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Recovering the Satellites

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Recovering the Satellites
A green cover with a crude drawing of a star and the name of the album and artist's names scrawled on it
Studio album by
Counting Crows
ReleasedOctober 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)
RecordedJanuary–March 1996, Hollywood, San Francisco and The Sound Factory, Hollywood
GenreAlternative rock
Length59:28
LabelGeffen
ProducerGil Norton
Counting Crows chronology
August and Everything After
(1993) 		Recovering the Satellites
(1996) 		Across a Wire: Live in New York City
(1998)
Singles from Recovering the Satellites
  1. "Angels of the Silences"
    Released: October 7, 1996[1]
  2. "A Long December"
    Released: December 2, 1996[2]
  3. "Daylight Fading"
    Released: May 19, 1997[3]

Recovering the Satellites is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Counting Crows. It was released in the United States on October 15, 1996, three years after their debut album and following two years of worldwide touring. With producer Gil Norton, it features founding members Adam Duritz, David Bryson (guitar), Charlie Gillingham (keyboards), and Matt Malley (bass), as well as new additions Ben Mize (drums) and Dan Vickrey (guitars).[4] Multi-instrumentalist and eventual band member David Immerglück played on the album as a session musician, as well.

Three singles were released, with "A Long December" being the best charting, peaking at number 6 on the US Radio Songs chart[5] and number 1 in Canada.

The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart in the US, No. 4 on the OOC album charts in the UK, and No. 7 on the ARIA charts in Australia. It has been certified double-platinum in both the US and Canada, and well as gold in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. It received generally positive reviews.

Recording and release

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As with their debut, August and Everything After, the band recorded the album with Norton by renting a large house and using the acoustics of the space for unique sounds. Marvin Etzioni produced the album's eighth track, "Miller's Angels".

Duritz recorded two songs for the album on piano with friends from the Soul Rebels Brass Band playing horns that were ultimately cut: "Chelsea" and "Good Luck". He has said that he could not figure out how to sequence the songs with the rest of the album.[6]

"Chelsea" was eventually released as a bonus track on the live double album Across a Wire: Live in New York City. "Good Luck" was presumed lost for several years until in the early 2020s. Geffen Records were contacted by filmmakers making a documentary on the band for HBO, covering the period between August and Everything After and Recovering the Satellites, for music and archive information. Original masters of the recordings, once thought lost in the 2008 Universal Studios fire, and video performances were provided by the label, including "Good Luck".[6]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
MusicHound Rock[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Spin6/10[11]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Anthony DeCurtis gave the album four out of five stars. He said that the band's second album develops the sounds of August and Everything After and that they "largely achieve their serious ambitions". He praised Adam Duritz's lyrics and called the album "deeply satisfying".[12] Andy Gill from The Independent gave the album a more negative review. He criticized Duritz's song-writing as "self-pity[ing]" and called him a "classic solipsistic soul-barer, he just won't shut up about himself". He called the album "bland" with "obvious" influences (including R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and Lynyrd Skynyrd). Gill had some praise for producer Gil Norton's work on the album.[14]

In a review for Entertainment Weekly, Ken Tucker also had negative feelings about the album, and gave it a "C" grade. He criticized Duritz's "yowling" and "moans" and called Counting Crows a "pastiche of its influences".[8] The Los Angeles Times concluded that "there are precious few of the killer pop hooks that made such songs as 'Mr. Jones' and ''Round Here' irresistible despite their lack of originality."[9]

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album a "self-consciously challenging response" to their successful debut album. He described the songs as "slightly more somber" than those on the first album but "more affecting". He noted an occasional "pretentiousness" on the album but praised "A Long December" as particularly articulate.[7]

Track listing

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All tracks written by Adam Duritz unless otherwise indicated

  1. "Catapult" (Duritz, David Bryson, Charlie Gillingham, Matt Malley, Dan Vickrey, Ben Mize) – 3:34
  2. "Angels of the Silences" (Duritz, Gillingham) – 3:39
  3. "Daylight Fading" (Duritz, Vickrey, Gillingham) – 3:50
  4. "I'm Not Sleeping" (Duritz, Bryson, Gillingham, Malley, Vickrey, Mize) – 4:57
  5. "Goodnight Elisabeth" – 5:20
  6. "Children in Bloom" – 5:23
  7. "Have You Seen Me Lately?" – 4:08
  8. "Miller's Angels" (Duritz, Vickrey) – 6:33
  9. "Another Horsedreamer's Blues" – 4:32
  10. "Recovering the Satellites" – 5:24
  11. "Monkey" – 3:02
  12. "Mercury" – 2:48
  13. "A Long December" – 4:57
  14. "Walkaways" (Duritz, Vickrey) – 1:12

Personnel

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Counting Crows
Additional musicians

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[31] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[32] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[33] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 5, 1996. p. 37.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 30, 1996. p. 45.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. May 17, 1997. p. 36.
  4. ^ "Adam Duritz on Reconnecting with Rob Thomas | Long Island Pulse Magazine". 11 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Counting Crows: Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Pelsor, Matt (2023-05-29). "WTTS in Conversation – Adam Duritz of Counting Crows". WTTS. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  7. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Recovering the Satellites: Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Tucker, Ken (October 25, 1996). "Recovering the Satellites Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Gardner, Elysa (13 Oct 1996). "Counting Crows 'Recovering the Satellites'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 85.
  10. ^ Schwager, Jeff (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. pp. 277–279.
  11. ^ a b "Counting Crows - Recovering the Satellites CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  12. ^ a b DeCurtis, Anthony (November 4, 1996). "Counting Crows: Recovering the Satellites". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  13. ^ Kot, Greg (2004). "Counting Crows". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 195. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. ^ Gill, Andy (October 11, 1996). "Album Reviews: Counting Crows Recovering the Satellites". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  15. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  18. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  20. ^ "Eurochart Top 100 Albums - November 2, 1996" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 49. May 21, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  25. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  28. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  29. ^ "ALBUMS: Top 100 of 1997".
  30. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  31. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  32. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Music Canada. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  33. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  34. ^ "British album certifications – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  35. ^ "American album certifications – Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
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