Counting Crows Show Two Sides On New Album
Monday March 24, 2008 @ 05:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Counting Crows

Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz has whipped his band into shape in preparation for Tuesday's release of Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings.

The group have been playing most of the new material live since last summer, and they promise to be a well-oiled musical machine in anticipation of an extended tour, which currently includes a host of summer festival dates. Duritz says being proficient performers was instrumental in establishing their success back in 1993 following the release of their multi-platinum debut, August And Everything After.

"When we were on Saturday Night Live 14 years ago and we played 'Round Here,' that made our career," recalls Duritz. "We went on national television and we played a five-minute song.

"People think 'Mr. Jones' was the big moment for us, but it's not. 'Mr. Jones' was already a hit and we were already out of the top 200 when we played SNL. We had been playing 'Round Here' in clubs for three months, so we were ready for that performance. When we went on there, we were ready to be Counting Crows and blow people's minds."

Duritz needs the group to be ready again, so they played nearly 40 songs from their catalogue last summer, including a performance of August And Everything After in its entirety in honour of the album's re-release last September.

Durtiz calls Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings an album "I've wanted to make all my life." It's a single disc divided into two sides. The first is darker in tone, while the second features more traditional-sounding Counting Crows material. It didn't begin as a concept album, but with just the visceral and edgy opener, "1492," one of the most aggressive songs the band have ever recorded. The first side, produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters), then took on a life of its own as an outlet for Durtiz's personal malaise, resulting in the darkest lyrics he'd ever written.

"I was a narcoleptic, I kept passing out in the studio," explains the singer. "I was passing out on the couch, but I could hear Gil and the guys talking. The album is about my own life, things going wrong — I am the king of everything, I am the king of nothing."

"When I Dream of Michelangelo" and "1492" can be downloaded for free from Counting Crows' website. Part of the reason the album was delayed from its original 2007 release date was because Duritz was at odds with Geffen Records over whether or not to include them on the site.

"I insisted on it, and we had a big fight about it," says Duritz. "The way I see it, give your music to the people. There's never been a venue in history of the world that can reach so many people as the internet."

—Erik Leijon