Customer Reviews

Hard Candy

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

The Counting Crows have proven themselves masters of sophisticated pop music and on Hard Candy they continue to deliver the goods. Adam Duritz, the group's lead singer and primary lyricist, has said that Hard Candy is a return to form, harkening back to 1993's critically lauded August and Everything After. In my opinion, this holds true.

Steve Lillywhite's (producer for U2, Dave Matthews Band) influence can be felt throughout the album, giving the songs a certain internal strength that the Crow's last two albums (This Desert Life and Recovering the Satellites) failed to elucidate. Lillywhite's genius is that he was able to rope in the passion of the Counting Crows, holding the rope taut, not allowing Duritz and company to meander into the maudlin and the mundane, which they have a tendency to do.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to infer that Lillywhite is the man behind the curtain. On the contrary, the Counting Crows are a band hitting their stride. Duritz's lyrics are confident and playful, while his bandmates' musicianship is virtually unparalelled in rock and roll.

The title track, Hard Candy, is a beautiful, tight pop song, while the first single off the album, American Girls, is an amalgamation of Tom Petty and Big Star, a killer combination if there ever was one. The rest of the album is filled with poetic, perfect little pop songs sprinkled with show tune gusto, fervid lyrics, and climactic guitars.

If you're a Counting Crows fan you will not be disappointed. Come to speak of it, if you're not a Counting Crows fan, this album will make you one.

With Hard Candy, the Counting Crows have released a package of songs that follow the band's proven, successful musical format. All the hallmarks of Counting Crows music are here: the passionately sorrowful vocals of Adam Duritz; poetic, semi-accessible lyrics; vigorous musicianship from the band; and the meticulous production of each track. Putting these elements together, the final result is an album that sounds earnest, refined, and engaging, a product clearly born from a set of veteran musicians who have been around for a long time but haven't lost the focus on their art, even in the wake of huge commercial success. Hard Candy is in my opinion one of the best albums released in 2002.

I'm uncertain why "American Girls" was the first single issued off Hard Candy because even though it's a good song, it's not the best or most commercially viable tune on the album. "New Frontier," with its infectious hooks and rhythmic beat, seems destined for the radio. The title track and "If I Could Give All My Love" also have the potential to become hit singles.

Like any Counting Crows album, however, the music you may hear on the radio is only the beginning of what Hard Candy offers. "Carriage" is a soft and poignant track enhanced by the reflective, sad bars of a trumpet. "Miami" is a magnificent, compelling tune that finishes off with Adam Duritz's trademark rambling, improvisational-type singing. This is one of the elements I love so much about Counting Crows music: nobody compares to Adam Duritz when he digresses into one of his passionate, almost random, imperfect singing soliloquys. This album has enough of those moments to give the music a relaxed but intense feel. In fact, on Hard Candy, the Counting Crows effortlessly glide through complex musical compositions, revealing the kind confidence and grace found only in seasoned, successful musicians.

Counting Crows began their musical career as a group of talented musicians led by a very promising songwriter. The experience and massive exposure the group has received over the years only enhances the band's musical sensibilities. If you liked previous Counting Crows albums, I think you would enjoy Hard Candy. This is another masterwork from one of my very favorite bands.

I've been a fan of Counting Crows ever since August and Everything after was released in 1990, and since then I've never looked back.
Through their times, I've seen them change their spectrum from album to album (AAEA - A rawer, fresh sounds, Recovering the Satellites - A more rock influenced album, This Desert Life - A more surreal music experience.) With this they change again.
They have moved into a mixture of pop-rock, but unlike the normal drivel heard on the radio, undercutting this album are beautiful lyrics and haunting melodies.

1) Hard Candy - 5*

A smooth, catchy song. Upbeat with excellent lyrics and beautiful lyrics. An very impressive start to the album

2) American Girls - 4*

Slightly too pop influenced for me, nevertheless a stirling effort in a track which will have great radio appeal and shall appeal to a wide audience. Predominantely guitar influenced, it's a track that will keep your toes tapping for hours

3) Good Time - 4*

A melancholy, effects driven song remeniscent of their old relaxing music from AAEA ('Perfect Blue Buildings', 'Time and time again'), this track is a really beautiful, mellow journey through the life of a couple on the edge

4) Richard Manual is Dead - 5*

A catchy guitar riff, nice backing music and great vocal ability, this track is one which you can't get out of your head no matter how hard you may try!

