mercury
"she'll change so suddenly"

Took the longest time for me to fall in love with this song on the original album; the odd rhythms and the focus on what seemed at first to be a redneck sound kind of threw me off. But as with most Crows songs, it grew on me and though it's still far from a favorite of mine, it's a good song. The live album detracts nothing from the lyrics or the music; unlike many live performances by other bands, Counting Crows never sacrifice the quality of their music for stage presence. Rather than focus on stage diving or fireworks, the band lets the music become the focus. And that's all I have to say about that.

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For some reason, I really liked this version of Mercury, but I do agree with Jason when he says that it isn't really that different from the original. Maybe it's got to do with the "feel" of the performance. Mercury always struck me as a "loose" song, the product of a late night session that just "came together". I could be wrong, maybe it took forever to do it, but that's the idea I'd like to keep in my head. So maybe it was that "live" element that made this "version" more endearing than the original. I especially like that little "extra" part in the middle where Adam Duritz "plays" with the keys. And I don't care what he says in the notes...he doesn't sound like shit...it's all pure feeling :)