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03-18 Counting Crows Ditch Label
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In late 1993 the Counting Crows released their debut album "August and Everything After," a dark and somber record driven by the force of lead singer Adam Duritz's unique and powerful voice along with his heartfeltand poetic lyrics. Considering at the time bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Alice In Chains ruled the world, it seemed fairly unlikely that the Counting Crows would achieve the success they did. But the Counting Crows an alternative for people looking for something different from the Seatle grunge scene and by the time 1994 rolled around you could not escape the first single from " ...read more
In late 1993 the Counting Crows released their debut album "August and Everything After," a dark and somber record driven by the force of lead singer Adam Duritz's unique and powerful voice along with his heartfeltand poetic lyrics. Considering at the time bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Alice In Chains ruled the world, it seemed fairly unlikely that the Counting Crows would achieve the success they did. But the Counting Crows an alternative for people looking for something different from the Seatle grunge scene and by the time 1994 rolled around you could not escape the first single from "August and Everything After." A catchy alternative rock song called "Mr. Jones." With it's jangly guitars, and an instantly memorable melody it was a great pop song. But what made the song so dynamic and different from any other band out there was the originality of both Adam Duritz's wailing vocals, and his personal and expressive lyrics. Near the end of the song Adam Duritz screams out "I wannna be Bob Dylan..." and though he may not be exactly on par with Bob Dylan. He is definitley close.
Though "Mr. Jones" gave the band mainstream success and undoubtedly boosted album sales, you would not name that song to describe the Counting Crows sound. The rest of their debut album consists almost entirely of just as well-written, but slower songs. The only thing that is similar to Mr. Jones is the emphasize on Adam Duritz's vocals, and the word's he is singing. Infact most Counting Crows singles do not represent their over-all sound. Songs like Mr. Jones, Accidentally In Love, Big Yellow Taxi, and Hanging Around (all singles), are all up-tempo pop songs that do their job as a single. But to truly understand, and enjoy the Counting Crows you need to pick up their albums. But even then the Counting Crows change their sound with each album, (though you could get a pretty clear picture from their debut). Their second album Recovering The Sattelites moves away from their first album as the band begins using more electric, and even distorted guitars. While their third album (This Desert Life) actually features a few guitar riffs (Hanging Around), and very strong hooks. And finally on their fourth album (Hard Candy) the Crows have some of their most beautiful musical arrangements combined with some of their best melodies.
But even after hearing their albums, there's still another side of the Crows. And that is the Crows as live performers. Live the Crows often change the song arrangements completely, or they go on an improvisational Journey led by Adam Duritz. And sometimes they end up mixing two or more songs together. One example of this is a live track of A Murder Of One which on the record is already a fairly long song clocking in at 5:43 seconds. But during one live version the band take the song to nearly 10 minutes travelling through clips of Goodnight Elizabeth, The Beatles Elanor Rigby, and a few improvised lines here and there before bringing the song to it's roaring conclusion. The Crows are also no strangers to playing classic covers live (Sweet Home Alabama, Atlantic City).
Though the band has never re-gained the mainstream success that Mr. Jones brought them they continue to create excellent records, and maintain a large and loyal fanbase. « hide |
Similar Bands: Collective Soul, Everclear
Contributors: Dave de Sylvia, Mikesn, El_Goodo, morrissey, Jet Black Stare,
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