Accidentally nothing, Crows take deliberate approach to success

The band will co-headline its next tour with the Goo Goo Dolls.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Let's be honest.
Whereas the Counting Crows skyrocketed to alt-rock fame in the mid-'90s, its track record of late has been questionable. The Adam Duritz-lead band's last album, 2002's "Hard Candy," didn't seem to capture the same magic as past efforts.
And when you couple that with what followed for the band -- visiting the cover route (Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi"), greatest hits album (2003's "Films About Ghosts"), movie soundtrack digression (2004's "Accidentally in Love" from "Shrek 2") and newly released concert album "New Amsterdam -- Live at Heineken Music Hall" -- perhaps the creative well has gone dry for the band?
"No, I think we just needed a breather," said Counting Crows guitarist Dan Vickrey, calling from his home in San Francisco. "After 10 years straight of touring record after touring record, I think it was just a much-needed break."
As for the new live album, Vickrey said the band almost didn't release it. Thoroughly burned out after the "Hard Candy" tour, the group nearly forgot about the recording until someone pulled it out and gave it a spin.
Live appeal
For almost 15 years, the appeal of the Counting Crows -- at least in the live setting -- has predominantly been the getting-lost-in-the-moment feeling. And this concert had plenty of those moments, including new track "Hazy" (recorded with Gemma Hayes). However, what the guitarist said next may catch fans off guard.
"I'd be surprised if we ever heard that one again," Vickrey said. "I think Gemma Hayes was touring with us on that tour and I think she and Adam stayed up one night and wrote that song and played it at that show. That was the only time we ever played it."
Invariably, the live track's laid-back vibe and loose feel is indicative of a quintessential Duritz improvisation found in many of the band's concerts. Take a listen to "Hazy" and it's hard not to imagine the dread-locked singer breaking back into "Rain King" or "A Murder of One."
"I think what happened was Adam started the song and didn't exactly know it, because he's not very great with that," laughed Vickrey. "I believe some of that is just on-the-moment improvisation. What he can't remember he's just writing it on the spot, so that's probably why that has that feel."
New album
As for the next Crows' album, the band has already recorded eight tracks that Vickrey said are in the rocking vein of 1996's "Recovering the Satellites." He added the group hopes to write a batch of country-esque tunes as a counterpoint for the new album, which tentatively has a 2007 release date. Those songs will be penned this summer as the outfit co-headlines a tour with the Goo Goo Dolls. The bill pulls into Cleveland for a July 11 show at the Plain Dealer Pavilion and into Pittsburgh for July 15 date at the Post Gazette Pavilion.
In looking back over the Crows' catalog -- from its 1993 debut "August and Everything After" to 1996's electric "Recovering the Satellites," 1999's melodic "This Desert Life" and 2002's pop-ish "Hard Candy" -- Vickrey has no regrets.
"I think we've taken our time and have been very meticulous about the music we've put out," Vickrey said. "I wouldn't change any of them because they're all just a moment in time of a place that we wanted to go and they're all a little different. So I'm actually proud of it and the body of work that we have. I think that's rare for a musician."
More so, Vickrey knows the band's live shows are its calling card. He expects the same from its upcoming jaunt.
"We're going to rock your socks off, man," said Vickrey, in his best "Spinal Tap" voice. "It's going to be a good show. I'm guaranteeing it."