Count on the Crows

After a band has been around for a while, the question always arises of whether the group has passed the prime of its musical career. With their recent release from Geffen Records titled Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, the Counting Crows’ sweet melodic harmonies and thoughtful lyrics drift further from the assumption that there is nothing more left in store for the band than its ’90s hits.

As with past albums August and Everything After and Recovering the Satellites, lead singer and songwriter for the band Adam Duritz continues to vividly retell and create visual masterpieces through his words. “And I dream of Michelangelo when I’m lying in my bed / I see God upon the ceiling, I see angels overhead,” sings Duritz on “When I Dream Of Michelangelo.”

He gives fans the capability to lose themselves throughout the record. Cocky and rather inspiring on “1492” as well as doubtful and second-guessing on “Los Angeles,” the Counting Crows resonate with anybody who knows what it’s like to live in today’s world. In fact, if there is any disc that could describe American life at the end of this decade, Saturday Nights is it.

Like its predecessors, this disc further proves the point that quality sound will draw anyone around. The album’s second track “Hanging Tree” reveals the band’s downright trashing of any notion of soft rock. Counting Crows projects the image of a bar jam band, with its alternative, blues sound providing sonic unity in songs like “Insignificant” and “Come Around.” “Come Around” ends the album triumphantly, signaling that the Crows have come full circle with stardom.

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is meant to just kick back and enjoy what life has given the Counting Crows. This disc fits any situation. Whether you need some tunes to write that paper or just something to play at a party, Saturday Nights is perfect for the job. Counting Crows has proven it can move through the decades and satisfy us not only in the ’90s but hopefully on through the ’10s.