Released in 1993 this is the album that brought Counting Crows into the public spotlight. Now 11 years on just as they release their greatest hits I feel the urge to listen to some Counting Crows and this is the album I decided to listen to….
The album is full of soft long lullaby like songs, the singing is so soft and gentle in places that you could just fall asleep listening to it, in other places the singing is more upbeat and you cant help tap you foot along to the rhythm. The softer songs are accompanied by the slow plucking of the guitars and the relaxing beat of the drums, the more upbeat songs have strumming guitars and a nice steady beat.
The lead singer really is a highlight of this band, his vocals are so soft and relaxing and the lyrics are heart warming and moving. The lyrics really are the key part of the album and they are sung beautifully, they raise your spirits and they make you feel a indescribable sense of sympathy.
All the other percussion, drumming and guitaring is put together extremely well, one instrument succeeding the other, one instrument stops, another starts and all the instruments go together to make a perfect harmony.
The album is 11 tracks long and all the tracks add up to make a CD full of wonderful harmonies, beats and lyrics. Here is a break down of the tracks;
1)Round Here A brilliant song to start the album, you get a example of the soothing lyrics and harmonic percussion and orchestra. The lyrics are sad but are accompanied by a uplifting and well played electric guitar and slow steady beat. The song is almost ruined by a sudden funk beat in the middle bit it soon returns to what it was before and despite this, the song is still a definite highlight of the album and sets the tone for the rest of the CD. This really is a feel good song.
2)Omaha The
song would appear to start totally different from the previous song but it soon turns into some nice acoustic guitaring and a happier tone then the previous song. The song has quite a country feel to it(although not in the hill billy sense) and the lyrics have the tone of a classical rock singer. Its another one of those songs that just makes you smile.
3)Mr Jones After to slow, quite and slightly sad toned songs this song comes along and really raises the spirits.
When this son was released apparently it went down a storm in the charts(I didn’t know of the band at the time). The singing is truly happy and joyous and so is the music being played. Your want to get up and dance with a loved one to this kind of song, failing there being a loved one on hand you will probably grin from ear to ear and tap along with your foot. it’s a very nice song to listen to. The lyrics are almost poetic and nice and easy to sing along to.
4)Perfect Blue Buildings After a happy song there is this song, it has quite a sad beat and rhythm to it at the start and if im honest it has a sad tone all the way through, but halfway into the song, in the choruses the song picks up and although it sounds depressing(Not depressing like Coldplay though) it has a nice feel to it. The long twinning chords of a certain stringed instrument(Some kind of odd guitar I think) accompany the beautiful singing.
5)Anna Begins This is quite a low beat song, it is at first a bass guitar, a percussionist and the singer which really does sound quite depressing, but then gradually the guitaring breaks in and what seems like a very disappointing song becomes a very good song, with long notes and very prominent lyrics which would appear to tell a story. A t the end of the song the entire song picks up as the piano jumps in to accompany the other instruments and just as the piano stops the guitar starts again and then the drums become the prominent instrument, this song is put together in a very interesting style. 6)Time And Time Again A never sad, but never less feel good song. There some form of pipe playing slowly and delicately accompany the similarly slow and steady lyrics, then when the song break there is a nice electric riff and slow beat to accompanied it. It’s a nice song and the piping in the back ground is a very nice touch.
7)Rain King After the last couple of sad songs we have another happy song!!!! The rhythm is upbeat and the percussion and acoustic has a nice bit of electric guitar playing over it. The singers voice is up and down on a rollercoaster of tunes, this is another nice song to dance to!
8)Sullivan Street A slow sad song, but the sadness is kept at bay by the electric guitar which is played in the style an acoustic guitar would. Its such a nice slow song at start then when it breaks you get a sample of the singers amazing voice, you want to sing along as everything picks up and then soon dies away again into what it was previously. it’s a very nice song to listen to and it doesn’t sound as sad as some of the previous tracks on the album.
