Hard Candy is the fourth studio album by Counting Crows released in 2002 on Geffen Records.
The studio album is credited by some fans for bringing Counting Crows back to their roots, referring to their first album "August and Everything After". Album sales were less than its previous, though the album was well received. The song "American Girls" was featured as the background track to a Pepsi commercial. A new version of the song "Holiday in Spain", recorded as a duet with the Dutch band Bløf and became a number one hit in the Netherlands.
On the last track (13 or 15, depending on the album version), after a period of silence the hidden track "Big Yellow Taxi" plays. This Joni Mitchell cover was one of their biggest radio hits from the album, although it is unlisted (except for the note "May contain trace amounts of Joni Mitchell").
Several notable collaborators appeared on Hard Candy, including Ryan Adams (lyrics and vocals for "Butterfly In Reverse"), Jerry Hey (flugelhorn solo on "Carriage"), Sheryl Crow (vocals on "American Girls"), and Vanessa Carlton (background vocals on Big Yellow Taxi)
The track "Butterfly in Reverse" was written for actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds, Angels in America)
