The Black Crowes never seemed to add much to the history of rock and roll. Throughout their career, which most likely came to a close earlier this year when they announced they are on "hiatus," they were certainly never known for any sort of experimentation or sonic innovation.

But they always appeared content with being a sort of southern-fried, blues-rock revival act, and a good one at that. Instead of making groundbreaking music, the Crowes used the same old formula, but injected it with so much energy and boisterous emotion that it seemed nearly fresh.

Which explains why the double-disc Live album that will probably be their final outing is so disappointing. Throughout much of the album, recorded on their 2001 tour, the band sounds tired and sloppy. The energy that often could propel them above the plethora of blues-rock acts is clearly lacking for much of the album.

Singer Chris Robinson quite frequently sounds tired, and his emotion-laced vocals sound weak and strained at times. He is often heard mumbling some sort of peculiar sentiment between songs.

But not all of Live is bad.

Over the course of the two CDs, the Crowes present 19 tracks, and some of them are actually fairly good. Six of the tracks come from their last studio album, last year's Lions. Two of these songs prove to be highlights. The very first track, "Midnight from the Inside Out," is a great way to start the album. It's one of the few songs that manage to capture the band's swagger.

The other standout from Lions is "Cosmic Friend," which starts out slow and builds into a free-for-all rocker. The band sounds together and, with impressive results, even jam out a little.

One recurring theme on the album is that the more the band flexes its musical muscle and the less Robinson sings, the better the tracks generally are.

When lead guitarist Rich Robinson steps to the forefront, the songs benefit greatly. This is especially evident on "Wiser Time" and "Black Moon Creeping."

The disappointments slip through quite often, though.

The most notable example is the awful rendering of "She Talks to Ange sounds incredibly sloppy.

One of the main problems seems to be song selection. While most of the more-popular Crowes songs are included, many fan favorites such as "Thorn in My Pride" and "No Speak No Slave" are nowhere to be found. There is also not one song from their very good 1999 album, By Your Side.

Meanwhile, there is only one song that was never before available on a studio album, the immediately forgettable "Title Song."

All in all, Live seems immensely unnecessary.

It is not spectacular enough to add anything to the Black Crowes' legacy, nor does it contain anything new that makes it a must-own.

If you want to hear the Black Crowes playing live, go buy the much better Live at the Greek and hear the Crowes tearing through Led Zeppelin classics with the aid of Jimmy Page.

Live is basically an effort for fans only.

If you're a fan of the Black Crowes, you very well may enjoy many parts of Live, but you'll probably have to be a pretty big fan.