9)Ghost Train At first this song isn’t very good at all and seems very dissipating and at certain points in the track you get that feeling, however there are places where you get some amazing guitaring and singing working together to make a beautifully tuned song.
10)Raining In Baltimore “The circus has fallen, down on its knees, the big top is crumbling down, its raining in Baltimore 15 miles east, where you should be no one is around” are the opening lines to this amazing song. The beautiful singing is accompanied by a slow steady piano and violins. This is another sad song but is so beautiful to listen to. In places you feel the urge to cry with the emotion that the song bestows upon you. Its beautiful.
11)A Murder Of One An amazing track to end the album. Another very up beat song that makes you happy and sums up this album for what it is. Heart warming, beautiful, sad, emotional all this and still its uplifting and happy. It’s a great track which always makes me smile and it will leave you in a good mood as the album finishes
Listening to this album you can see where a lot of the bands around today probably got their inspiration from, there’s a touch of Coldplay and Texas in some of the songs, it is quite inspirational and at the time of its release(1992) was a fairly new style and attempt to create something new which since many bands have built on.
As I have said in the break downs of each of the songs some of these songs are quite depressing, but not depressing like the original Coldplay album was, the depressing slow singing of this album is held off by uplifting the uplifting music.
Anyone who listens to music a lot will know that music can make you feel a whole host of emotions and alter your mood amazingly, this album does not stop toying with your moods and emotions what so ever just as you have one down sad track there a upbeat happy song which will make you smile.
The inlay of the album is all very basic and quite smart with fancy styled writing all over the inlay and CD. There is a photo of the six band members, all of which would appear to be of different cultures and origins, the inlay further contains the lyrics to all the songs on the album and a little info on the band.
I have one of the bands other Cds(Recovering The Satellites) and this album does rate highly along side it. RTS is more of a rock album with which sometimes comes back to the style of this album, however it does not toy with emotion and mood as much as this album does.
I personally have had this CD in my collection for a thew years now and I found it is one of those Cds I come back to time and time again when I just want to chill out and relax. The album makes you feel good and as I have previously said, it really does toy with your emotions, this along with the beautiful singing and brilliant musicians of the band will ensure that you to will probably become hooked.
I really would recommend this album to anyone, I listen to music as heavy as Cradle Of Filth(For those who don’t know they are a extreme/death metal band) and I still love to listen to music like this as it brings you back to what music is about and that’s the heart and the sole, something which we don’t see much in the charts and in the world in today.
Thanks for reading
Edd:-)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I first got into this record when they played Omaha on Virgin Radio back in the day. I still prefer that track to Mr Jones. A great album anytime you play it.
mouette 19.02.2004 17:39
I have this and agree - an excellent album. Nick
newb00ts 15.02.2004 18:46
I've heard of the group but have never listened to their music. Great review
It's amazing the difference a year makes. Upon its release, August and Everything After ... more
sounded remarkably fresh, a welcome change from the crunch and screech of grunge. Blending the vocal athleticism of Van Morrison with the moody rock of The Band, th...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Disc 1 Round Here Omaha Mr. Jones Perfect Blue Buildings Anna Begins Time And Time Again ... more
Rain King Sullivan Street Ghost Train Raining In Baltimore A Murder Of One Shallow Days (Acoustic Demo) Mean Jumper Blues (Acoustic Demo) Love And Addiction (Demo)...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: the perfect album for doing nothing to Disadvantages: not to everyones tastes unfortunately and they're much bigger in america than over here
Advantages: Beautiful lyrics, beautiful melodies. Gets right under your skin and into your heart. Disadvantages: Can become sullen and monotone for those who don't like slowpaced songs.
Advantages: Great songs, great to sing to, great to play to and rocks version of easy listening. Disadvantages: A bit dark and depressed in places but moreover suffering from a lack of warmth, but only in the recording.
very helpful by (94%):
helpful by (6%):
![River Is Wide, The [Remastered] - Forum (The)](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/251/prod_small-6006251.jpg)