5)Goodnight LA - 5*

An atmospheric, relaxing piece which shows the maturity of the band. Catchy and brilliant

6) Butterfly in Reverse - 3*

A song co-writen with Ryan Adams, and one of the weaker ones on the album. Despite the happy-go-lucky, abstract lyrics, the song itself falls a little short. Still a nice piece

7) Miami - 5*

Fantastic atmosphere, amazing electric guitar solo and brilliant lyrical and vocal prowess from Adam Duritz. A great song, in my opinion 2nd best on the album

8) New Frontier - 4*

Keyboard-synthesised pop tune, with cathy lyrics and vocals. A good song, not outstanding but well worth a listen or two

9) Carriage - 3*

Not the strongest of the album again; a mellow acoustic guitar song, with amazingly insiteful lyrics, but occasionally straying towards slightly boring

10) Black and Blue - 5*

A piano based tune; Duritz has the amazing ability of making all his piano tunes exceptional, and this is the same as the rest. Lovely winding melodies complimented by nice piano work and excellent vocal work

11) Why should you come when I call - 4*

Slightly outdated, but nevertheless effective; again a more light-hearted, poppy tune with happy backing vocals. Listen out for the 'bah da bah' backing!

12) Up all Night - 10*!

My personal favorite on the album; hard driven guitar mixed with melodic piano and (strangely) bongo drums! Excellent lyrics and vocals; this is a soporific tune to listen to over and over again

13)Holiday in Spain - 5*

Another relaxed piano tune, remeniscent of Colourblind. Beautifully mellow, and incredibly atmospheric, one of the higlights of the album

14) Big Yello Taxi - 5*

The album's most famous single (due to being on the film 2 Week's Notice and being a cover of Mitchell's original) is covered very nicely with an upbeat guitar and nice backing vocals from Vanessa Carlton

When all is said and done, another direction has been achieved by the Crows, and it produced a very good album indeed. I await the next eagerly!

Another great album by the Counting Crows. I have 3 copies (home, car, office) and I will probably wear them all out. To me this album was fun, sad, captivating, lyrically & musically superior to any new album I have heard recently. It took only about 3 turns in my CD player until I realized how completely addicted I am to this album. My 6 year old daughter knows the words to every single song. I'd say my 3 year wait was worth every minute.

Just a note: as other people have mentioned in their reviews, if you are looking for another August and Everything After, you will not find it here. My comment to that would be: if you are a Counting Crows fan and you happen to have August.....(their 1st) and Hard Candy (most recent) and any or all in between, you will know that NONE of their albums sound the same. (A true CCs fan will also know Adam will make these songs sound just a tad different in concert, as well. A true fan will also note "American Girls" is a little different version on the radio than on the CD. And a just got lucky to catch them on Conan, Leno, etc. fan will hear a different version than on the CD. They are always changing.) As the Counting Crows as a band and each member individually grow and change, so does their music. That is the beauty of the Counting Crows, plain and simple.

Yet again, my favorite band comes through with a masterpiece. This one, though, is a reinvention of their wonderful sound. They seem to have strayed away from their Roots-Rock roots...and have done it impeccably. Adam's words have never been stronger, and the sound has never been crisper. The songs still have that same strong voice that speaks to me, whatever mood I'm in. It's still poetry, set to music.
They seem to have become poppier, but don't be fooled...they have not by any means sold out. The album has a distinctly summer feel, but with some other dirges, of course (what CC album would be complete without the sad ones, anyway?). This summer feel is in stark contrast to the Autumnal and Winter feels of "August & Everything After" and "Recovering the Satellites", and it's even a little poppier than "This Desert Life."
It seems like the gang has started to come out of all those previous sad times and experiences that made us love them, with their previous albums. They seem to have emerged wiser, and "Hard Candy" has a very mature, and experienced feel. Adam himself has said that this album is a lot about memory, and now, he's taking the time to reflect on all of it, and thank God he's sharing that reflection with us.
I still have to listen to it another hundred times to get the full feel of it, but it's far on the way to being not only one of the finest Crows albums, but one of the finest albums of the past few years, period.

