When the prevailing guitar jingle of
"Mr. Jones"
cascaded over radio in the early '90s, it was a sure sign that
the Counting Crows
were a musical force to be reckoned with. Their debut album,
August and Everything After
, burst at the seams with both dominant
pop
harmonies and rich, hearty
ballads
, all thanks to lead singer
Adam Duritz
. The lone guitar work of
coupled with the sweet, in-front pull of
Duritz
's voice kicked off the album in full force. The starkly beautiful and lonely sounding
"Round Here"
captured the band's honest yet subtle talent for singing
, while
"Omaha"
is lyrically reminiscent of a
Springsteen
tune. The fusion of hauntingly smooth vocals with such instruments as the Hammond B-3 organ and the accordion pumped new life into the music scene, and their brisk sound catapulted them into stardom. On
"Rain King,"
the piano takes over as its aloof flair dances behind
with elegant crispness. The slower-paced
"Raining in Baltimore"
paints a perfectly gray picture and illustrates the band's ease at conveying mood by eliminating the tempo. Most of the songs here engage in overly contagious hooks that won't go away, making for a solid bunch of tunes. Containing the perfect portions of instrumental and vocal conglomeration,
showed off their appealing sound to its full extent with their very first album. ~ Mike DeGagne