Watch videos of Counting Crows performing live on Private Sessions.
See Private Sessions exclusive photos of Counting Crows.
With their angst-filled hybrid of Van Morrison, the Band, and R.E.M., Counting Crows became an “overnight sensation” in 1994. Only a year earlier, the band was a group of unknown musicians, filling in for the absent Van Morrison at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony; introduced by an enthusiastic Robbie Robertson. In 1993 the band recorded their debut album, August and Everything After, with T-Bone Burnett producing. Although it was a dark and somber record, driven by the melancholy lyrics and expressive vocals of Adam Duritz, the one up-tempo song, "Mr. Jones,"and the plaintive, “Roundhere” became their ticket to stardom.
One of the things that made Counting Crows was their ability to balance Duritz's tortured lyrics with the sound of the late '60s and early '70s; this made them one of the few alternative bands to appeal to listeners who thought that rock & roll died in 1972. Recovering the Satellites followed in 1996, and in 1998 they issued the two-disc Across a Wire: Live in New York. Counting Crows' third studio album, This Desert Life, appeared in 1999 featuring the Top 40 single "Hanginaround" and also the successful "Colorblind" (which was later on the soundtrack of the film Cruel Intentions).
The new millennium brought much success and admiration for the band as they released their fourth album in 2002, Hard Candy, including one of their biggest hits, a cover of Joni Mitchell's “Big Yellow Taxi” featuring Vanessa Carlton. The following year the band released a greatest hits album called Films About Ghosts and toured with John Mayer, Maroon 5 and Graham Colton band.
In 2004 Counting Crows came out with hit single "Accidentally in Love," which appeared on the Shrek 2 soundtrack and garnered them an Academy Award nomination. Two years later, New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall, recorded from a show on February 6, 2003, was made available to the public.
This morning, in an in-depth interview, Adam Duritz sits down with host Lynn Hoffman to discuss the ups and downs of fame as well as the release of their new album Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. Plus, don't miss Counting Crows exclusive performances including “Cowboys” and “Washington Square” off of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings and their hit, “Roundhere”, all on this week's Private Sessions.
|
