released on Silver Arrow Records. The CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 itself is designed to have the appearance of a vinyl record. Originally, only the Before the Frost portion of the double album was available on CD, and the CD purchase came with a code allowing download of the Until the Freeze portion from the Black Crowes website. A vinyl version was also released, featuring all songs but in a different running order.

Track listing

All tracks written by Chris and Rich Robinson

Rich Robinson

Rich Robinson is an American musician and founding member of the rock and roll band The Black Crowes. Along with older brother Chris Robinson, Rich formed the band in 1984 while the two were in high school...

, except where noted.

CD version

Before the Frost... [CD]

1. "Good Morning Captain" – 3:24
2. "Been a Long Time (Waiting on Love)" – 7:47
3. "Appaloosa" – 3:35
4. "A Train Still Makes a Lonely Sound" – 4:23
5. "I Ain't Hiding" (C. Robinson) – 5:57
6. "Kept My Soul" – 5:23
7. "What Is Home?" (R. Robinson) – 5:13
8. "Houston Don't Dream About Me" – 5:05
9. "Make Glad" – 4:18
10. "And the Band Played On..." – 4:12
11. "The Last Place That Love Lives" (C. Robinson) – 4:57

...Until the Freeze [download]

1. "Aimless Peacock" – 6:40
2. "The Shady Grove" – 4:42
3. "The Garden Gate" – 4:21
4. "Greenhorn" – 7:12
5. "Shine Along" – 4:47
6. "Roll Old Jeremiah" (C. Robinson) – 4:40
7. "Lady of Ave. A" – 5:20
8. "So Many Times" (Chris Hillman
   Chris Hillman
   Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
   
   , Stephen Stills
   Stephen Stills
   Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
   
   ) – 4:53 {Manassas
   Manassas (band)
   Manassas was an American rock band, formed by Stephen Stills in 1971. The nucleus of the band had already backed Stills on his July 1971 album, Stephen Stills 2, and in May 1972, the double album, Manassas, was released. Down The Road was released in 1973, but in October of that year the band split...
   
    cover}
9. "Fork in the River" (C. Robinson) – 4:11

Vinyl version

Side 1

1. "Aimless Peacock" – 6:40
2. "Good Morning Captain" – 3:24
3. "Been a Long Time (Waiting on Love)" – 7:47
4. "Greenhorn" – 7:12

Side 2

1. "Appaloosa" – 3:35
2. "The Shady Grove"  – 4:42
3. "The Garden Gate" – 4:21
4. "Shine Along" – 4:47
5. "Roll Old Jeremiah" (C. Robinson) – 4:40
6. "Houston Don't Dream About Me" – 5:05

Side 3

1. "I Ain't Hiding" (C. Robinson) – 5:57
2. "Kept My Soul" – 5:23
3. "Lady of Ave. A" – 5:20
4. "Make Glad" – 4:18
5. "And the Band Played On..." – 4:12

Side 4

1. "What Is Home?" (R. Robinson) – 5:13
2. "So Many Times" (Hillman, Stills) – 4:53
3. "A Train Still Makes a Lonely Sound" – 4:23
4. "Fork in the River" (C. Robinson) – 4:11
5. "The Last Place That Love Lives" (C. Robinson) – 4:57

Reception

Before the Frost...Until the Freeze received generally favorable reviews upon its release, receiving a 75/100 critic score and a 9/10 user score on MetaCritic. Paste Magazine noted the album "captures the best aspects of one of rock’s finest eras: a balance of structured songwriting and loose grooves, catchy choruses and meandering solos, hard rocking songs and easy-going attitude," while All Music Guide note that the band "wear their years proudly on this terrific album, sounding like the veteran roadhounds they've always aspired to be." Many critics also noted the renewed stylistic approach of the band on Before the Frost..., with Uncut Magazine calling the album "an inspired move" and The Record Review commenting that the record "feels right, as if this is exactly the record that they needed to make at this point, both to separate from their musical past as well as to open up the future."

Cabin Fever

The Black Crowes also released a film on DVD documenting the recording of the album, entitled Cabin Fever, which included several songs not featured on the album.

Track list

1. Aimless Peacock
2. Good Morning Captain
3. Shady Grove
4. Oh Sweet Nuthin' {Velvet Underground cover}
5. Garden Gate
6. Roll Old Jeremiah
7. Appaloosa
8. Little Lizzie Mae
9. What Is Home
10. Been a Long Time (Waiting on Love)
11. Shine Along

Bonus tracks

1. Shady Grove
2. The Dolphins {Fred Neil
   Fred Neil
   Fred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
   
   cover}