Anna Begins Versions

There is probably no better version of Anna Begins than on the original studio version on August and Everything After. The song is done on numerous occasions in live concert and also appears on multiple live albums such as Across a Wire: Live In New York Disc 1, Live at Town Hall, and August and Everything After Deluxe Edition Disc 2. Most of the live versions are done acoustically and have a softer sound. To me the live versions seemed artificially drawn out and does not have the melody and harmony that Counting Crows captured in the studio version.

In the studio version, the song and lyrics build to the one of my favorite parts when Anna is mentioned for the first time:

"This time when kindness fall like rain, 

It washes her away and Anna begins to change her mind

'These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days', she says

And I'm not ready for this sort of thing"

And then the song finishes off amazingly with the chorus and Anna is mentioned again:

"The time when kindness falls like rain, 

It washes me away and Anna begins to change my mind

And every time she sneezes I believe it's love and

Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

She's talking in her sleep. 

It's keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn

And every word is nonsense but I understand and

Oh lord, I m not ready for this sort of thing

Her kindness bangs a gong, 

It's moving me along and Anna begins to fade away

It's chasing me away... She disappears and

Oh lord , I'm not ready for this sort of thing

The music that build up to lyrics is what makes the studio version great. It is the build up that I think the live version doesn't capture for me. Although the live versions are still good, I would listen to the studio version every time when listening to Anna Begins.

Below are the studio versions and an acoustic version.

Studio Version of Anna Begins

Acoustic Version of Anna Begins

Angels of the Silences Versions

I will admit that when  Recovery the Satellites, debuted I didn't love it as much as I did August and Everything After. I will also admit to this day that AaEA is still my favorite album. However, I have a new appreciation of the Counting Crows second album.

My earlier impressions were that the album just sounded different from the first, and I was looking for more melancholy songs such as Sullivan Street and Anna Begins.

The sound of the band changed in second album mainly because they added second guitarist. The added sound can be clearly heard throughout RtS. The second track on the album is Angels of the Silences. It was a completely different song than say Round Here of the first album.

I began to listen to the song more and more.  Then I started watching the video. I began to love the song more and more. I  loved the simplicity of the video of them in concert just singing. The song's pace and lyrics are almost a perfect match with Adam's honest words as well as the band heavy hitting music.

In live versions of the song, the band has tuned down the strength and made an acoustic version. The best example of this is Across a Wire - Live in New York Disc 1. Although the volume of the song is different the meaning and lyrics does not differ in each version  My favorite lyrics from the song has to be:  "All my sins, I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you"

Below are both versions of the Angels of the Silences

Recovering the Satellites version

Across A Wire version

YouTube Concert - May 2, 2012

Where: YoutTube HQ
When: May 2012
Setlist:

• The Ballad of El Goodo 
• Miami
• Four White Stallions
• Interview
• Q &A

Miami Meaning

Miami is my favorite song off of their album Hard Candy. Adam Duritz has explained the meaning of Miami many times during their live concerts so I transcribed his words below.

Adam  Duritz  from a concert in Manchester on May 11 2009:

"I was in love with this girl who was far away. I was on tour. 

She was on the other side of the world 

and I hadn’t seen her in a long time 

and she was coming to see me 

and I was at the airport waiting for her 

and I was so in love

and then all the sudden it was like a chunk of my life just evaporated 

and I couldn't remember myself, her, all that time 

I mean I remembered that it happened 

but it was a like a story somebody told me not anything that I felt anything for her

and I knew that meant that it would be over

I didn't know who she was anymore

and these things and you have everything at once

then you throw it all away

and you can’t keep it all in here 

I don’t understand that, it just happens, to me

This time it happened on a beautiful sunny night on the southeastern tip of America

I threw away something that should have never have thrown away

In a city called Miami"

It is interesting to note that lyrics mentioned in this song refer to a Amy. Amy is also referred to in other song titled Amy Hit the Atmosphere.

The song to me is a reminiscence of a past relationship. Even the good ones or the bad ones eventually end and you try to hold to what is left. They lyrics disclose that "summer's gone, so are we"
But then I love how the next lyrics states "So come on baby, let's go shut it down In New Orleans"
and asking for one last time or one final moment before letting it go.

Miami Versions

Miami is another example of how the Counting Crows can take a fast upbeat song on an album and in the live version change up the rhythm so that the song has an entirely different meaning and mood.

The original version is off their album Hard Candy. I love the pace of the original song. It somehow manages to weave the beat of the Miami TV show without sounding corny at the start of the song. I also love how the song cumulates with a declaration to "shut down in New Orleans, come on baby!"

Then I heard the alternative version of Miami during their live concerts. It was a great alternative. The beat is mellow and is great in the acoustic version. Although I still favor the album version, the live version is just plain stunning.

The live lyrics are usually similar to the album however the above performance contains these alternative lyrics:

"If you knew everything

If you could see everything before it happens

Then what would you do?

If you knew that the love that you threw away

That meant everything to her

If you knew you could ruin her

then would you do?"