Anything But Down Pt.1 [Single, Import]

Sheryl Crow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 1999)
• Format: Single, Import
• Label: Msi/Wea
• ASIN: B00000I8R9
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,768,469 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Anything But Down-Lp Version

2. Leaving Las Vegas-Live In Toronto

3. Mississippi-Live

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Song Of Heartbreak And Sorrow, February 5, 2005

By 

Busy Body (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anything But Down #1 (Audio CD)

A recent rediscovery of Sheryl Crow's music has made me appreciate it more than I think I ever did. This time last year I was besotted with the woman, but then throughout this year as I explored different artists such as Bjork and Tori Amos, she kind of faded into the background. However, I popped in her self-titled sophomore album the other week and was thrilled to rediscover that the freshness of her music has survived until this very day from way back in the mid-90's. That second album followed the multi-platinum "Tuesday Night Music Club," and contained some of Sheryl's most recognisable hit singles, such as "Home," "A Change Would Do You Good," "If It Makes You Happy," and the evergreen "Everyday Is A Winding Road."

A year later Sheryl returned to the music scene with her third album, entitled "The Globe Sessions." It didn't sell as much as her last two albums, but most fans agreed that it was her strongest material to date. This is most evident on the singles that were released from it. The first single from the album was "My Favorite Mistake," and the follow-up to this was "There Goes The Neighborhood." The third single to be taken from the album was "Anything But Down." I personally feel that this is the best single taken from that album, because it just rolls along telling a tale of such sorrow and sadness yet at a relatively fast pace.

The song opens with a fast-paced beat where the guitar features heavily. After sixteen seconds, Sheryl starts singing the first verse, "Light out your cigarette. I bring you apples from the vine. How quickly you forget. I run the bath and pour the wine. I bring you everything that floats into your mind." Here we see the role which Sheryl has been assigned to - that of the slave who has subconsciously ended up running around after her lover, doing anything he wants. She's now realised this and is very angry. She then starts singing the chorus, "But you don't bring me anything but down. No you don't bring me anything but down. You don't bring me anything but down when you come around." Sheryl then starts singing the second verse, "You are a raging sea. I pull myself out every day. I plea insanity. Cause I can't sleep and I can't stay. You say "Won't you come find me?" and "Yes" is what I say." Sheryl then sings the second chorus, but as with most songs, it has a slight alteration in the lyrics.

Sheryl then reaches the bridge at the second minute, which is my favourite part of the song. She sings, "Well maybe I'm not your perfect kind. Maybe I'm not what you had in mind. And maybe we're just killing time!" The guitars then really kick in to introduce that feeling of sadness and melancholy. We realise Sheryl's stuck in this bad relationship and we want to know what she's going to do about it. She then sings, "You with your silky words. And your eyes of green and blue. You with your steel beliefs. That don't match anything you do. It was so much easier before you became you. Sheryl then sings the chorus again but with more emphasis and power in her raw vocals. She then finishes the song with her major decision, "Well no more playing seek and hide. No more long and wasted nights. Can't you make it easy on yourself? I know you wish you were strong. You wish you were never wrong. Well I got some wishes of my own..." This last line leaves us thinking that maybe Sheryl is gonna ditch this loser!

Overall I think this is a fantastic single that didn't really get the recognition it deserved because by the end of the 90's, Sheryl Crow was definitely not as famous as she was in the mid-90's. I haven't seen a video for this song, and if one was made I'd like to see it. This song has longevity, however, which is why I love it. Sheryl touches something deep inside you whenever you connect to the lyrics.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Anything But Down" Import Single Rocks It Up, February 12, 2000

By 

Rocco SanJaccimo (St. Augustine, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anything But Down #1 (Audio CD)

Last March, when "Anything But Down", the second single of off Sheryl Crow's Grammy winning album The Globe Sessions, first hit the airwaves of radio stations across the country and began being broadcast on MTV, VH1, etc., I decided that I had to purchase the single. It turned out that "Anything But Down" was not available in single format (with the exception of Stong Enough, Everyday is a Winding Road, Can't Cry Anymore, and a few others -- trust me, I really tried to find this song on single -- Sheryl hasn't really released her radio hits in single format that often.) In any case, it was available as an import cd single title, which obviously cost just as much as the entire Globe Sessions cd (which I suspect may be Sheryl's record labels' exact strategy. It turned out for the best as I became a huge fan of that entire cd and also of Sheryl and even saw her perform in concert in late April. Ironically, my girlfriend, sensing my single struggle, purchased the single import as a surprise. The two bonus tracks make that money well spent (on her part). There are live versions of Leaving Las Vegas and Bob Dylan's Mississippi along with the Anything But Down radio hit. I thouroughly enjoy it and keep it in the car at all times. Two quick points: the video for Anything But Down, which still pops up occasionally, is trippy and very unlike other Sheryl clips. There is a Dr. Evil-type hairless cat, additional sound effects, and an eerie feel to it from a director of Manson videos. Secondly, there is another version of the Anything But Down import cd (possibly from another country) that is still quite available and contains live versions of Run Baby Run (a great song from Sheryl's debut) and Riverwide as B-sides which I am sure is also great. Sheryl rocks and Anything But Down is the song that made me realize that -- thus it holds a special place in my memory. Check it out.