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09-01 Counting Crows stream new LP
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In late 1993 the Counting Crows released their debut album "August and Everything After," a dark and somber record drivenby the forceof lead singer Adam Duritz's unique and powerful voice along with his heartfeltand poetic lyrics. Considering atthe time bands like PearlJam, Nirvana, and Alice In Chains ruled the world, it seemed fairly unlikely that the Counting Crowswould achieve the success they did.But the Counting Crows an alternative for people looking for something different from theSeatle grunge scene and by the time 1994rolled around you could not escape the first single from "August a ...read more
In late 1993 the Counting Crows released their debut album "August and Everything After," a dark and somber record drivenby the forceof lead singer Adam Duritz's unique and powerful voice along with his heartfeltand poetic lyrics. Considering atthe time bands like PearlJam, Nirvana, and Alice In Chains ruled the world, it seemed fairly unlikely that the Counting Crowswould achieve the success they did.But the Counting Crows an alternative for people looking for something different from theSeatle grunge scene and by the time 1994rolled around you could not escape the first single from "August and EverythingAfter." A catchy alternative rock song called "Mr. Jones."With it's jangly guitars, and an instantly memorable melody it was agreat pop song. But what made the song so dynamic and differentfrom any other band out there was the originality of bothAdam Duritz's wailing vocals, and his personal and expressive lyrics. Near theend of the song Adam Duritz screams out "Iwannna be Bob Dylan..." and though he may not be exactly on par with Bob Dylan. He isdefinitley close.
Though "Mr. Jones" gave the band mainstream success and undoubtedly boosted album sales, you would not name that songtodescribe the Counting Crows sound. The rest of their debut album consists almost entirely of just as well-written, butslower songs. Theonly thing that is similar to Mr. Jones is the emphasize on Adam Duritz's vocals, and the word's he issinging. Infact most Counting Crowssingles do not represent their over-all sound. Songs like Mr. Jones, Accidentally In Love,Big Yellow Taxi, and Hanging Around (allsingles), are all up-tempo pop songs that do their job as a single. But to trulyunderstand, and enjoy the Counting Crows you need topick up their albums. But even then the Counting Crows change theirsound with each album, (though you could get a pretty clearpicture from their debut). Their second album Recovering TheSattelites moves away from their first album as the band begins usingmore electric, and even distorted guitars. While theirthird album (This Desert Life) actually features a few guitar riffs (Hanging Around),and very strong hooks. And finally on theirfourth album (Hard Candy) the Crows have some of their most beautiful musicalarrangements combined with some of theirbest melodies.
But even after hearing their albums, there's still another side of the Crows. And that is the Crows as live performers. Live theCrows oftenchange the song arrangements completely, or they go on an improvisational Journey led by Adam Duritz. Andsometimes they end upmixing two or more songs together. One example of this is a live track of A Murder Of One which onthe record is already a fairly longsong clocking in at 5:43 seconds. But during one live version the band take the song tonearly 10 minutes travelling through clips ofGoodnight Elizabeth, The Beatles Elanor Rigby, and a few improvised lines here andthere before bringing the song to it's roaringconclusion. The Crows are also no strangers to playing classic covers live (SweetHome Alabama, Atlantic City).
Though the band has never re-gained the mainstream success that Mr. Jones brought them they continue to create excellentrecords,and maintain a large and loyal fanbase. « hide |
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