Another reason I had delayed buying the record was because of feedback I got from my friends who had bought it. All I would hear was that "Mr. Jones" was the ONLY good song on it. This wasn’t that hard to believe since such an occurrence in many band’s album is very likely these days. Nevertheless, "Mr. Jones" had "found" it’s way into my soul and I was convinced that my band would HAVE to cover it for an upcoming show. It was an intimidating task, it isn’t the easiest of songs to learn with it’s long lyrics and all, this task set before me finally gave me enough reason to get the tape.

By the time I had the album, I had already heard their other songs like "Round Here" and "RainKing", and so I wasn’t that hesitant to buying it. Initially, it did strike me as a not so very "commercial" with a number of slow and low key songs. Tunes like "Ghost Train", "Perfect Blue Buildings" and "Raining in Baltimore" weren’t immediate favorites of mine, but I still couldn’t deny that these tunes had struck something within me.

I can’t really pinpoint the exact time when I realized that this was my all-time favorite album. After a few months or so of listening to it, I just realized that I liked this album, as in REALLY LIKED IT. Initially, I couldn’t figure out why, it wasn’t as "commercial" or upbeat like the other groups I listen to, if anything, the album is a bit erratic and……strange, not easy to "consume". But now that I think about it, it was probably exactly why I liked this album so much, it took time, a lot of time to finally appreciate it. August just had so much character, each and every song evoked a different feeling(I’ll get into the details little by little as time passes), "Mr. Jones" was simply the tip of the iceberg to draw people like me. Soon I began to realize that there was more to this band than just a catchy song.

As my love for this band grew, all around me, people I knew began to lose interest. Many friends of mine couldn’t understand my long lasting fascination (some would call it an obsession) with this group, even I couldn’t really understand myself. All I knew was that this band was different to me than all the others. What they sing or write about isn’t anything new, pain, sorrow, desperation, longing, love. It’s just how they do it. Adam Duritz, is just an amazing songwriter and singer. He’s not as "brilliant" as let’s say, Sting, but he’s more than just your average song writer, plus he gets his points across with such honesty, passion, simplicity and emotion.

The Crow’s music isn’t really fixated on one thing, not like the whole "sex, girls, and party" of glam rock, or the "anger and rage" of grunge. If anything, their music isn’t even a declaration of anything. Here you got a singer who just shares himself, his feelings and emotions, his need for companionship, stability, and a continual assurance of existence. It’s not that different from you or me, just a normal human being trying to live and writing about it. And that’s basically the beauty of August, it’s just pure feeling and soul, simple and basic and yet, very vulnerable.

Music wise, August and Everything After was a sigh of relief in the midst of a grunge, loud guitar and power chord saturated environment. A lot of comparisons were drawn between their sound and that of such bands as REM, U2(Joshua Tree days), the Band, and of course Van Morrison("Mr. Jones" has got an almost identical loose and fun feel to it as "Brown Eyed Girl" does, down to the sha la la las). It’s a very mature sound for a debut album, credited simply to the great musicians in the band. The Crows are like an all-star band put together. There was no real "lead guitarist", but Dave Bryson was more than just a mere rhythm guitarist . He painted elegant backdrops for most of the songs. Matt Malley’s bass was very subtle and still strong enough as to not fade into the background. The drummer Steve Bowman wasn’t that bad either, some say he was even better than his eventual replacement Ben Mize(I would have to disagree with that). But the major factor in the band’s sound is their keyboardist Charlie Gillingham. This guy is simply amazing playing simple piano or hammond organ, he really adds the flavor to the group’s sound. Overall, the collective sound of August is just very simple, airy, relaxing, and ethereal .

If you’re a commercial buff just looking for the "next big thing" or pretty fun sounds, skip this album, it won’t really last long in the unending supply of shallow cookie cutter bands. If your looking for a deeply fulfilling album whose satisfaction only increases with time, give this one a try. It’s well worth your money.