| August And Everything After | 1993 |
| Recovering The Satellites | 1996 |
| Across A Wire: Live In New York | 1998 |
| This Desert Life | 1999 |
Counting Crows invited comparisons to The Band and Van Morrison with their 1993 debut August And Everything After, an excellent release that transcends those influences on account of the distinctive voice and somber mood of the lyrics from frontman Adam Duritz. The band had two significant modern rock hit singles with "Mr. Jones" and "Round Here", but were out of the spotlight for three years before emerging with their second album Recovering The Satellites, which reflected Duritz's tension with sudden rock stardom, and was almost as artistically and commercially successful as the debut was, so at this point with the release of their third album This Desert Life in late 1999, Counting Crows look to continue on successfully.
--Nick Karn
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[email protected] (John Schlegel)
Booooooorrrrriiiiinnngg!!!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Counting Crows were an almost overnight success with their smash single "Mr. Jones", a very infectious and upbeat song with a great rush of abstract lyrics and a first-rate chorus, making it a huge album highlight. "Round Here", another hit single, contrasted "Mr. Jones" in that it is a very depressing, but powerful song with backing music perfectly complementing the lyrical imagery. August And Everything After sold well primarily on the strength of these two singles (as well as a minor hit, the hopeful and memorable "Rain King"), and although it's pretty typical of a 90s band to have a debut album with nothing else anywhere near the same songwriting level as their hit songs, it definitely does not fit into that category, as the songwriting is on a consistently excellent level throughout, and it's one of the absolute best debut albums of the 90s because of it.
The big strength of course is frontman and dominant songwriter Adam Duritz, who isn't exactly subtle in the mood he creates but never gets too depressing or wallows in angst during the songs, and he sounds passionate and convincing doing them. The remaining band members, although sounding nothing more like very talented backing musicians, also hold up well and give the songs color and dimension. The music and lyrics perform their best work together on the first half closer "Time And Time Again", which conveys an unexplainable, eerie atmosphere helped out by that great organ. Other convincing highlights include the emotional "Sullivan Street", the rootsy "Omaha" (which works wonders placed in between "Round Here" and "Mr. Jones"), the triumphant closing tune "A Murder Of One", and the excellently written ballad "Anna Begins".
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Still emphasizing somewhat on atmosphere but concentrating a bit more on a live in the studio feel, Recovering The Satellites is an effective followup album with great lyrical and musical depth (which most bands in this genre seriously lack), convincing emotion and power and great, catchy melodies, particularly in the hit singles here. The live aspect is probably most apparent in the adrenaline rush of "Angels Of The Silences" (which features a heavier sound than before, and a strong melody), a song that's a direct contrast to the opener "Catapult" (a very effective quiet and personal ballad).
Those two tracks get this release off to a good start, and the rest of the first half works especially well - "Daylight Fading" has very moving lyrics and music (with a nice guitar solo thrown in), the dramatically orchestrated "I'm Not Sleeping" has awesome tension buildup, "Have You Seen Me Lately?" is probably the most representative of Duritz's feelings (ironically, it's probably the most upbeat song here), as he was clearly unsure of himself at the time, and "Goodnight Elizabeth" is a beautiful acoustic song giving the album pure substance.
The second half falls of a bit and thus keeps the album from being as excellent as August And Everything After, especially the bland, overlong, and wasted piano ballad "Miller's Angels" and the disappointingly standard "Monkey". The weaker material there is redeemed, however, by the solid title track (one of the album's best ballads), the odd-sounding "Another Horsedreamer's Blues" and of course, the piano-led "A Long December" (the album's biggest hit) and its' companion piece, the brief acoustic closer "Walkaways". A very good album that is far removed from "sophomore slump" status.
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