Counting Crows Album: “New Amsterdam Live at Heineken Music Hall”

Im a pretty big Counting Crows fan and I always enjoyed their music since they were The Himalyans. I have always thought that their music was best heard live. On Across The Wire they showed the harder side and the softest of sides on a 2 disc live. This could really be a sequel to those discs by showing both of those sides on this single disc. This is basically just act 3 on their career spanning the period after the first 2 discs and relies heavily on live doses of Hard Candy which wasnt out during the other live disc releases. I recommend this disc to any countin crows fan or any fan of music in general. This cd can be hard, soft, and absolutely beautiful.

Perhaps Nick needs to listen to albums before he chooses to review them. New Amsterdam is the live album I have always hoped Counting Crows would make. It features a great setlist (the absence of many of their "hits" is a plus, because it features many great, underplayed songs) and a fantastic mix that allows the listener to clearly hear every instrument. The arrangements of the songs showcase their talented instrumentalists, and Adam is in great form.

I've never really understood the reputation Counting Crows have with some people as a terrible live band - I listen to a lot of live music, and to my ears they're a fantastic live band. If you're not a fan, I doubt anything will convert you, but if you are, this is an essential purchase.

This is the Counting Crows second live CD release on a major label (see also Across A Wire). Adam Duritz (lead singer of Counting Crows) stated in his blog a few weeks ago that he considers New Amsterdam a bootleg and that fans should classify it along side their other Counting Crows bootlegs. If you consider this album part of that series it would be the third bootleg the band has released, the other two (By The Time We Got to Woodstock and Face the Promised Land) were self-produced and sold exclusively through their website. Unlike those two unoffical live albums, New Amsterm is professionally produced and well mastered. In terms of sound quality is their most polished live album to date (heavy on prestine sound quality, light on the rough improvisions that make Counting Crows such a great live band)

The set list appears to be fan-focused in that it covers tracks that the bands other live albums (unoffical and offical) this is probably not intentional since this set was recorded during the bands last tour to support Hard Candy, so it's not too surprising that it has a lot of Hard Candy tracks here; Overall this is very good mix of songs that will please fans.

I give this live collection only three stars because 1. Its a collection of songs recorded over three nights... Looking at the set list from those nights we see there was enough material for a two disc set, but the band wanted only choice cuts here... 2. The band recorded video footage these nights as well, that footage was produced in widescreen high definition format and all ready to be put on DVD a few years ago but the band pulled the plug... That footage was later aired on HDNet concerts as a cable special, but we never got a DVD. Fast forward to 2006 and now the band has gone forward with this album which contains audio from those shows. How hard would it have been to throw in the DVD and charge a few extra bucks (or better yet as a freebie?). Just knowing how little effort it would have taken for the band and the record label to make that happen has upset quite a few fans and its another reason why I'm not going above three stars.

There used to be a time when a band would release one live album, and that would remain the definitive statement of their live performance. In the seventies, it's hard to think of a major act that did not release the prerequisite double album of live material. The trend has changed since then, and Pearl Jam stood the entire concept on its head by releasing what seemed like a billion CD's of live shows as a means of controlling bootleg recordings, while simultaneously providing fans with adequate souvenirs. That idea was surely overkill, but it seems as though Counting Crows have at least warmed up to the concept of the idea. After one "official" live recording and a few others that were made available only through the band's website, they have now released "New Amsterdam: Live at the Heineken Music Hall February 4-6, 2003." My only question is, why on earth has it taken more than three years for this to see the light of day?

Adam Duritz, the band's lead singer, has stated that the band considers `New Amsterdam" as another of their sanctioned `bootleg' recordings, but the truth is that there is more here than any bootleg album would normally offer. First of all, the music is culled from three night's worth of performances, which is very un-bootleg-like. Secondly, the production is flawless, featuring a crystal clear mix that utilizes the sound of the hall to its best advantage. A typical `bootleg' board recording would never catch as much nuance as is audible here. Finally, the song selection has been whittled down to fit on a single disk, so it is much more representative of an official release than a bootleg recording - which happens to be made even more obvious by the "Geffen" logo that adorns the packaging.

All that being said, "New Amsterdam" is a wonderful and reasonably priced gift for true fans of the band, and an excellent means of introduction (or re-introduction) to the state of the band for those who haven't been paying attention since the days of "Mr. Jones." The European tour that contained this show occurred after the release of the "Hard Candy" CD, so many of the songs were culled from that album. It is decidedly not a `best of' live collection, but it still sounds extraordinarily representative of the band. The emphasis here is on nuance, so there are few songs that overwhelm. Rather than bowl you over, the songs simmer to a slow boil. As is his wont, Duritz keeps things moody, reflective, and emotionally taut. Some might consider his style to be overwrought, so what you hear depends on whether or not he has convinced you of his sincerity - Ultimately, his emotional honesty rests in the ears of the listener. As far as live albums go, this is much more introspective than celebratory, but the songs are so well executed and the production is so spot-on perfect that it is hard to fault this release. This is a live album that is not meant for a party. It is meant for personal listening, and it succeeds brilliantly on its own terms. B+ Tom Ryan

This CD's version of Rain King is arguably one of the best songs ever recorded. Sublime!