Recorded on September 18th, 2007 the Counting Crows reflect back to their debut and best selling album August and Everything After 14 years later. Playing the album in it's entirety, Adam Duritz and company whom I always thought of as REM wannabes, prove me wrong and Duritz shows me he really would rather be Bruce Springsteen when he grows up. Trying to be a storyteller with his way of almost talking through the songs at times, he turns many of the performances on this disc into very morose versions of their biggest hits. Spattered throughout there is also some improvisation that for the most part does little but emphasis the anguish of their tormented lead singer.
I was really put off from the start of the disc as the band turns their hit song "Round Here" into a slowed down funeral dirge for a good portion of the song. It must be hard for a group to continue playing the same stuff in the same way for years and changing it up can be a good thing but the way their do it here adds nothing and only takes away from what was once a decent song. It does get better though as songs like "Ghost Train" gets a harder edge and "Mr. Jones" is filled with a whole lot of energy. Still, "Omaha" "Anna Begins" and "Sullivan Street" have become little more than a shell of what was on the album and "Rain King" shows just how much Duritz wants to be Bruce by inserting Springsteen's "Thunder Road" in the middle of the song. Well Adam, you are no Springsteen!
I guess that this would be called mildly entertaining at best and avid Counting Crow fans might get a bit more out of it but for the most part I cannot see this one getting played very often at all.
An in depth interview with Duritz and original band member Charles Gillingham are also on the disc. Adam does give some insight to this time in the bands history and how the album came into being. Like most of the interviews you see on these discs, it will be listened to once or twice and then skipped.
Although not a bad concert, Counting Crows take their dark attitude and make it even more depressing with the treatment they give the material. The original CD (which I own) is still the version I prefer and will be the one that I will return to.
Track listing:
1. Round Here/Raining In Baltimore
2. Omaha
3. Mr. Jones
4. Perfect Blue Buildings
5. Anna Begins
6. Time And Time Again
7. Rain King
8. Sullivan Street
9. Ghost Town
10. A Murder Of One
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