Background
Personnel changes and label interference frustrated The Black Crowes' attempts to follow up their 1996 album Three Snakes and One Charm. During May and June 1997, they recorded an album called Band, but it was rejected by their label, American Recordings. Lead singer Chris Robinson said American "couldn't go with the vibe" and wanted something more "safe". In August, guitarist Marc Ford was fired due to a heroin habit that impaired his performances. Guitarist Rich Robinson said, "We would be onstage playing 'Remedy', and he would be playing a completely different song.... We told him to clean up or get out. We assumed, since he loved music and the band, that he would clean up." Bassist Johnny Colt had been losing interest in the band since the recording of Three Snakes and One Charm; his contributions to that album were minimal, as Rich played bass in his stead on all but one track. Colt quit in October to become a yoga instructor.
Sven Pipien was hired in December to replace Colt. Pipien had previously played with Mary My Hope and had been a housemate of Chris. Audley Freed was hired as the second guitarist before a 1998 tour in support of the band's Sho' Nuff box set. Recording sessions for By Your Side were well underway at this point, and continued after the tour, but Freed did not contribute to the album. Chris said of the new members, "It's great. These guys want to be here—and we feed off of that. And that will become obvious when you see us on the road."
American Recordings was partially absorbed by Columbia Records in early 1998. Though the arrangement preserved the American label, The Black Crowes transferred to Columbia after privately expressing their desire to disassociate themselves from American Recordings founder Rick Rubin. Despite working under a larger label, the band felt they had more freedom and support under Columbia; Chris remarked, "At American, I never knew what a record company did. We never had an A&R guy. Now we have a product manager.... It's like ... I didn't know what the music business was."
Read more about this topic: By Your Side (The Black Crowes Album)
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