Counting Crows

David Bryson studied under guitar whiz Joe Satriani, so we all knew the dude could shred. But still, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings will come as a surprise to longtime fans. On the Crows' first album in six years, their folksy pop receives a fresh coat of paint thanks to Bryson beefing up his jangle with jagged licks vaguely reminiscent of Nels Cline's work on Wilco's Sky Blue Sky. Sure, there's plenty of Duritz doing his Van-the-Man shtick, but there's also catchy rockers like "Los Angeles."

"If you see my picture in a magazine/I'm just tryin' to make some sense outta me," Adam
Duritz apologizes on the Crows' first studio album in six years. We know, dude: Life in L.A.
is tough. A record about holding on to your soul amid delusions (of celebrity, masculine
vanity, nationalism and love), Saturday Nights has something to prove, opening with
bare-knuckle riffs and veering between outsize, Gil Norton-produced rock-radi... More >