The Making of Mr Jones: How Counting Crows Produced Their Signature Track

Adam Duritz Remembers the Formative Period

The initial albums were primarily produced in houses located in the foothills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After marked a significant milestone for the group, as it was their inaugural release on a major label. Each member received an advance of $3,000; with it, I to buy a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and drove it to LA.

Each day, my routine included by listening to a Poco track, which sounds like the Beatles exploring country music. Additionally, I was into a jazz record that my dad had acquired as a free giveaway at a gas station during my childhood.

The song Mr Jones was part of a demo that we submitted to record companies, but it proved a challenging song to complete. It lacked a clear direction at first. It’s not a slow ballad nor a straight ahead rock song; rather, it moves with a rhythm, demanding a real feel to play. The style is soulful – closer to the Stax Records sound than folk.

The band’s drummer struggled to grasp the track as the rest of us did – thus T Bone enlisted one of his idols to perform on it.

We looked at a few production candidates, but when I discussed things with the producer, he really understand where the group was at. We had great potential, but I didn’t like with our overall tone – we hadn’t learned how to be a band. Eliminated all the synthesizers and guitar effects. The drummer couldn’t sync with the tempo, so T Bone invited Denny Fongheiser, one of Steve’s favorites, to play on it. Looking back, it’s amusing, but it was hard on Steve at the time.

Marty Jones and I had played in bands together prior to Counting Crows. His father, David Serva, had made it in Spain and was returning in the San Francisco area performing a series of shows. Attended one of his shows and hung out with the musicians visiting bars. Next day, I went home and composed the song. The lyrics reflect our experience that night, wishing we were accomplished artists so we could connect with the girls more easily.

I believe, it’s among the finest pieces I’ve composed. We performed another track on SNL in 1994, the album climbed dozens of positions weekly for five or six weeks. Following that, Mr Jones became a major success.

David Immerglück Shares His Memories

Back in the 80s, the band members were living together in a industrial building in Berkeley. I had been playing with Camper Van Beethoven and was in an side project named Monks of Doom.

One evening, I found Adam with a fresh recording he’d created with the guitarist. I heard this track called Mr Jones. Recorded with a Dr Rhythm pocket drum machine that sounded like a video game or popcorn popping, but his vocals were on another level.

After the producer got involved, it was a total reinvention of Counting Crows. The approach toward roots echoing folk and soul legends.

I got a call from Adam asking, “Listen, can you come down and play on this record?” By the time I arrived, T Bone had relocated us to a recording space in LA’s Encino – formerly used by a Jackson 5 member. There were guitars that Bob Dylan had recently used.

T Bone instructed me to perform slightly behind the drums. He said, “If you rush before the drums makes you sound like an adolescent rushing.” He has a Texas drawl, and his advice was to visualize relaxing on the console and chewing gum while playing.

Counting Crows was, in some ways, a reaction to the grunge movement. The tragic end of Cobain felt like the culmination. At the time, many used heroin. The goal was self-destruction, not mind expansion. That negativity had reached an extreme, and the pendulum swung toward something emotional and heartfelt. Counting Crows blended acoustic and electric with a heavy dose of soulful vibes.

The song remains timeless. Sometimes, when I am rocking out with Adam, I remember that time when he played me the early version. Absolutely incredible.