Counting Crows is finally back! With "Hard Candy" the Crows make it clear things haven't changed. This is CC at their very best. I place this album right behind "August and Everything After." It's truly remarkable and worth the long wait. From the first song to the last you are in the Crows world, which seems pretty cool.

Highlights:
Hard Candy: this title track is perfect candy for Counting Crows fans, it's amazing lyrics matched with Adam's amazing vocals

American Girls: this is the Mr. Jones of the album, with it faster paced all out fun lyrics, plus the help from another crow, Sheryl Crow provides backup, which makes this an instant classic

Butterfly in Reverse: this is not a normal CC song, but that's because the oh so talented Ryan Adams lends his vocals and writing talent, making an interesting mixture

Maimi: I passed over this song the first few times as nothing special and now it's one of my favorites, it's just amazing

Holiday in Spain: this is by far my favorite song on the whole album, it's perfect! it's slow, sweet and fun all at the same time and provides an interesting lead into a secret song, a remake of Joni Mitchell's classic "Big Yellow Taxi" that just tops this album off perfectly

This is the best Counting Crows as has been since the beginning, any CC fan will just fall in love with this CD.

So, you're thinking, "a fourth album from Counting Crows? I hope it's as good as August and Everything After" and then you listen to it and it's not quite the same. But there's a reason, it's in a different category of it's own. There already IS and AAEA cd, why repeat it and make a duplicate? There's not a need. We got a different album with Recovering.. and This Desert Life was certainly a change-up and now, Hard Candy has made it's debuted. It's absolutely fantastic. There's nothing better than buying a cd and listening to it non-stop, literally, over and over while at work and in the car and in my headphones while going to sleep. From the start, the title cut Hard Candy opens the album for something extraordinare. The hit single, American Girls follows and keeps the album churning. Adam Duritz's lyrics are so incredible as he speaks of memory and insomnia. Songs such as Miami and Up All Night provide a reminder of Recovering's A Long December. The album is highly recommended in my point of view. It's honestly, incredible to me.

At first I missed the 'desert sounds' from the last album, but as I listen to Hard Candy the third time I'm really enjoying listening to the references to Miami, New York, Spain, New Orleans and well, there's no doubt about it, now I'm on a journey somewhere new. It's actually turning into a great trip. Nine years ago, I greatly appreciated the catharsis offered by August and Everything After. But I've moved on, and fortunately, so have the Counting Crows. I don't think I can take another "young male dirge" song for awhile, and this CD is a great antidote. I really like the world evoked by cryptic lyrics about artsy, soulful people, or ordinary people, or American girls, for that matter. All the music is very listenable; in fact, sometimes I actually don't pay attention to the lyrics, which isn't typical for me with the Counting Crows. Adam's voice sounds great too. The lyrics are poetic and set to nice rhythms. An added bonus about the content of the lyrics: I don't feel the same distance between my real life and Adam's 'rock star life' in this album that I have felt in other CC albums that focus on Hollywood lifestyles and the burden of fame. Well done!

First of all, let's get one thing out of the way:

If you're expecing another "August and Everything After", you're sure to be sorely disappointed. (I loved "August" too, guys, but it's time to let it go...)

I think one thing a lot of reviewers seem to be responding to is the fact that Counting Crows don't sound like they did before on "August and Everything After", and they miss that sound. Counting Crows aren't the kind of band that sound the same from album to album, and any fan of theirs should've figured that out after "Recovering the Satellites". If you want cookie-cutter songs that sound the same from album to album, you're better off with Britney Spears or N'Sync. That's not what Counting Crows is about.

Now, on to the music:

There's very little not to like with this CD. It starts off strong with "Hard Candy", a bittersweet song about memory and loss. It's one of those catchy upbeat songs that almost sounds happy until you really listen to it. Lyrically, it's got some great visual images and really emotive sounds.

"American Girls" falls into somewhat the same category. Catchy, upbeat, and almost happy -- until you listen to it. The lyrical twist of the guy who takes advantage of a girl, only to be given his just desserts in the end, is really brilliant.

"Good Time" is a funky tune, reminiscent of 70's style music. It's one of the most unabashedly-sad songs on the album, and very heartfelt.

"If I Could Give All My Love" is a song about the relentless nature of time and relationships. It's alternate title, "Richard Manuel Is Dead" is both a reference to the song lyrics and an explanation of the sound of the song, which is, in fact, very reminiscent of The Band.

