Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

Counting Crows is a great band that has prospered while attracting the slings and arrows of critics and hipsters alike. My theory is that because the Crows emerged amidst the raw reverberations of early-’90s grunge, their classic-rock instrumental expertise and singer-songwriter Adam Duritz’s moody, melodic gifts were deemed suspect, if not downright square. The Crows also suffered in that everything after its critically-acclaimed, T Bone Burnett produced, 7-million-selling August And Everything After debut seemed to somehow pale in comparison.

But one could also argue that the band’s five studio albums are all pretty good, including the new Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, a concept album (how old-fashioned!) about hedonistic indulgence and the reflections that come on the morning after. Rockers such as “1492” and “Cowboys” gallop on a well-orchestrated whirlwind of guitars; the Crows are also big on keyboards, and believe that snappy arrangements go a long way towards selling a song. Because Duritz’s vocal phrasing is built into his melodies, his words fairly embrace the hooks of tunes such as “Hanging Tree” and “Anyone But You”.

Duritz’s lyrics can certainly be self-involved — “Los Angeles”, which references the singer’s tabloid love affairs, is a cheesy dud — but he’s also a far more interesting navel-gazer than most any celebrated emo artist. And because Duritz is also a singer in a band, songs such as “Sundays” and “You Can’t Count On Me” manage to be personal tunes that also bear a group identity. The Crows conclude with “Come Around”, a joyously jangling gem that sounds good on any day of the week.