Customer Reviews

Big Yellow Taxi 1

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've never really been a fan of Counting Crows, but this song actually caught by ear. Fairly faithful to Joni Mitchell's original, it's actually a decent song. Why Vanessa Carlton is on it is beyond me considering she doesn't do much of anything, but oh well. A definite standout from the other garbage on the radio right now.

It seems as if when it comes to cover songs in the works, they always seem to lack a focus of appeal in the song, because you're so use to the original version. With The Counting Crows, they seem to hit it off very nicely with Vanessa Carlton's voice, on the cover of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi. While many artists have tried to cover Joni's classic, including Amy Grant back in 1994 from her album House Of Love, and Janet Jackson who sampled it in Got 'Til Its Gone, they don't seem to speak it out very well. Nevertheless, it became a surprise hit from the film 2 Weeks Notice with Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. Hopefully, there will be excellent covers like this one in the future. The Counting Crows should try it again with Vanessa Carlton on another good song like this.

Counting Crows is one of the only decent things to have happened in music, in my opinion, in the last decade.

Increasingly, the music scene has been dominated by no-talent pretty faces singing heavily produced, sugar coated bubble pop, while Counting Crows is a sorrowful, soalful folk rock act that Ive always loved. Thats what makes this so painful and unexpected.

'Hard Candy' the album from which this single comes is produced by the inimitable Steve Lillywhite, but his concept here seems to have been to turn the Crows into a shiny-happy-poppyseed band, with this remake being the most agrevious sin on the disc. Admittedly, Mitchell's version wasnt very good, much as I like her, and from a career angle this was about the best thing the struggling Crows could have done. But it makes me miss the days when Duritz and Co. got big radio hits ala Mr Jones and Long December, all by themselves like big boys. The remake is alot of fun, but in the same sort of way that a naked cheerleader is fun: a great, quick time to be had, but dont expect a discussion of Nietzche when you two finish up. Likewise, its painful for fans of the Crows' real sound and lyrical depth to see them resort to this sort of thing. Everything else on the single is worth having.

Initially I was taken aback by the unconventional sound of a classic song. Listen again and you start to become hooked, wanting more every time you hear it.

Counting Crows has out-done there previous work by taking the mundane depressing song originally recorded by Joni mitchell and turning it into a funky reflection of all that is bad in our comercialized capitalist world. Throw in the angelic sounds of Vanessa Carlton and you've got a hit.

Joni who?

the hidden version is truly a classic as far as I am concerned.
the added benefit of VC on backing is extra candy, a little sweeter but the same candy.
CC did justice to this song as JM could not.

What's with the over the top criticism of this song? This is a pop song for the fun of it. Big Yellow is a great song, but it was never exactly very "Joni Mitchell" even when she recorded it. It was a fun, obvious attempt to be a hit song for her too. So don't take it so seriously. Relax and enjoy. Nice vibe, nice vocal interplay without taxing anyone. This should become a radio friendly hit, and so what. Jeez, pop music is supposed to be fun and light. A nice effort.

I bought this mostly for the cover of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi. It's a good song with a memorable melody. I agree with the other reviewers that Vanessa Carlton might not be a necessary addition, but it sounds fine either way.

The songs are great. I like the hard candy acoustic especially. IT has both the version of Big Yellow Taxi with Vanessa Carlton and without her.

I read the reviews...some good, some bad...it was one of the better things to me of "Two Weeks Notice". I've never heard "Counting Crows" before -- sorry! I did, however, want to know who re-made this song (Big Yello Taxi). It's good.

Ok, first, I am a big Crow's fan. It seems to be a requirement to state your allegiance up front. Second, I am not a Vanessa Carlton fan, I am more ambivalent. Thirdly, it took many years for Joni Mitchell to realize she was an alto and not a soprano (she admitted this herself in an interview) so her version of BYT was only so-so. I really dug the Crow's version when I discovered it on the CD I bought. The first time I heard the over-dubbed version I immediately recognized Vanessa Carton as the offending vocalist. I would have liked this track much better if she actually sang, but all she did was mmmm bop-bop her way through it and annoy me royally (is she secretly one of the Hansens?) All the rest of this cd is good stuff, classic Crows. Buy it, rip it, and delete the Carlton track.