'This Desert Life' is the latest offering from Counting Crows and is equally as
good as their previous albums.
Although I'm not sure its as breath-taking as 'August and everthing after' its still
a great album and well worth listening ... Read review
Counting Crows faithful and leave doubters unconverted. Adam Duritz's recognisably emotive vocals and the group's classic-rock stylings remain in the fore as the C...
Counting Crows faithful and leave doubters unconverted. Adam Duritz's recognisably emotive vocals and the group's classic-rock stylings remain in the fore as the Cro...
A review by liltinky on This Desert Life - Counting Crows May 6th, 2001
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks
A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
Value for Money
Advantages:
Easy listening, beautifully written
Disadvantages:
A bit depressing
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
'This Desert Life' is the latest offering from Counting Crows and is equally as good as their previous albums.
Although I'm not sure its as breath-taking as 'August and everthing after' its still a great album and well worth listening too.
I must admitt to being a huge Crows fan so this review will no doubt be a little biased.
The album contains 10 tracks all of which I really enjoyed. I think my favourite tracks are "Hangingaround", "Amy hits the atmosphere" and "Colourblind".
'This Desert Life' is in the usual style of Counting Crows, which fans will be used too.
All the words are written by Adam Duritz and are as depressing as ever. The songs are in their own way beautifully written and express the pains of life and death and love.
Much as I love Counting Crows I think they find it impossible to write happy songs, so its really not an album for a rainy day.
People complain that a lot of Counting Crows songs sound the same, which can be true although I don't tend to notice 'cause I know so many of their songs off by heart.
If you've never tried Crows this is a great album to start with. The musicality behind it is great as are the words, which are often moving and touching.
The only disadvantage with this album, is that it is quite short and I couldn't get enough.
" If I could make it rain today And wash away this sunny day down to the gutter I would Just to get a change of pace Things are getting worse but I feel a lot better And thats all that really matters to me."
Amy hit the atmosphere.
For those who are interested heres a bit about all the songs.
Hanging Around. This is one of the livelier songs on the album. It has a great tune and its very catchy (I'm listening to it right now). It gives the impression of being a generally cheery song until you listen to the lyrics..about missed oppotunity, boredom and the ties that bind us.
Mrs Potter's lullaby My favourite line from this track is "If you've never stared off in the distance, then your life is a shame. And though I'll never forget your face sometimes I can't remember my name" Yes, another not particularly happy song but definitely one of their best (in my humble opinion). Its longer than a lot of their stuff about 8 minutes long. It leaves me thinking who the heck is Mrs Potter? Answers on a postcard....
Amy hit the atmosphere. I'm not entirely sure why I like this one so much but I just do. Its quite slow and depressing and I have no idea whats its really about, which sometimes is a good thing. Counting Crows songs can mean everything to someone and nothing to the next person, which is part of their value.
Four Days "All I want is something good It gets harder every time She is leaving here tonight Take a breath Take your time Spread your wings and rise" I think this is one of the songs people would condemn as sounding the same as the rest but I think its got its own merits such as great singing and a snappy tune (for want of a better word).
All my friends This is also a long song and buckle down its pretty melancholy. I love the guitar and the piano in this song, I think they are more noticeable than in some of the others. "One way or another I just wish I had known To go out walking in the sun And find out if you were the one."
High Life "All my friends got flowers in their eyes But I got none this season All of the last ten years blooms have gone and died Time doesn't give a reason Hey baby, do you ask yourself sometimes What you need to be forgiven? <br>Everything that you've ever done wrong is the reason that I'm driven Straight to you." Its almost poetic, now just imagine that sung in Adam Duritzs amazing voice.
"oh apologies, no apologies, this apology Doesn't desrcibe the way it feels to feel for you"
Colourblind. This is another of my favourites for no particular reason again. I think its just really sad for some reason, you need to listen to it to feel the real impact.
I wish I was a girl. "They're gonna make a movie of all the things that they found crawling round my brain" I think we all feel like that sometimes don't we? This is a great song. Its sung passionately and with all the feeling that make Counting Crows more than just your average american band. I'd love to hear it live someday.
