“Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings” – Counting Crows

Rating: 1 / 10

In 1996, the Counting Crows had a hit with their song “A Long December;” and because of that someone thinks they’re good musicians.

On their new album, “Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings,” the band doesn’t stray too far from their typical style, a style that isn’t very good to begin with. There is no musical evolution on this CD as the Crows simply offer more songs with Adam Duritz leading with a pleasant voice, singing lyrics more cryptic than a Moody Blues album.

The song “Los Angeles” ends with “We’re gonna get drunk / find us some skinny girls and go street walking.” Well, that may not be cryptic, but it’s not good either.

The album also has a problem with its length. Only one song is shorter than three minutes. But that isn’t due to long ballads. Instead, most of the chorus in most of the songs are repeated over and over in a slow melodic style just because that’s what the Counting Crows do.

“Insignificant” might be the most insignificant track, unless you enjoy impressions of modern R.E.M. “Can you see me falling?” Well, no, but I do see this song “comin’ in fast” to elevator speakers soon. “It’s been a bad day” for the Crows so “please don’t take a picture.”

The real insult of this album is the curious occurrence that the best song is placed at the album’s beginning, and the remaining 13 tracks are slightly altered carbon copies of each other. That song, “1492,” does actually sound different from the songs that have made the Crows famous.

It’s electric and angry and alternative. But it was as if the Crows suddenly realized what has happening, became terrified of commitment to change, and quickly went back to comfortable repetition.

A bit of advice for listening to this album: don’t do it. If you must have something from the Counting Crows, pay iTunes for “1492” and skip the rest. You wouldn’t order a $14 steak to trim away $13 of fat. Order yourself the McDonald’s value burger and be satisfied.