"Goodnight LA" isn't one of my favorite songs, but it's slow and heartfelt.

"Butterfly In Reverse", the song that Ryan Adams co-wrote, is probably my second-least favorite song on the album. This song, in particular, suffers from the problem of being "over-produced" as other reviewers have called the CD itself. It's almost Mary-Poppins-ish, and something I'd relegate to the Skip button.

"Miami", while not the best song on the album, is certainly a wonderful song with interesting use of keyboards. It's the one song on the album where keyboards work to the band's advantage.

"New Frontier", on the other hand, is where the keyboard/synth sound utterly fails the band. I agree with another reviewer that this song belongs on an 80's compilation, rather than on a Counting Crows album.

"Carriage" was really a surprise to me. Horns on a Counting Crows song??? Still, the effect isn't bad. It's a very nice song musically, although the lyrics are a bit more cryptic than some of the other songs (and some of Counting Crows' better songs).

"Black and Blue" proves that Counting Crows haven't moved as far from the "August and Everything After" days as many fans have feared. It's bare-bones music and gut-wrenching lyrics definitely harken back to those days.

"Why Should You Come When I Call?" is an ellucidation on "American Girls"'s "I'm such a cad" theme. Basically, it's a guy wondering why a woman is so good to him when he treats her badly. Musically, it's got a bit of a 70's feel to it, and the rhyme scheme is interesting to listen to:

"If you've not fallen quite
Asleep I might call tonight
If that's alright..."

Definitely worth a listen.

The final two (official) songs are probably the best on the CD: "Up All Night" and "Holiday in Spain". There's nothing to compare them to in earlier Counting Crow's albums, but they definitely stand on their own. On "Up All Night", Adam's voice shines through as he talks about the difficulty of finding someone or something in this world to connect to:

"I've been up all night.
I might sleep all day.
Get your dreams just right
And let them slip away."

In addition, there's the yearning for love so beautifully understated in the lines:

"Cause I've been thinking I'd
Like to see your eyes
Open up real wide
The minute that you see me."

"Holiday in Spain" is similarly beautiful, and a song that I frequently find myself singing along with. Basically, it's about the end of a relationship, and wanting to escape to something more satisfying:

"Take a holiday in Spain.
Leave my wings behind me.
Drive this little girl insane
And fly away to someone new."

If you've been looking for another "August and Everything After", I suggest you go out to your local CD store and buy another copy. The band has no interest in producing another "August", and in terms of creativity, it's hard to blame them. But if you're looking for a CD that makes you remember why you've stuck with them (if you have) through the "This Desert Life" days, this CD should restore your faith.

You get the feeling when listening to Hard Candy by the Counting Crows that the band needs to change things up a little. Because instead of being transfixed by such great pop rock songs as If I Could Give All My Love, the albums best track, the album has a feel of been there done that.

Take the first single American Girls for example, the tune is a great upbeat piece of pop rock, kind've like the way Mr. Jones is a great upbeat piece of pop rock or Hangingaround is great upbeat piece of pop rock. Somehow a band that can have two songs as different as A Long December and Mr. Jones be their biggest hits have become so repetitive in just four offerings no real excitement can be expressed about a new record.

Hard Candy is a classic sounding Counting Crows record, too classic. Holiday In Spain should stand as a beautiful, melancholy filled piano ballad; instead it comes off as just another beautiful, melancholy filled piano ballad from the Counting Crows. Anyone whose followed the bands career will probably be reminded too often of the band's previous work when listening to Hard Candy instead of being able to just enjoy the new tunes.

So why give it a good review? Simple; I believe each record by an artist should be judged as a separate entity (and I can't give it 3.5) and if you haven't followed the Counting Crows career as closely as I have, Hard Candy on its own is a great collection of pop rock songs.

New Frontier is a bouncy new wave sounding tune and Up All Night follows the same piano rock stylings of previous records but ups the tempo a bit to differentiate it enough from other similar sounding Crows tunes. Duritz vocal performance is as emotional and lively as ever, while the band is still able to showcase some awesome musicianship.

So the answer to the question is Hard Candy any good can be answered like this: if you don't mind a band sticking to a tried and true formula, buy this record, if you want something a little different from the Counting Crows, too many times Hard Candy isn't sweet enough.