[歌手简介]

    With their angst-filled hybrid of Van Morrison, the Band, and R.E.M., Counting Crows became an overnight sensation in 1994. Only a year earlier, the band was a group of unknown musicians, filling in for the absent Van Morrison at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony; they were introduced by an enthusiastic Robbie Robertson.

    Early in 1993, the band recorded their debut album, August & Everything After, with T-Bone Burnett; it was released in the fall. It was a dark, somber record, driven by the morose lyrics and expressive vocals of Adam Duritz; the only up-tempo song, "Mr. Jones," became their ticket to stardom.

    What made Counting Crows was how they were able to balance Duritz's tortured lyrics with the sound of the late '60s and early '70s; it made them one of the few alternative bands to appeal to listeners who thought that rock & roll died in 1972.

    Recovering the Satellites followed in 1996, and in 1998 they issued the two-disc Across a Wire--Live in New York. Counting Crows' third studio album, This Desert Life, appeared in 1999. In the midst of recording and collaborating with Ryan Adams on his sophomore album Gold, Duritz joined his band in the studio as well. The fruit of those sessions was the Steve Lillywhite-produced fourth album Hard Candy.

    成立于1993年的Counting Crows这个摇滚组合，几乎是在1994年一夜成名的。他们以前混迹于一个不知名的歌厅。直到93年秋天，他们才推出首张专辑《 August & Everything After》。但是这张专辑却是用一种阴郁黯淡的整体风格来表现自己。主唱Adam Duritz富于表现力的歌喉用来传达了一种郁闷乖僻的感觉，因此并未得到很多人的认可。

    但凭借音乐人 Robbie Robertson 的极力推荐和他们当时可能是唯一的一首比较明朗的歌曲《Mr. Jones》，他们开始引起圈内的关注。随后96年《Recovering the Satellites》和 98年《Across a Wire--Live in New York》，混合了主流摇滚、 另类摇滚、民谣摇滚等多种风格，完全摆脱了早期的颓废阴暗，为他们迎来全世界摇滚迷的认可与好评。有歌迷评价说，“Counting Crows的歌，让我落泪。”

    而自99年发布他们的新专辑，在他的歌迷心目中好坏评价不一的《This Desert Life》后，很长一段时间，都没有听到他们的动静。但2002年七月，他们终于出品了自己的第五部作品《Hard Candy》。专辑那美丽的旋律、真挚的填词和主唱Adam Duritz那掺杂了少许忧郁的声线，立刻让所有听过的乐迷惊呼，Counting Crows又有了新的突破！也许是因为这个新专辑是借用了一种叫作Hard Candy的女性香水的名字，那种香水的含义就是：展现真我风采。

    专辑中的《If I Could Give All My Love》是Counting Crows为他们乐队十多年前一位自杀的钢琴手Richard而写的挽歌，所以情绪可能稍感低沉。但那真挚的哀伤，让人仿佛感到，那谣言在70年代已经死去的摇滚精神，再次重现。

    而《Goodnight L.A.》是可以冲破一切阻碍的。从开始的激越的合音，过渡到下一段的柔和，连贯得衣无缝。我们眼前仿佛可以浮现出一个绝望孤独的人那无助的形象。

    《Up All Night》中 Duritz唱到“Is everybody happy now?”如果他是问他的歌迷，那答案当然是：“Yes!”。你可以从这支曲子中找到一点点Bob Seger和John Mellencamp的风格。你还可以说，这首曲子简直就是打造的完美无缺！