Children In Bloom

So apparently the new Counting Crows record leaked this past week, and yes, I definitely I took the liberty to get a piece of the action. And let's just promptly acknowledge and bypass the illegal piracy morality argument for the sake of keeping this blog entry a quick read. I have been waiting 5+ years for this new record (after the utter failure that was Hard Candy), so I don't think Adam Duritz shouldn't really mind that there are fans far and wide who are eagerly pursuing this album much less willing to give the Crows a chance to redeem themselves.

When I found out that Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings was going to be a concept album (a la the Foo Fighters' In Your Honor), I really dug this idea. Because let's face it -- both the Crows' sound and consistency can be metaphorically summed up to just that: day and night. It is at least comforting to know that after nearly two decades in the business, they are willing to admit this. And as I posted a couple of months ago after the band gave away its "digital 45", it looks like the Counting Crows weren't kidding around. The two songs that the band made available were "1492" and "When I Dream of Michaelangelo" -- the former being the rocker and latter being the acoustic ballad.

After listening to the first portion of the album (the rock side), it is evident that Duritz is responding to the naysayers who thought that the Crows had permanently bit the shark over to the Lite-FM side. The first six tracks are as bold as the Crows have sounded since releasing fan-favorite (and personal fave) Recovering The Satellites. Thank god! It's about time. Duritz didn't quite keep his frustrations silent about the universal lambastes he and his band had been getting about the direction of their sound, so it is not surprising that he wanted to unleash the fury and show that his band hadn't gone completely soft. And in doing so, it looks like the Crows have released their most personal record in over a decade. In songs like "Hanging Tree", Duritz pours out his heart like it was 1996. The tune is the most aggressively catchy song the Crows have released since "Angels of the Silences". As Duritz belts out the chorus, "This dizzy life is just a hanging tree for me," we are truly convinced that he means it. We get much of the same during the Ryan Adams-sounding "Los Angeles" and the infectious "Cowboys" -- which is welcomed step in the right direction.

Unfortunately for Duritz and gang, some of the magic gets lost as the album switches over to the "Sunday mornings" portion. Although none of the ballads are particularly bad per se, the mood that is created from the first half of the record kind of gets killed and the band falls into some of the old traps that have caused much of their past criticism. The well written "Washington Square" just seems a little out of place on this record. Regardless, I can definitely see how these songs can be appealing to longtime fans because they do contain the lyrical sincerity that is reminiscent of the band's August and Everything After days. I also wouldn't be surprised if these songs eventually grow on me, because I can already tell that I am partially judging them based on my current preference for a hard-rocking Crows album. The band does, however, save some face as the record finishes on solid note, reprising the album's first-half side with the electric-guitar driven "Come Around" -- a song that exudes classic Counting Crows.

The best part about this record is that when it is great, it is REALLY great. We get a solid six song span that most bands would love to have in a career, much less an album. The band loses some ground as the record progresses along with some questionable song choices, but this does not take away from the overall fresh sound that has been so eagerly anticipated by fans. Was it worth the wait? Let's say it was definitely worth stealing.