Counting Crows hit #1 on the Modern Rock charts for the first and only time with "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)," a song that deserves more love but feels lost to time
Definitely a great song but I’ll always be all in on August and Everything After. “Mr Jones” is probably the weakest song on that album for me with amazing tracks like “Anna Begins”, “Perfect Blue Buildings” and “Rain King”.
I remember that DGC Rarities CD as it had some great tracks, particularly the haunting “Allegory” by Murray Attaway: https://youtu.be/wYVYSLS04Z0
Surprised the DGC Rarities record didn't sell more, because it was definitely priced way lower than a typical CD. I recall $7.99 being the price I paid at a Musicland. There weren't any other hit songs, but Nirvana, Hole, Beck, and Weezer were all pretty successful at the time of release.
Honestly, at that price, it was a steal compared to the $16 you'd pay for a full album in those days! I have to think they just didn't do a good job marketing it. I was just getting into buying my own music at this time and it just didn't get on my radar. Or, it's possible I only had so much cash to pass around and there were so many great albums at the time that it was hard to justify the extra cost.
I definitely never owned it, but wish I did for the cover art alone! Uniquely weird and somehow very “90s.” Were there any other must-have tracks on that album other than “Einstein”?
I was really into The Rentals and Weezer and remember buying it for That Dog and the Weezer outtake. I liked "Jamie" by Weezer but don't remember playing the CD a ton after a point. Not a Counting Crows fan but Einstein was a good solid track.
Definitely a great song but I’ll always be all in on August and Everything After. “Mr Jones” is probably the weakest song on that album for me with amazing tracks like “Anna Begins”, “Perfect Blue Buildings” and “Rain King”.
I remember that DGC Rarities CD as it had some great tracks, particularly the haunting “Allegory” by Murray Attaway: https://youtu.be/wYVYSLS04Z0
Surprised the DGC Rarities record didn't sell more, because it was definitely priced way lower than a typical CD. I recall $7.99 being the price I paid at a Musicland. There weren't any other hit songs, but Nirvana, Hole, Beck, and Weezer were all pretty successful at the time of release.
Honestly, at that price, it was a steal compared to the $16 you'd pay for a full album in those days! I have to think they just didn't do a good job marketing it. I was just getting into buying my own music at this time and it just didn't get on my radar. Or, it's possible I only had so much cash to pass around and there were so many great albums at the time that it was hard to justify the extra cost.
I had totally forgotten about this song! Thanks for bringing it back to my attention Matt!
I mentioned to you earlier this year in some other comment thread that my favorite Counting Crows song was coming up. It finally arrived! 🎉
Right! It's a great song in their catalog!
Great piece Matt! I might still have my copy of DGC Rarities Vol. 1 stashed away somewhere.
I definitely never owned it, but wish I did for the cover art alone! Uniquely weird and somehow very “90s.” Were there any other must-have tracks on that album other than “Einstein”?
I was really into The Rentals and Weezer and remember buying it for That Dog and the Weezer outtake. I liked "Jamie" by Weezer but don't remember playing the CD a ton after a point. Not a Counting Crows fan but Einstein was a good solid track.
I've been listening to Counting Crows on repeat for this past week. What is going on with me?
It's always nice to post something and it intersects with readers at just the right moment! :-)
Where would you rank "Einstein" among all the great songs in the band's catalog?