It's always a risky strategy to release a covers album, which is exactly what this first release in four years is. Some people would swat it away as “lazy songwriting”, and what if the songs are beloved pieces of beauty that should never have been messed with in the first place? What if it's the exact opposite? What if the songs chosen are rubbish and the sight of them on an album by someone else is still just cause to not buy them again? The thing I respect about this particular album though, above all else, is that this is an album the band just wanted to make because they like the songs, and hope the general public do too. That's it. No other reason, and I must admit, the songs chosen are by and large, pretty good. After all, the subtitle to the album is “What we did on our Summer Vacation”, which translates as “We're having some fun here and just fancy playing some music without having to take it too seriously.”
Having had four previous incredibly successful albums prior to this release, Counting Crows don't have to rely on other peoples songs to sell records, and with this collection of tracks by bands and artists old and new, is an eclectic mixture of the well known and the more obscure, none of which wouldn't sound out of place on a standard studio album. The thing I really like too is that each original band that recorded the original piece have a credit on the back cover so everyone who picks up the CD will know straight away who to check out if they really like the song. Not everyone who releases an album with covers does that, they bury the original artists somewhere on the inside back page of the booklet.
So, the songs themselves. Are they up to scratch? Well, mostly. The inclusion of 'Coming Around' by Travis would normally be enough to put most die-hard music fans in this country off buying almost any record, but the Crows interpretation of it is fast paced, slightly punky (by their standards) and is, by Adam Duritz' own admission, exactly how it's played live. He doesn't quite hit the falsetto full in the face, but this only adds to the “live” sound. The original song is constrained by being in a studio and gains a life of its own when played out on tour, and this is the feeling they've tried to put across with their version. Another particular highlight is 'Hospital' by the currently unknown Coby Brown. Duritz' emotive wails capturing the passion of the track perfectly with the admittedly simplistic bass and stabby lead melody providing a subtle backdrop for the clever wordplay in the lyrics. Any album featuring a Gram Parsons track is always worth buying just for that reason, and the Crows perform a suitably tip-your-hat version of the seminal 'Return of the Grevious Angel'.
The band also saw the need to include not one, but two tracks by Tender Mercies. If you're a fan of this band, then that's some pretty good publicity, but are they any good also? The second 'Four White Stallions' is marginally better, with more emphasis and passion pushed onto it, while 'Mercy' is a stripped back heavily country-tinged four minutes with distorted guitars and occasional piano spots. Neither are excellent, but neither are what anyone would consider “bad” either. The album then finishes with a cover of 'The Ballad of El Goodo' by Big Star, a tender love song pitched beautifully to round of the session well.
Fans of Counting Crows will love every second of this. That much is true. They are a band whose sound hasn't changed much over the years, and any evolution within has been subtle. This isn't a bad thing, or a criticism in any way. They're a band that are very good at what they do, and this time around they've covered fifteen songs by fourteen bands, and haven't recorded a total stinker between them. They've managed to keep the songs pretty true to the originals in most cases, and in some cases even improved the originals. Not only that but the fact that there are some bands who are barely even local heroes in their native US represented here, bands who could only dream of having the kind of exposure given to them by a band as big as Counting Crows is a testament to the fact this album is all about the songs and not about the band playing them, and that is an attitude that has to be credited.
Best fifteen tracks of all time? No. But such a statement is very subjective. “Lazy songwriting?” No. Not that either, as each track does have a well worked out and intricate arrangement to show it's not a direct copy. Most importantly: Good album worth buying? Yes.
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Having had four previous incredibly successful albums prior to this release, Counting Crows don't have to rely on other peoples songs to sell records, and with this collection of tracks by bands and artists old and new, is an eclectic mixture of the well known and the more obscure, none of which wouldn't sound out of place on a standard studio album. The thing I really like too is that each original band that recorded the original piece have a credit on the back cover so everyone who picks up the CD will know straight away who to check out if they really like the song. Not everyone who releases an album with covers does that, they bury the original artists somewhere on the inside back page of the booklet.
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