Counting Crows Album: “Across a Wire-Live in New York”

Description :

Counting Crows: Adam Duritz (vocals, piano); Dan Vickrey (acoustic & electric guitar, banjo, background vocals); David Bryson (guitar, dobro, background vocals); Charles Gillingham (harmonica, accordion, piano, background vocals); Matt Malley (acoustic and electric bass, background vocals); Ben Mize (drums, background vocals). Disc 1 was recorded at Chelsea Studios, New York, New York on August 12, 1997. Disc 2 was recorded at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York on November 6, 1997. Includes liner notes by Bill Flanagan and Adam Duritz. Counting Crows: Matt Malley (vocals, piano, bass guitar); Adam Duritz (vocals); David Bryson, Dani Vickery (guitar); Charles Gillingham (keyboards); Ben Mize (drums). Recording information: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York (1997). In putting out ACROSS A WIRE as a live double-album, Counting Crows appear to be living on the edge of audacity having only released two records. These San Francisco natives blow away any of these notions with the unique complexity and nuance found within their music and live presentation. WIRE shows off two sides of the same coin by including performances from VH1 Storytellers and MTV Live From The 10 Spot. The audio version of Storytellers omits any narration regarding song origin and focuses entirely on reworked versions of the band's material. Songs such as "Round Here" and "Have You Seen Me Lately?" are radically stripped down so that by the time the full band is playing on "Ghost Train," the shimmering guitar and melancholy organ interplay make for a mesmerizing experience. On disc two, the Crows forgo restraint and tear into numbers such as "Angels Of The Silences" and "Have You Seen Me Lately?," complete with slashing guitars and pounding piano. Recorded on the last date of their American tour, cuts like "Children In Bloom" and "A Long December" take on an added poignancy as the connection between fans and band is palpable even through a set of headphones.

Adam Duritz and the rest of the CC's are simply amazing as live performers. If you have not seen or heard them live, I highly recommend doing so, as it will make the rest of their recordings come alive. The Crows are able to produce an entirely new sound for each of their songs so that, while they are still playing the same old songs, they almost sound "new." If you like the passion with which Adam sings on their regular CD's, you'll LOVE him live. He causes the listener to vicariously experience the music, so that they walk away with a completely new interpretation for every verse, chorus, and overall song (perhaps maybe only an appreciation for their music, that formerly could not be established by listening only to their records). Personally, I was sort of so-so about the Crows before I saw or heard them live. When I went to their concert they instantly became my favorite band; every song became more real to me, and I can now better interpret the rest of their music. I highly recommend this live CD because it makes the rest of their music SO much better.

what a live album should be. Do you see the number of songs and the price they are asking? What a deal!

This is the reward for supporting a band for years - being able to get such a nicely produced, packaged and delivered live version of so many songs.

This band goes all out in their live shows and this collection is the next best thing to being there (and better in some ways - such as when you've seen them live and someone else is inexplicably sharing top billing with them, affording them not much more than an hour of playing time!)

Counting Crows prove their worth in a live venue, so this one's definitely worth it.

I remember when I first heard Counting crows about two years ago. I was relieved that out there in the vast, sometimes gloomy world of music there is a vey bright light. The 3rd album of theres that i bought was the box live set. From the first word I was hooked, I don't think my C.D player heard any other C.D's for at least a month. Ive always been a fan of acoustic music so, as you can imagine I was blown away. I think it's so great that Counting Crows play the music they want to play-"just how it feels"- from the sleeve notes-the fact that their music reaches out and touches pepole from every walk of life is a wonderful acheivement which they should be proud of-yeah! So the C.D., I can't say a bad word about it I only wish I could have been there. The emotion created by the performance for VH1 matched the pure/raw power of the MTV set. All I can say is I hope Counting Crows will play England one day soon, they would certainly recieve a warm welcome. WELL DONE.

Ok, well I have to admit that I am as much a fan of the guitar sounds as I am Adam Duritz's voice. I would have rated this as a five star album, yet every once in a while (on maybe two or the songs total) Adam will get caught up in some moment singing and the dud gets kind of whiny. This guy is one of the best singers on the planet, though and this cd is still one of the best that the Counting Crows have ever produced.

Okay, well, the guitar sounds are much more raw, very retro and vintage sounding, I wouldn't be suprised if every guitar, amp, and effects pedal are 30+ years old.

My favorite songs are definitely Raining in Baltimore (amazing quiet version), Long December, Have You Seen me Lately?, Recovering the Satelites, and Round Here. If you like retro music with strong raw vocals you should love this stuff. I've heard Adam's voice coompared with Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20. Although I would say that they are very unique I admit that for comparison they are simalar in style (Adam's better though). I hope you like the album. Enjoy!

This is an absolutely AMAZING collection of Counting Crows songs! It was the first CD of theirs I owned and it is simply inspiring. The renditions of their classic favorites is inspiring to me. I attribute much sentimentality to this music, and it always transports me to a different time and place and changes my mood. This is a CD you should DEFINITELY buy! It is worth the money a thousand times over!