CRY OF LOVE: Diamonds & Debris CD Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd members. Check samples

Cry Of Love was an American rock band, formed in 1989 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The group released their debut album in 1993 (Brother), produced by John Custer before playing the Monsters of Rock festival the following year. After this show, their frontman Kelly Holland left the group. They scored a number-one hit on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart with "Peace Pipe" in 1993.
Ex-Lynch Mob and current Warrant singer, Robert Mason, was recruited as Holland's replacement some three years later. Together they recorded a new album in 1997 (Diamonds & Debris), but the band split shortly afterwards.
Former band member Audley Freed was recruited to the Black Crowes in 1998, and he played with the band until October 2001. He also played on Crowes' lead singer Chris Robinson's second solo album in 2004, and on the subsequent tour.

Line-up:
Pee Wee Watson - Vocals, Guitar (1989–1990)
Kelly Holland - Vocals, Guitar (1991–1994)
Robert Mason - Vocals, Guitar (1996–1997)
Audley Freed - Guitar (1989–1997)
Robert Kearns - Bass, Vocals (1989–1997) (now with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Jason Patterson - Drums (1989–1997)

SAMPLES:
www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B000002AYR/ref=pd_krex_dp_a

Diamonds & Debris (August 1997)
"Empty Castle" 4:29
"Hung Out To Dry" 4:46
"Sugarcane" 3:26
"Fire in the Dry Grass" 5:24
"Georgia Pine" 4:28
"Warm River Pearl" 4:27
"Sweet Mary's Gone" 4:26
"Revelation (Rattlesnakes & Queens)" 3:17
"Bring Me My Burden" 5:23
"Sunday Morning Flood" 7:08
"Diamonds & Debris" 3:58
"Hung Out Redux" 1:19
"Garden of Memories" 4:07

This follow-up to Cry of Love's successful debut Brother is powered primarily by guitarist Audley Freed's awesome blues-rock touch.

A little too musical for their own good, these Southern rockers fail to place their own personal stamp on Diamonds & Debris' many mid-tempo walk-throughs and forgettable ballads.

Freed's guitar flurries reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan ("Revelation [Rattlesnakes & Queens]"), Joe Walsh ("Sweet Mary's Gone"), Robin Trower ("Sunday Morning Flood") and Jimi Hendrix ("Hung Out Redux").

Adding to the lofty musicianship, groove-rockers like the Bad Company-flavored "Empty Castle" and the stark "Diamonds & Debris" feature vocalist Robert Mason's own virtuosity.
Even with chops that eclipse fellow classic rock revivalists Brother Cane and the Black Crowes, Diamonds & Debris is greatly aided by the memorable songwriting, and the approach to their recording by their producer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!,
I will tell you the truth. I've discovered this hard rock jewel just a month ago and there is nothing like discovering a band like Cry of Love on these days. Just listen to Hung Out To Dry and you will know what I am talking about - one of the 10 most delightful rock songs of the 90's.

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5.0 out of 5 stars timeless,
Ah, no wonder I love this CD so much. Audley Freed on guitar. Check him out with The Black Crowes, especially "Live at the Greek" with Jimmy Page. Diamonds and Debris flows from track to track very well with songs that complement each other nicely. These guys remind me of bands from my youth like Grand Funk Railroad, Free, Bad Company, The James Gang, and even Jimmy Hendrix. Very "Joe Walsh" like with great hooks and lyrics. Try keeping a tear from your eye while listening to "Garden of Memories" after a couple glasses of wine in the evening. A nearly perfect and beautiful ode to love lost and the enevitable regrets of life. Currently my favorite CD. Come Back Sugarcane is a great song to wake up to in the morning. Really gets the endorphines flowing. Thanks guys!

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5.0 out of 5 stars If You Like Hendrix & Skynrd,
5 Stars = Masterpiece

Cry of Love put out two albums in the 90's, the excellent "Brother" & one of the best albums (my opinion) released in the 90's "Diamonds & Debris."

Cry of Love named themselves after a posthumous Jimi Hendrix album. So one would expect a healthy dose of Hendrixian guitar & that was definitely there, but this band also had its roots deeply dug into Southern Rock ala' Lynryd Skynyrd & with "Diamonds & Debris" put out one of the best heavy Southern Rock records ever made.

Cry of Love's lead singer also set the band apart sounding very much like John Schlitz of Head East, with all the emotive range of John to, a voice of gold that perfectly complemented the beautiful & sincere music that this band created.

