Counting Crows Recovering the Satellites CD

Description

Recovering the Satellites may not be quite the tower of song that the Crows’ debut August and Everything After was, but it could hardly be called a sophomore slump. Vocalist Adam Duritz and crew mine similar territory on the more densely produced Satellites, couching tales of dreamers, lovers, and losers in music that’s part classic rock redux and part heartfelt folk jangle. As able as the band is though, it remains Duritz’s show, and his plaintive voice and serpentine lyrics are what drive this record home, particularly on “Daylight Fading,” “Miller’s Angels” and the aching hit “A Long December. “Recovering The Satellites is the Counting Crows follow-up to their monster hit August & Everything After. While it is not as immediately accessible as their radio-friendly debut was, this album is a step forward creatively and artistically. The sound on the album is richer and more dense and Adam Duritz’s lyrics more searching and mature. The band really came into its own with this release. Songs like the “Another Horsedreamers Blues” which contains a heavy orchestration and biting lyrics show their growth. The band still knows how to grab your ear with the hard driving “Angels Of The Silence”, the strong title track, the soaring “A Long December” and the jangling “Daylight Fading”. The best track on the album is the sweet and touching “Goodnight Elisabeth” which Mr. Duritz sings with understated grace. While it isn’t the classic their debut is, the band showed it wasn’t a fluke and they lived up to the potential that the first album created.