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Number One Fan covers the Counting Crows

One of the biggest acts in the 1990’s was the Counting Crows.  There’s something about Adam Duritz’s voice and songwriting that everyone loves…or maybe it’s just his dreadlocks.  Whatever the case may be, their songs were really popular then because they were pretty damn catchy.  Just try telling me that you have never sang along with “Mr. Jones” or “Round Here” and I’ll call you a liar.

Their first album August and Everything After is their most popular release, but each offering had a few songs that most people know and enjoy.  Their fourth album, Hard Candy hit stores in 2002 and even had one song on it climb to number one on the charts…well - in the Netherlands.  The song was “Holiday in Spain” and on the album it was a duet with Dutch band Blof, hence it’s success in the Netherlands.  This success is most likely the reason for its inclusion in the Counting Crows tribute album from 2004.

Between 2004 and 2006, quite a few cover albums were released.  A couple of them were compilations of different artists, and a couple focused on one particular artist or band.  It is understandable why a Bob Dylan tribute album would be released, or even one for the Police, but it isn’t quite as obvious why Dead and Dreaming: an Indie Tribute to the Counting Crows was put together.  It’s not like the band was iconic or revolutionary in any way.  They weren’t even that relatively popular in comparison to other bands that have had tribute albums made in their honor.  The album features covers by Bayside, The Rocket Summer, Houston Calls and Number One Fan – with NOF stepping up to the plate for “Holiday in Spain.”

Adam Duritz’s vocals and simple piano melody on the original recording carry the song, and the cover is really no different.  The music remains almost exactly the same for Number One Fan’s rendition.  Singer Nicholas Ziemann’s voice is a bit higher and cleaner than Duritz’s and it actually helps the song.  For the most part, the cover version is fleshed out a bit more, with a more prominent bass line and guitar that comes into the foreground much more effectively than the acoustic guitar and banjo of the original recording.  This is one case where it’s safe to say that the cover version of the song is probably better than the original recording.

Number One Fan - Holiday in Spain

Posted by Cory Roop on Apr 28, 2008 @ 12:00 am