Unfortunately Cry of Love is another band that came out ten years or more too late, as Grunge was starting to dominate the air waves & CD sales, but for anyone who has the slightest interest in Jimi Hendrix & Southern Rock do your self a favor & pick up both albums from this band, your ears will thank you for it!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Do yourself a favor and buy this cd.,
If you liked any of the tracks from "Brother" released in 1994,you will be happy to know these dudes did it again in 1997-After hearing about the breakup after their first cd i was very dissapointed to think of never hearing this awesome guitar player again-(not to mention the rest of the band). I guess this cd has a new frontman doing lead vocals, sounds very good also.Go put your coat on and get in your car- you need to get this disc.

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5.0 out of 5 stars cry of love,
I believe the two Cry of Love cd's to be a necessity of every avid music appreciaters collection. When listening to these albums you can almost see a young Audley Freed sitting in his basement with a collection of Hendrix, Free, Stones, and maybe Mountain records, strat in hand, picking up the needle again and again to try and learn that essential lick. The guitar playing alone makes these cd's worth owning, and I personally guarantee that Freed would call Hendrix (isn't Cry of Love a Jimi man song?) and Paul Kosoff of Free his favorite guitar players. The songs have that explosive, sometimes funky, all the time soulful, southern feel to them, and as said before these albums are a must have. Thank you Cry of Love, your music has made my world a better place.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Strat-o-licious,
A diamond of post-classic rock. Aside from great songs and playing all around, this CD, along with COL's other CD, present the best Stratocaster tone achieved (that I've heard) to date. Of course that's a subjective statement. But I dare any true (non-surf) Strat connoisseur to listen to this CD and disagree. The only other Strat tone that comes close is Chris Duarte's on Texas Sugar/Strat Magik, but the songs here are much more durable.

What a shame Aubrey went over to the BCs. The two COL CDs blow away the entire BC catalog, IMO (and I'm a BC fan; they're great, just COL is better).

Let's hope they reunite one of these days. Meanwhile it will take a couple hundred more listens before I get tired of these two classic rock jewels.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Cry of love is back,
Cry of Love after a brief hiatus (in which they changed lead singers) brought back the southern drawled rock that made Brother such a good album. The vocals are once again impeccable, but Freed's guitar once again is the driving force behind the songwriting and music. His guitar work is as innovative as the song content for the band. The crunchy guitar (with a few brilliant accoustic snippets) is only offset by his sense of melody and counterpoint. Buy this album without a second thought, and you'll not be disappointed

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5.0 out of 5 stars Cry of Love--Please reunite!,
I discovered "Cry of Love" before "Peace Pipe" made them popular. I loved "Brother" (the album "Peace Pipe" came from). When I heard that the band had changed lead singers for the second album (Kelly Holland was replaced by Robert Mason), I was highly skeptical but bought "Diamonds & Debris" without having heard a single track. I was blown away!!! The feel and flavour of "Brother" was still there but a new maturity (thanks, mainly, to the guitar and songwriting talent of Audley Freed) was evident. Can't say exactly why, but "Diamonds & Debris" is one of very few albums in my collection that I listen to from start to finish without skipping a single track.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Best Of The 90's,
I consider Cry Of Love's "Diamonds & Debris" and "Brother" two of the best rock CD releases of the nineties, so my review will cover both.
In the late eighties and throughout the nineties, the indignant Seattle sound was dominant --an appropriate reaction to the vile post punk "new wave," drum-machine, mindless, skinny pink tie and white polyester suited, vapid waste-land of lyric, gold card flashing, mind numbingly bad, hair metal and pop bands of the eighties. Of course there are exceptions, but I don't think it risky to suggest that the eighties was by far the worst decade for all musical forms --ever.

Suddenly and as swift and powerful as a hurricane, the Seattle grunge sound arose and was a catharsis for pop and rock music fans everwhere. Unfortunately, Cry Of Love fell victim to the fervor. COL's two edgy commercially released discs might be shelved as anachronistic given their sound and style combined with their release dates, but that would be a mistake. While the music may feel reminiscent of a time past, this is rock music of the highest caliber. And though hard to pigeonhole, for comparison the material is Hendrixy at times, Black Crowesish -a lot-, AC/DC a bit, even a little Rushy, but it is all quite unique in itself.

Though each release has a different vocalist, both are great. The band is tight, the material well-crafted and guitarist Audley Freed is one of the most confident and knowledgeable fret masters I have heard in a long time (while there are many, check out "Revelations (Rattlesnakes & Queens)" on the Diamonds & Debris release as an example). Cry Of Love gets my vote for being top ten bands of the nineties. Too bad they broke up.

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5.0 out of 5 stars It is what it is.
This album is a good example of pure heartfelt unadulterated quality rock. For it's style the musicmanship and singing is top notch. I think it's great. Audley Freed in my view would be one of the most overlooked guitarists in America to this day. In my humble opinion(and I'm putting myself on a bit of a limb here) he could give Stevie Ray(God rest his soul)a good run for his money note for note.