The D Man purchased August and Everything After in early spring of 1994 at a baseball tournament in St. George, Utah. Largely driven by the emerging airplay of "Mr. Jones" on MTV (who is this white dude with dreads? why his belly hanging out? why is this a breath of fresh air after everything else on the radio?), The D Man walked down the street to K-Mart and picked up the album. When I returned home and told my older brother about my new tunes he protested and said I should have picked up The Cocteau Twins. Typical.
Regardless of what hindsight haters might say, Adam Duritz' songwriting was brilliant on Counting Crows debut release. There was not a weak song on the record and the sing-along choruses were cathartic. Duritz' lyrics were supple and descriptive in a derivative (albeit melodically-worthy) Dylan vein. "Round Here," "Omaha," "Anna Begins," "Rain King." You know them all.
Perhaps tapping into some faux-junior high desperation, my favorite track (aside from the obvious ones) was the angst-riddled and nostalgia-fueled "Sullivan Street." I'm almost drowning in her sea / she's nearly falling to her knees. Pretty straightforward, sure. But The D Man loved the way Duritz added the buh-ba-buh-ba after singing take the way home for the second time. Loved the way the chorus changed (as with most of Duritz' best songs) to tell an ongoing story. Loved the gorgeous, live-feel production (thanks to T-Bone Burnett). The D Man listened to this track countless times in his basement bedroom. And he can primarily thank the Crows for being the gateway to artists like Dylan that he would discover later in high school. Take the way home, indeed.
4 comments:
D Man,
I've been a Counting Crows fan since Junior High, too. I own all of their albums and to this day have resisted the urge to throw them out. The same is true of other bands form that era (e.g., Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Better Than Ezra). I know that they're not "classics" and my children will mock me someday for owning them, but I don't think I'll ever part with them. That said, I don't think that, with the exception of this post, I'll advertise that I own them, either. They will be my little secret, tucked behind the respectable stuff, that I'll pull out every now and again so that I can be transported back to a time when life was so much simpler.
Desmond
Excellent post.
Your instincts are spot on when you characterize those bands in a similar vein. The D Man loves Toad the Wet Sprocket, and not just their breakout-album Fear. Dulcinea has an abundance of hidden gems, and it is maybe one of the most underrated albums from that decade. Glenn Philips and company were wonderful live. Enjoy "Windmills" again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y26Fp0w8rK0
The Gin Blossoms wrote some fine radio-friendly pop songs that had much more heft than one might suppose. Made it seem easy.
Better Than Ezra's debut, while not as good as the others, was another album The D Man picked up and played incessantly over the summer. Good times, indeed.
I enjoy listening to their albums when i am on the long road! Great post! Maybe we can jam to some cool tunes in a few weeks!!
Absolutely, brother.
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