Soundtrack to Your Life (August And Everything After - Counting Crows)

Member Name: milanbaros

Product:	August And Everything After - Counting Crows
Date:	06/05/05 (196 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some of the most powerful songs ever created, AaEA will never leave your player for long, Great starting place to discovering Counting Crows

Disadvantages: Quality sometimes dips below the classic boundary, Adam Duritz's voice is occasionaly thought to be off putting to some, Music style may have lost some of its freshness because of imitators

Counting Crows have never achieved much success here in the UK. Their most recognisable song being the Joni Mitchell cover collaboration with Vanessa Carlton, ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. Fortunately this surprise radio hit doesn’t make an appearance on ‘August And Everything After’.

Back in 1993 ‘Mr. Jones’ was receiving massive radio play in the States and as a result this album managed to have a fair amount of success, nowhere near what it deserves of course. Counting Crows originality was a breath of fresh air in the midst of the gloomy Seattle movement. Due to excessive imitation their style will never sound as refreshing again but make no mistake, the music featured here by no means feels stale.

‘Mr. Jones’ is one of the faster, more upbeat songs on the album and manages to hold its own amongst such classics as ‘Round Here’ and the darker “Anna Begins’. Adam Duritz’s lyrics are consistent throughout managing to paint pictures and bring back memories.

Considered by many to be a weakness of the group’s, Duritz’s vocals definitely feature heavily. For me they add so much more to the songs, a depth and edge of reality especially in the darker songs such as ‘Anna Begins’.

The quality of songs may vary slightly but no song takes anything away from the experience, one which you will undoubtedly repeat over and over again. ‘August And Everything After’ is one of those rare gems that will stay with you for the rest of your life, never leaving your CD changer, and you may find that as you continue to experience life the songs will mean more and more to you.

The Counting Crows subsequent release didn’t manage to capture the magic of this debut release but there are gems to be found. Lyrically Duritz progresses reaching new heights with songs such as ‘A Long December’ and ‘Angles of the Silence’ but they increasingly become diamonds in dirt albeit high quality dirt.

I cannot recommend this album highly enough. Yes, not all songs meet the greatness which some of these songs reach but then again no song on most albums come anywhere close. This is an album that will become part of your life, an album to make memories by.

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