August & Everything After

Counting Crows | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 1993)
• Original Release Date: September 14, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000003TAP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (331 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,939 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's amazing the difference a year makes. Upon its release, August and Everything After 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, the Counting Crows turned on a whole legion of fans turned off by modern rock. But what sounded fresh soon became stale as dozens of bands flocked to the radio with euthanized versions of the Counting Crows' sound. But you shouldn't hold that against the Crow boys. August and Everything After is a fantastic rock album. Though "Mr. Jones" was the moneymaker, the disc features such standout cuts as the dark lilt of "Anna Begins," the morose "Rain King," and the outstanding U2-meets-Grant Lee Buffalo anthem "Murder of One." Maybe time, and another listen, will heal the damage wrought. --Tod Nelson

Product Description

Huge 1993 album featuring the hits 'Round Here','Omaha' & 'Mr Jones'.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviews won't help September 3, 2001

By "7icha7d"

Format:Audio CD

Many people have stories to tell about this album, about how it changed their life, helped through tough times, about how a particular song always makes them cry. I haven't experienced any of those, but it is still the most emotionally charged album I have ever heard. It is not the kind of music I usually listen to - I usually go for harder bands - but once i had listened to this album properly, absorbing every heart rending facet of Adam Duritz' moving, touching, emphatic vocals I was hooked. This album has so many classics - Round Here, Mr Jones, Anna Begins, Murder of One - that a day rarely goes by 3 months and 6 albums later that I don't listen to some of it. The truths contained within the lyrics are timeless, the emotion within the singing heartfelt - by both Adam and you. The music mostly serves to lift Adam's vocals to a new level, enhancing and augmenting it. Really, though, it is impossible to tell whether or not you like other than sitting down and listening to it properly. No amount of reviews can really help you with this CD - if I had read a description of the music (country/folk/soft rock) before hand, or the bands they are compared to, I never would have bought it. But I did, and I'm glad, as it is one of my favourite albums. Just try it. It's also worth noting that if you really want something rockier you can get Recovering the Sattelites, but this is the classic and really should be your first Counting Crows album.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Crows Fly High December 21, 2000

By Thomas Magnum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

August & Everything After is the amazing debut from Counting Crows. They mix the lyrical stylings of Van Morrison and the rustic sounds of The Band with a dash of U2 thrown in for good measure. But despite these obvious influences, they band has a fresh and unique sound all their own. Adam Duritz uses a sharp pen in his writing and he has one of the most soulful and expressive voices in music. He practically bleeds on songs like somber "Round Here", the condemning of suburban life of "Perfect Blue Buildings" and the gorgeous and lilting "Sullivan Street". "Anna Begins" is a sweet love song and "Rain King" has a soaring sound to it. "Murder Of One" closes the album in a U2-esque, spiritual like rocker. "Mr. Jones" was the breakout song from the album and the one that gained the band large airplay. It is an immediate classic with a memorable guitar riff and vivid lyrics. Mr. Duritz says he wants to Bob Dylan in the song and he comes damn close on the song. The album was an alternative to the alternative music that dominated the airways at the time. The album was heaped with well-deserved praise, as it is one of the ten best of the 90's.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Addition, Fond if Not Understood Memories September 23, 2007

By SkewedPerspective-dbrowell

Format:Audio CD

It's funny, revisiting an album in your new body with eyes and ears far aged from when you first encountered it (nay, became obsessed with it). such is the case with the Counting Crows deluxe edition of August and Everything After playing as I type this. They've cleaned up the masters and it does sound noticeably fuller. The extras are very nice from the demo-side and the complete concert from Paris in 1994.

But worth the entire somewhat overpriced cost of admission for the package is the liner notes. Adam's confessional tale of the signing, recording and subsequent shattering of the band from 1991 to December of 1994 (where the Disc 2 comes in) is an interesting and at times very emotional read. You forget how big Counting Crows actually was, and even more than that, you likely didn't know how close some of the musical families were (i.e. the idea of Adam Duritz at a backyard lunch with Frances Bean). The small tales are very much worth digesting, if sometimes over-written. It's probably best that Adam wrote these out instead of letting someone else interpret it in a syrupy documentary or fluffy autobiography. And while I didn't need a mini-poster of Adam in a pretty absurdly good photo shoot with some birds in motion, by the end of the notes you realize why it's there and it's pretty cool.

A nice double disc, and I'm glad I didn't do the iTunes thing, missing the liner notes.