Speedway. Still not sure how I feel about this song even though I've listened to it a hundred times. It doesn't stand out as one of the best tracks on the album.
St Robinson in his cadillac dream Odd title for a song. This track is also pretty lively but once again not if you listen to the lyrics. I think its about how we never turn out the way we think we will when we are kids. "Carrie's down there is the basement all toe shoes and twinned With the girl in the mirror who spins when she spins From where you think you'll end up to the state you're in Your reflection approaches and then recedes again."
Despite all the melancholy and the big ideas Counting Crows have no pretensions in their music which makes it so much more appealing and easy to listen to.
More Reviews
Superb follow up Review ofThis Desert Life - Counting Crowsby
andydenton
Advantages: Excellent follow up, much lighter than the other two albums Disadvantages: None
...to get into and enjoy this album if you were not a Counting Crows fan, as with all of their albums enjoyment is only fully realised from prolonged and repeated listening.
However this would not stop me from recommending this album to everybody - go for it and buy it, listen to the feeling in the lyrics and the music and then lets campaign to get more Counting Crows music on the radio!!! ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
How does it compare to ...
Value for Money
helpful
08.02.2001
The Best Yet Review ofThis Desert Life - Counting Crowsby
dom00
Advantages: Great Songs Disadvantages: None
...all there previous stuff but this is the best yet. Where the other albums have good and bad patches (of atleast one or two songs) this stays good throughout. From the up tempo Hanging Around to the hidden secret track this is pure quality. It has just about everything, from the haunting colorblind to the strange 'Mr Robinsons cadilac dream' to the clever lyrics of 'Mrs Potters Lullaby'. If your already a counting crows fan then it's a must, if not ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
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helpful
12.07.2000
Buy It. Now. Review ofThis Desert Life - Counting Crowsby
peterbenfield
Advantages: Disadvantages:
This ablum is brillant. I hadn't really heard of the counting crows before I bought their album but I very glad I did buy it. All the songs are excellent and each one is new and different. Each song doesn't copy the last and has it own unique sound. The musicanship is good and the instruments are played well. There are no bad songs on the album, I liked each and every one of them and I listen to the album all the time. The album has songs for any ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: lots of great tunes and more fantastic vocals Disadvantages: a bit more unplugged than normal
...a girl
You'll like this if - you like a bit of angst, you have other Counting Crows albums, you like silly lyrics
Listen to - on your own
Another great release by this band. This is not their best album but is still a fabulous peice of work. The lyrics on most of this album make absolutely no sense but if that isnt the sort of thing to bother then you will love them.
This album features the song 'Colourblind' as featured in the film Cruel Intentions.
...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Consistent throughout Disadvantages: Not as stunning as previous albums
...reviews i have seen about this album, it is good, and don't get me wrong, i would recommend it to anyone.
However, when you try and compare it to the great 'August and Everything After' you will see that Counting Crows have not really progressed, and may have actually regressed into a more commercial sound.
This is by no means a disaster, as i am sure it will get them more of the credit they thouroughly desreve, but this album is less memorable ... ...album as a whole.
If you are off to buy your first Counting Crows album, make it 'August and Everything After', then go out and buy the rest, this included. You will not regret it and will have many a song in your head for months and years to come. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Possibly the bands finest record to date. Disadvantages: None. Nadda. Zip.
...surely be ignored by UK radio anyway, but hopefully Irish radio will have sense if it gets what it should get, i.e. a single release.
5. GOODNIGHT L.A. (4:17)
“I’ve been up for 38 hours / And it don’t look like sleep’s coming soon” are words that sum up a mellow lethargic song, seemingly about insomnia. But there is more to this song than ideas of sleep, the chorus is simply beautiful as Duritz sings ‘What brings me down is love / ‘Cause I can never get enough / Never get enough of love”. Lyrics like this are exactly what made ThisDesertLife such an empty record, devoid of the depth. Unlike Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Duritz has back-tracked to the persona lyrics that were the hallmark of CC’s first two records. This is classic CountingCrows.
