Couting Crows

STONE THE CROWS with MAGGIE BELL on lead vocals ruled the live scene in both UK and Europe during a small but very important number of years- 1969-1972, the pivotal date was May 1972 when guitarist LESLIE HARVEY was tragically electrocuted on stage during a sound check at the Swanage Ballroom. All tracks feature Les except the last three on CD2 which were recorded after Les's death with JIMMY McCULLOUGH on guitar who left the band in 1973 when he got an offer to join WINGS. Following the bands disintegration in 1973 Maggie recorded a number of acclaimed solo albums, formed in the 80's MIDNIGHT FLYER as well as forming The BRITISH BLUES QUINTET recently. Maggie to this day is continually performing live either as a solo artist or as part if BBQ. Musicians:-Maggie Bell, Leslie Harvey, John McGuinnis, Jimmy Dewar, Colin Allen, Ronnie Leahy, Steve Thompson and Jimmy McCulloch.

Major label release, a name producer, noted session men, this album couldn't lose, right? Well, not quite. Although time has caught up with Murder of Crows, sometimes Joe Henry gets lost amidst all the busy work and fancy arranging of his songs. True, there are some great songs here, notably "Six Feet in the Country," "Here and Gone" and "Step Across the Mountain" which will remind one a lot of Counting Crows. Here is a glimpse at a young songwriter being pushed too quickly to come up with the goods. Sometimes, the waiting is the hardest part…

When the prevailing guitar jingle of "Mr. Jones" cascaded over radio in the early '90s, it was a sure sign that the Counting Crows were a musical force to be reckoned with. Their debut album, August and Everything After, burst at the seams with both dominant pop harmonies and rich, hearty ballads, all thanks to lead singer Adam Duritz. The lone guitar work of "Mr. Jones" coupled with the sweet, in-front pull of Duritz's voice kicked off the album in full force. The starkly beautiful and lonely sounding "Round Here" captured the band's honest yet subtle talent for singing ballads, while "Omaha" is lyrically reminiscent of a Springsteen tune.