Counting Crows - "Children in Bloom"

Counting Crows holds a special place in my heart. Their first album, "August and Everything After" is in my top 5 albums of all time. That's almost certainly due to the fact that I was 15 when it was released. So I'm a little defensive when someone says they can't stand Counting Crows. More often than not, however, I find that the people who say that just got tired of hearing "Mr. Jones" played hour after hour on the radio and on MTV (back when MTV played music). For the record, "Mr. Jones" is my least favorite track on that album, so I can understand the sentiment. But there is so much more there to appreciate. The guitarists (sometimes two of them, sometimes three), in particular, consistently impress me not with their wizardry (though David Bryson studied under Joe Satriani and could undoubtedly impress on that front) but with their ability to find a space to occupy, and their unique choices that result from that dynamic. There is so much that they do that would never even occur to me to try. I also love that the band routinely (and tastefully) uses a Hammond organ (just check out "Another Horsedreamer's Blues" for an example of that). Now, if you don't like the Counting Crows because of Adam Duritz's vocals, I can understand and respect that; I never really got into Rush for the very same reason...I couldn't deal with Geddy Lee's vocals.

Anyway, the song: this is probably my favorite cut from their sophomore album "Recovering the Satellites". Unsurprisingly, it was never released as a single. I just checked Wikipedia for the singles that charted from this album: "Angels of the Silences", "A Long December", "Daylight Fading", and "Have You Seen Me Lately". I'm not sure you could have picked a worse four...I'll never understand A&R folks. My four would have been "Children in Bloom", "Recovering the Satellites", "Another Horsedreamer's Blues", and "Goodnight Elizabeth". I'd also push for "Miller's Angels", but I'd lose because of the length of the song. I have no idea what this song is actually about, and that's kind of the way I like it. It evokes my own set of visions and memories when I hear it, and I think that's how music should be: personal. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

p.s. - Please try to ignore the picture of the band all leather-clad and looking like the photographer caught them enjoying a dimebag. Please.