6. BUTTERFLY IN REVERSE (2...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Beautiful lyrics, beautiful melodies. Gets right under your skin and into your heart. Disadvantages: Can become sullen and monotone for those who don't like slowpaced songs.
...CountingCrows always provide my soundtrack to Autumn. And Winter, when I think about it. But I never listen to their albums in the summer months because they simply don’t fit. Their music is melancholy, filled with poetic, middle-American melodies and eloquent words that are worthy of an episode of Dawson’s Creek or Party of Five. Which is quite fitting, because their work has been played in both TV shows. Other songs of theirs that feature on soundtracks include The Ghost in You on Clueless (hmm) and the wonderful heart-string-puller Colorblind on Cruel Intentions (the one that gives great piano).
August and Everything After (A&EA) is CountingCrows' first album. It was followed by Recovering the Satellites, Across a Wire and the most recent album release, ThisDesertLife. I was fortunate enough to see Counting...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Album Notes: Counting Crows: Adam Duritz (vocals, piano); David Bryson (acoustic, electric, 12-string & slide guitars); Dan Vickrey (acoustic & electric guitars, sitar, background vocals); Matt Malley (12-string guitar, bass, background vocals); Ben Mize (drums, percussion, background vocals). Additional personnel: David Immergluck (pedal steel & electric guitars, bass); Joel Derouin, Eve Butler (violin); Matt Funes (viola); Larry Corbett (cello); Dennis Herring (keyboards); David Lowery, Chris Seerfried, Gary DeRosa, Cinjun Tate, Charles Gillingham (background vocals). Recorded in Hollywood, California in 1998. Looking beyond the puerile zeitgest that cluttered the charts in 1999, Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz continued to be the epitome of the sensitive lyricist, using songs as a canvas for what was going on in his life. Like its predecessors, THIS DESERT LIFE contains an abundance of musical riches. Camper Van Beethoven/Throwing Muses producer Dennis Herring shares the helm with Cracker's David Lowery. The duo vigorously supports the Crows' homespun leanings while at the same time tapping into the same vein of Americana from which many insurgent country bands draw inspiration. Duritz is a denizen of the subconscious who delves into the intertwining relationship of memories and dreams amidst the chugging pace of "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby." On the lushly bittersweet "All My Friends," he looks back at his life in the hopes of finding a future mate. Counting Crows offset the dark mood of THIS DESERT LIFE with a few less severe-sounding numbers. The bizarre imagery of "St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream," is undercut by chiming mandolin and sweeping organ. "Hanginaround" is akin to "Hey Jude" with a hip-hop beat. Also included is the hidden track "Kid Things," a folksy rocker reminiscent of early-'70s Rod Stewart.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (11/25/99, p.98) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...a couple of the best things they've ever done....[Adam] Duritz rises to the occasion of a stellar arrangement featuring discursive strings, spacey synths and river-deep basses..." Spin (12/99, p.222) - 6 out of 10 - "...strikes the same oddly compelling, melancholy chord as its predecessors - a crafty, referential rock that should play well to licensed psychotherapists and VH1 viewers alike....[DESERT LIFE affirms] that Counting Crows are genuinely affecting songwriters..." Q (12/99, pp.129-30) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...pushes [songwriter, Adam] Duritz to the fore, enhancing his narrative flair on the lengthy Mrs.Potter's Lullaby and the string-drenched 'All My Friends'..." Mojo (12/99, p.125) - "...a sandbank of relentless, parochial misery....amiable...yet, generates a worrying, overwhelming sadness..." CMJ (11/8/99, p.27) - "...whether the band is working out an up-tempo number or looking deep into itself on ballads, each track on THIS DESERT LIFE is compelling, powerful and poetic."
Titles on disc 1
1.: Hanginaround
2.: Mrs Potter's Lullabye
3.: Amy Hit The Atmosphere
4.: Four Days
5.: All My Friends
6.: High Life
7.: Colour Blind
8.: I Wish I Was A Girl
9.: Speedway
10.: Saint Robinson And His Cadillac Dream
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