The new Counting Crows album is fantastic !

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Lou_Skunnt69@reddit

Problem is when you go see them live and they sound absolutely nothing like the album. I only made that mistake once in life.

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I went to a CC and Live show once where he even didn’t do Mr Jones or Round Here…and this was back in like 2001, when they didn’t have many albums. He kinda refused to let the crowd sing along with his random cadence and tempos.

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theguineapigssong@reddit

That is awful. You gotta play the hits. You know why the Rolling Stones are still touring after six decades? Because you come to see them play the hits and that's exactly what they do. RIP Charlie Watts.

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solo1001@reddit

I’m a big fan and I get the complaint. However I also see why they do that sometimes. They don’t want to just phone it in and go through the motions so they switch it up sometimes. Mr Jones and Round Here are played more traditionally now. If you listen to Across the Wire, you can hear how they were originally written (more acoustic coffee house songs). They did Rain King acoustically for a while but came back to the fast, electric version. I’m glad they still tour and sound great. But again, totally get the shock when they don’t sound just like the album.

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djsynrgy@reddit

It's a delicate balance for any band to manage. Sound too much like the album, you're not 'performing' enough; sound not enough like the album, you're 'alienating' the audience.

Play too many of the hits, you're "lazy"; play none of the hits, you're "pretentious". 😆

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Ok-Energy5358@reddit

Couldn’t agree more. I mainly listen to jam bands, but I’m 42, and love my 90’s bands. I loved CC because they were different. Since I listen to so many jam bands I’m completely used to and expect variation, but CC doesn’t really follow this. Proper jam bands have maybe an elaborate/lengthy intro, then the actual recognizable song, then jam in the space of the song, then bring you back to the song to finish or morph in to the next song.

CC just completely change shit and Adam is a dick. I’ve seen them live a few times, the last one being several years ago at Red Rocks. He stopped the show because people up front were talking too much and then insulted them and the audience calling them/us “fucking idiots”. Seriously, such a prick. It’s ruined the whole band for me.

So, yeah, they’re not even jam-adjacent, they’re just pretentious and don’t want the audience to follow along.

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peepeeinthepotty@reddit

I hate bands that call out crowds for playing a boring ass set (especially in a giant arena or ampitheater). Ray LaMontagne is on my shit list too for that.

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ilovepi314159265@reddit

Yeah, they're better IMO. Back in the limewire days i stocked up in so many live versions that were awesome!

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DoctorFenix@reddit

Counting Crows are one of those bands that notoriously have good and bad nights.

I was lucky to see a few of the good ones.

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worksnake@reddit

Oh no, could you elaborate a bit on that? Do they become like a country hip hop band, or?

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RoyDonkeyKong@reddit

They famously perform their songs differently than their studio recordings. Check out some of the live albums on your favorite streaming services. There’s a version of “Rain King” out there that takes F O R E V E R because A) they play it super slow and B) they go ahead and throw in a whole-ass cover of “Thunder Road” in the middle of it. Also slow.

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Weary-Inspector-6971@reddit

That version of rain king is incredible. Their extended live performance cuts are magical. Blow some of the studio versions out the water.

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marbotty@reddit

Yeah, it’s far superior to the album version. In fact, that particular rendition (assuming we’re talking about the same performance) ranks as probably my favorite Counting Crows song overall

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emptybeetoo@reddit

I really love their live albums, but I need to be in the right headspace for them. I couldn’t imagine actually being at a concert and listening to them play a super slow 10+ minute interpretation of one of their greatest radio hits.

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dayman-woa-oh@reddit

Adam plays around with the melodies and phrasing of the lyrics, sometimes it seems like he ad libs some stuff too. They have a touch of jam band in their live performances, though I havent seen them live in over 20 years.

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CliveBixby1984@reddit

Went and saw them just a few years ago and they were great.

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tableleg7@reddit

The lead singer changes how he sings the melody for almost every song, i.e, he sings the same lyrics but to a slightly different tune than the album version of each song.

It makes it impossible for the audience to sing along.

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Jenaaaaaay@reddit

Same

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freshleysqueezd@reddit

Totally pumped to see them play August and Everything After as a kid. This was when it was hot too and they changed EVERYTHING. They even fucked with Mr Jones. MR. JONES!

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andrewjamesvt78@reddit

Agreed! Butter suite miracle 1 is the better album but “Under the Aurora” on butter suite miracle 2 is the best song. IMHO of course.

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Planetofthought@reddit

DV me into oblivion, but I never liked em.

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Moxie_Stardust@reddit

I'm pretty neutral on them, I won't complain about hearing them, but I've never actively decided to listen to them either.

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AmputeeHandModel@reddit

Um, that's fine. No need for abuse.

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abbydabbydo@reddit

Really?! That’s awesome. One of my favorites. I didn’t even know they had a new release, so thank you very much.

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Suspicious_Yam_69420@reddit

I haven't heard it but I'm positive it isn't

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Weary-Inspector-6971@reddit

I wasn’t even aware of a new album. Thank you!

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Ok_Mango324@reddit

totally get you, its easy to miss new stuff when you’re busy with life

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Weary-Inspector-6971@reddit

Be gone, bot!

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Lughaidh_@reddit

Album cover has Neutral Milk Hotel vibes to me… lol

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MrNice1983@reddit

I sincerely doubt that but ok!

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AmputeeHandModel@reddit

What the hell, is this real? Confused.

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ThepalehorseRiderr@reddit

Whenever I hear about the Counting crows I always think about the fact that the lead singer suffers from a dissociative disorder and at the time, it's the first time I've ever heard of that.

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