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Writer and editor Home > Blogs > Brain Droppings > Archives > 2008 > April > 09 > Entry
New Counting Crows CD sounds smart
Here’s the latest disc on our desk… enjoy:
Counting Crows
SATURDAY NIGHTS & SUNDAY MORNINGS
Counting Crows’ fifth album since first getting our notice in 1993 finds them much the same as ever, not that that’s a bad thing. As expected, and hoped for, they’re still a combo of tight, dedicated and very talented folk-rockers who revolve around the brainy, brittle sentiments and torrential wordplay of singer Adam Duritz.
On this disc, they’ve divided the material into a quick side (Saturday Nights) and slower (Sunday Mornings), and since this is Counting Crows, both song sets are equally bracing and intelligently done.
Counting Crows is one of those fine, steady bands that one can truly admire without absolutely loving, which means while they rarely engender passion in one, they are almost always worth a revisitation. Like we said, that’s not a bad thing.
Grade: B
iPod picks: “1492” from Saturday, and “One a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago” from Sunday.
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Comments
By Derwood
April 11, 2008 2:13 AM | Link to this
David Bryson, vocalist and guitarist for counting crows took guitar lessons from Joe Satriani. I’m mentioning it because you failed to mention Joe Satriani’s latest release: Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock. It’s quite enjoyable.. I recommend checking it out.By Kevin S.
April 9, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this
I’ve never been that into Counting Crows. I bought their first album because of “Mr. Jones” and found it extremely uneven. Some tracks (“Mr. Jones”, “The Rain King”) were awesome, while others (a parade of pretetntious songs I don’t even remember) sucked. They seem like a band made for the iPod age; they occasionally make a good song but might have trouble writing enough good material to make an album.By Skeptic
April 9, 2008 8:40 AM | Link to this
I love Counting Crows. I have every release and a bootleg concert album. I bought this CD at Gem City Records the day it came out. That said, I don’t like this album at all. 1492 is my least favorite on the disc. The first several tracks are overly bombastic without the benefit of being catchy. Compare them to “Angels of the Silences” from their 2nd disc, for example - that’s a great song. Their recent live performance on Late Night with David Letterman was sub-par compared to their amazing concerts because the song they played just wasn’t very good. Some of the slower tunes on the disc are decent, so maybe it will grow on me with repeat listenings. Overall, I was very disappointed. Sorry, Mr. Jones.