Counting Crows from Creation to Continuity (Counting Crows in general)

Name: iamasadlittleboy

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Counting Crows in general
Date:	29.01.08 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant songs

Disadvantages: Not well enough known

As is always the case with album reviews I spend about as long doing a short bio peice before actually doing the album, so I though I'd take the bio and do what I've done once before, and follow it up with a total bio rather than concentrating on the album at hand. However having just recently done "This Desert Life" by Counting crows, I thought I'd make sure to get the bio done pretty soon after wards.
The following is taken directly from the album review:

Counting Crows are a band you may not recognise the name of but you almost certainly will have heard them sing at least one song. The band's most famous hits were "Accidentally in Love" which was featured in the smashing Shrek 2 and Films About Ghosts, and the cover of Joni Mitchell's classic "Big yellow Taxi" as well as the song that brought them to the fringes of the mainstream "Mr Jones".

Formed in San Fransico in 1991 by lead singer Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson as orginally an acoustic pair the band grew to include a full time keys player, drummer and bassist in the guises of Matt Malley (bass), Charley Gillingham (keys) and Steve Bowman (drums) by 1993.

Later in 1993 they had the honour of performing at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony which brought them to many people's attention, as never had their been such an unknown band to play at the event (and their hasn't been since).

Their first album "August and Everything After" was released on Geffen Records in 1993 and reached #4 in the USA going platinum 7 times over, their 1996 follow up "Recovering the Satellites" did 3 better (despite fewer total sales) reaching #1 and going double platinum. Three years later came "This Desert Life" which managed a respectable #8 in the US charts and has managed Platinum.

Propelled by the main two singles from the album in the opening track "Haginaround" and "Colorblind" (their an american band, they spell colour wrong) which had featured in the movie "Cruel intentions", which the band may have used to their advantage. Around this time David Immerglück joined the band full time doing various instruments.

So now onto new stuff, which has happened since "This Desert life".

The band followed up "This Desert life" with the 2002 album "Hard Candy" which featured the brilliant Joni Mitchell cover with Venessa Carlton, of "Big Yellow Taxi" which oddly for the band earned plenty of UK air time, and was featured in the soundtrack for "Two Weeks Notice". During the publicity tour for the album the then drummer Ben Mize left the band to spend more time with his family, and the band recruited Jim Bogios to be the butt of the jokes.

their next release was the Greatest hits album "Films About Ghosts" which came in 2003 originally, with the band touring with the now well known Maroon 5 who came to prominance around 2002. The bands song "Accidentally in love" was then used in Shrek 2 (2004) which lead to later releases of "Films about Ghosts" to contain the song. Following on from the tour Matt Malley (the bassist) left the band which lead to CC calling in help from former bandmate of Bogios' in the shape of Millard Powers on Bass duties (although their is speculation about his place in a permanent CC line up still, 5 years later).

2006 lead to the release of "New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall", which despite the name, wasn't exactly "Live at the Heineken Music Hall" as it was recordings of them from various venues. The following year some of this footage was included on the second disk of "August and Everything After - Deluxe Edition" which featured a full re-release of the album that brought CC to the foreground of modern music.

In early 2008 (further along than current time of writing) the band intend to release "Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings", which if "This Desert Life" is anything to go by will be an instant classic.

So there we have it, CC from 1993-2008 and still active.

Summary: Just a quick look at the bands history