COUNTING CROWS

I probably don’t have to tell you much about Counting Crows. They hail from California. They hit it big with their debut album, August and Everything After. They were nominated for an Oscar for their song “accidentally in Love”.

While they may have lost their street cred when they hit it so big so fast, I can’t deny the fact that they are a mighty good band. I’ve had August On nearly constant rotation in my car for 14 years now (Lord, has it really been that long?)

Here’s a bunch of rarities mostly from the era of their debut album:

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Counting Crows - “Anna Begins” (radio session) I love the album version, but this recording is even better. A slower, more acoustic, and dare I say more intense version. Released on the compilation Hold On, BBC Radio 1 FM Sessions.
Counting Crows - “Einstein On The Beach (For An Eggman)” The easiest to find of these supposed rarities. Recorded during the August sessions, and issued on the DGC Rarities compilation.
Counting Crows - “The Ghost In You” (Psychedelic Furs cover) Radio session recorded on August 28, 1993 at KBCO, released on the “Round Here” single.
Counting Crows - “Bulldog” (demo) Never officially released, but unofficially available on the Flying Demos bootleg.
Counting Crows - “Lightning” (demo) Another of the Flying Demos.
Counting Crows - “A Murder of One” (radio session) I’m not absolutely sure of the origin of this one. My guess is it’s from their World Café performance. A much longer version than the one on the album. Not officially released.
Counting Crows - “August and Everything After” (live) The title track to the debut album wasn’t released until a decade later on the “Hanginaround” single.

Counting Crows discography:

August and Everything After, 1994 (buy) (buy deluxe edition)
Recovering the Satellites, 1996 (buy)
Across A Wire, 1998 (buy) (live)
This Desert Life, 1999 (buy)
Hard Candy, 2002 (buy)
New Amsterdam, 2006 (buy) (live)
Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, 2008 (buy)