This Desert Life
Article summary
Two years in the making, This Desert Life is the kind of collection that will please the Counting Crows faithful and leave doubters unconverted. Adam Duritz's recognisably emotive vocals and the group's classic-rock stylings remain in the fore as the Crows stick near the nest with their third studio outing. The Mellencamp-like opener, "Hanginaround", is one of the strongest tunes here, thanks to its laid-back passion and catchy piano and percussive elements. The familiar feeling "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" is another lively offering, but at nearly eight minutes it's too long. The emotional, Van Morrison-like lament "All My Friends" feels self-pitying, while the balance of the album is simply bland. The sound is appealing (witness the spare "Colorblind" and the waltzing "Amy Hit the Atmosphere"), but This Desert Life is, on the whole, rather dry. --Katherine Turman
Customer's review
Great Album
This is my 3rd Counting Crows album and I was not dissappointed. You always know that you won't be let down with Counting Crows, there is not a bad song on here. Colourblind is probably my favourite, I think because I had heard this on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack and loved it, other songs worthy of a mention are 'Mrs Potters Lullaby', 'Four Days' and 'High Life'. Well worth a listen, good driving music as well.
This band is more that Mr. Jones and this record proves it well!
You know, I never thought that the Counting Crows would pass the one-hit wonder tag from Mr. Jones... I know the fans will hate me but I thought that was going to be case.
Boy I WAS WRONG! I started to buy the back catalogue because I really liked the 'August & Everything After' album and I didn't remember what happened to them; I stopped following their career until a friend of mine brought them back with some these amazing songs.
This record is overly great, open, the songs are so colored with different textures, and actually ALL of them are different, the inclusion of orchestra in the record fits PERFECTLY to the melodies. 'High Life' is a great example of this... the matured and personally I think they've got better.
If you try to fit this record into a style you end saying...pop, but man it has folk, ballads, rock & pop... there's a great variety of styles to enjoy... again, how wrong was.
What a great album... listen to 'speedway' and relax man... relax.
Let the music play!
Classic American Rock
Third studio album from Counting Crows, "This Desert Life" has a handful of very good songs, a couple of decent songs and also a few misses.
"Hanging Around" was one of the singles, and it's both catchy and melodic, but the repetitive chaotic ending never really appealed to me. Much better is second track "Mrs Potter's Lullaby", an epic song that would have suited the great Van Morrison perfectly.
Other favourites are the REM sounding "Four Days", the dramatic "I Wish I was a Girl", the melancholy "Speedway" and the semi-acoustic closer "St. Robinson in his Cadillac Dreams" - great fat organ and mandolin.
The album as a whole may not be quite up to the high standards of their debut, but still a great album that will satisfy fans of the band. Classic American Rock!
Amazingly great album with wonderful Lyrics
I received this album around a year ago now and it's been on my playist since there. It has wonderfuly lyrics and it really is a great album. Whilst you get albums that sound like this that are cheesy and country and western sounding this avoids that kind of genre completlely.
This album has beautfully written lyrics and songs such as colourblind, mrs. Potter's Lullaby and St. Robinson in his Caddilac Dreams that are just truly amazing. Whilst I have only heard this album from Counting Crows I would definitely buy some more albums of theirs on the back of this.
A great achievement.
This Desert Life - Everything An Album Should Be
I got into Counting Crows after hearing the beautiful 'Colourblind' on Cruel Intentions. At first, I thought they were REM, because Adam Duritz's voice resembles that of Michael Stipe in my opinion. But after discovering a band named Counting Crows, I chose to buy this album.
Sophisticated, soulful, cheerful, heart-tugging, beautiful and classic are just some of the words I would use to describe this album. This is truly a masterpiece of an album, and every part of it seems to have hidden connotations, all the way to the pictures in the sleevenotes.
I am an aspiring songwriter, and believe me, if I could ever write songs as beautiful as those featured on 'This Desert Life', I will die a happy person. The songs on this album seem relevant to any feelings, be they happy or heartbroken, and it seems to be a type of music which the majority of people accept, making it a great album to listen to with your friends. The songs are beautifully written and the idea of so many instruments playing the song at the same time is a beautiful thought. This truly is a spectacular album, and I would recommend it as the first Counting Crows album you should buy.
I recommend counting crows to fans of REM, Tracy Chapman, Radiohead, Muse, Damien Rice, basically just mellow rock. Enjoy!
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