Counting Crows
Hard Candy
(Geffen)
By: Jeff Leisawitz - ModernRock.com
Since "Mr. Jones" introduced Counting Crows to the music world back in the early nineties the band has pitched a string of hit albums that have touched deep, quiet, emotional places and exposed the secrets of our hearts. On Hard Candy, singer Adam Duritz and the gang do it again. This time with a quicker beat, a bit more volume and a summery vibe.
On the disc's impressive title track the Crows use guitar heavy rhythms and rich imagery to recall the seasons of days gone by. These melodies and memories effortlessly open us up to the unique moments in our lives that we each hold dear.
While some of these songs rely on the Crows' standard sound— quiet piano, acoustic guitar and organ— much of this music steps up the energy. The beat cracks hard against subversive organ riffs and guitar wah on the pensive cut, "Good Time." This track edges towards a seventies rock/ psychedelic sound. That's definitely a new flavor for the band, but somehow the scratch and pull of Duritz's voice pulls it together.
Ballsy guitars also rule on cuts like "If I Could Give All My Love-or- Richard Manuel Is Dead" and "Miami," but the essential Counting Crows sound is found on other songs. The introspection and half beat of tunes like "Butterfly in Reverse" and "Carriage" remind us of the broken love stories we each have to live with in different ways. "I wish that I was anaesthetized and sterilized/ And then you wouldn't have this evidence congealing/... Another pair of lips and eyes/ And that is the consequence of actually feeling."
Another highlight of this disc is the hidden track buried at the tail end of the CD. Pushed forward with an electronic beat, the Crows do a spectacular cover version of the Joni Mitchell classic, "Big Yellow Taxi."
Counting Crows are scheduled to tour through the summer of 2002 with The Who. Be sure that the band will bring the fire and passion of their live performance to their classics tracks as well as the new songs of Hard Candy.
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