Anyone who follows Adam Duritz and his cohorts knows that being a loyal Counting Crows fan is no "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby." After debuting with "August and Everything After" in 1993, the standards were just set too high. Obviously "Mr. Jones" has yet to be pulled from radio playlists, proving how instantly fans decided that they too wanted to "pass as cats." The Counting Crows will consistently and perhaps inevitably be compared to their earlier selves - the band was just too good too soon.
Despite such comparisons, "Hard Candy," the Crows' fourth studio release, is an enticing treat. Rich and replete with Duritz's deep vocals and soulful lyrics, fans will definitely need more than one taste of this album.
That is, fans will want more than one taste if they can get past the first lick of the lollipop. "American Girls" follows directly in the path of "Hanginaround" from 1999's "This Desert Life," providing little more than pop and less-than-stellar lyrics. Even with the addition of Sheryl Crow's back up vocals (catch the pun on the name?), the first radio release from "Hard Candy" comes up solidly disappointing. Seems kind of depressing that even the Crows have to stoop to mass pop appeal (and the Coke commercial to go along with it).
After "American Girls," however, the rest of "Hard Candy" proves delicious to the core. Coming first on the album, the title track harkens back to Crows classics like "Anna Begins" and "Mr. Jones." That's right ... "Hard Candy" is a song about a girl.
With background vocals by Matthew Sweet and introspective lyrics, again by Duritz, "Hard Candy" is no ordinary song ... about an ordinary girl. "All the regrets you can't forget are somehow pressed upon a picture in the face of such an ordinary girl." Just there, precisely, is the beauty of the Counting Crows and the magic in this song - the truth behind the lyrics. Haven't we all realized at some point that the one thing we can't forget is the one thing that most people would overlook?
The Counting Crows and Adam Duritz in particular are known for lyrics about girls - whether she is named Elizabeth, Anna, Mrs. Potter, Amy or most famously, Maria. "Hard Candy" gives listeners only one name - that of Mary Ann in "Butterfly in Reverse - and yet the album as a whole reverberates with images and definitions for love and the male/female connection.
Perhaps most subtly and most sincerely, "Carriage" takes Duritz's raspy voice and blends it seamlessly with some downright sex-driven lyrics. "So we slide inside of someone's mouth and someone's eyes until there's the sound of something intimate exploding, but it's all inside of you." The result is slow and sexy ... something the Crows best achieved previously only with their altered acoustic renditions on VH1 Storytellers.
"If I Could Give All My Love To You (or Richard Manuel is Dead)" shifts directions and focuses more on the musical talents of the band. Charles Gillingham on piano, Matt Malley on bass guitar and Dan Vickrey and David Immergluck on electric and acoustic guitars are often ignored in the face of Duritz's lyrics and vocals - unless perhaps it is Duritz introducing them at a concert. Here they add some new colors to the candy mix.
"Richard Manuel" should be the next single from this album if there is one, because here comes the Crows' classic and often well-received combination of solid beat and honest lyrics. No one forgets "Mr. Jones" because of that very blend of upbeat bass and overarching truth.
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Coming three years after their last album release, the Crows toss in a new theme with "Hard Candy:" geography. "Goodnight L.A.," "Miami" and "Holiday in Spain" carry passion and longing past the "way that light attaches to a girl." All of these songs are solid and deeply emotional in a way that adds maturity and extension to the band's repertoire. Songs about girls are par for the course, but the allowance for geographic bonds and needs grants the Crows a certain depth.
If nothing else, "Hard Candy" is another solid Counting Crows album. Every single song (with the possible exception of "American Girls") finds harbor in your mind and begs for lyrical analysis. And, as every diehard Crows fan would argue, there are just no words for Duritz himself. Perhaps the Counting Crows will never produce another album quite like "August and Everything After," but like its namesake, "Hard Candy" will definitely linger in your mind and in your mouth.
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