This Desert Life
Two years in the making, This Desert Life is the kind of collection that will please the Counting Crows faithful and leave doubters unconverted. Adam Duritz's recognizably emotive vocals and the group's classic-rock stylings remain in the fore as the Crows stick near the nest with their third studio outing. The Mellencamp-like opener, "Hanginaround," is one of the strongest tunes here, thanks to its laid-back passion and catchy piano and percussive elements. The familiar feeling "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" is another lively offering, but at nearly eight minutes it's too long. The emotional, Van Morrison-like lament "All My Friends" feels self-pitying, while the balance of the album is simply bland. The sound is appealing (witness the spare "Colorblind" and the waltzing "Amy Hit the Atmosphere"), but This Desert Life is, on the whole, rather dry.
August And Everything After
It's amazing the difference a year makes. Upon its release, August and Everything After sounded remarkably fresh, a welcome change from the crunch and screech of grunge. Blending the vocal athleticism of Van Morrison with the moody rock of The Band, the Counting Crows turned on a whole legion of fans turned off by modern rock. But what sounded fresh soon became stale as dozens of bands flocked to the radio with euthanized versions of the Counting Crows' sound. But you shouldn't hold that against the Crow boys. August and Everything After is a fantastic rock album. Though "Mr. Jones" was the moneymaker, the disc features such standout cuts as the dark lilt of "Anna Begins," the morose "Rain King," and the outstanding U2-meets-Grant Lee Buffalo anthem "Murder of One." Maybe time, and another listen, will heal the damage wrought.
Recovering The Satellites
Recovering the Satellites may not be quite as much the tower of song as the Crows' debut, August and Everything After, but it can hardly be called a sophomore slump.
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Vocalist Adam Duritz and his crew mine similar territory on the more densely produced Satellites, couching tales of dreamers, lovers, and losers in music that's part classic rock redux and part heartfelt folk jangle. As able as the band is, though, it remains Duritz's show, and his plaintive voice and serpentine lyrics are what drive this record home, particularly on "Daylight Fading," "Miller's Angels," and the aching hit "A Long December."
Across A Wire: Live In New York City
Too much too soon is the m.o. of so many bands who, thanks to the fleeting fame that accompanies music-video breakthroughs, are famous before their time and has-beens five minutes later. You could be excused for thinking that's the case with Counting Crows, darlings of both MTV and VH1, who here release a double concert CD after only two studio albums. But you'd be wrong. The set, an acoustic disc recorded for VH1's Storytellers and an electric one from MTV's Live from the 10 Spot, proves how well the oft-bootlegged Crows have earned their reputation as a smoking live band. It also shows how elastic their rambling and evocative songs can be, some of which appear on both discs but in vastly different arrangements. People may tire of vocalist Adam Duritz's perpetually-wounded-soldier-of-love act, but this is one band whose success was hard-won and is richly deserved.
Reviews Copyright Amazon.com, 2000
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