Amazon.com: 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." --Michael Ruby
It's Not AUGUST, But It Is Good Not the masterpiece that the Crows presented with AUGUST, but SATELLITES is a quality album from a band that is still going strong. Moodier and darker than AUGUST without the endearing lyrics and "story" feel. Still a high recommendation for this effort.
Brilliant
Counting Crows second effort is just as brilliant as their debut, "August and Eveyrthing After." Here, the band shows a totally different sound than their previous effort and what turns out is nothing short of brilliant.
Undervalued masterpiece In hindsight, the title track of this album might be my favorite Crows song altogether. There's something about the lines, "You're everybody's satellite/I wish that you were mine" and the brief pause between them that you can actually FEEL the resigned shrug of longing and hopelessness. And, yeah, so, there's a (gasp) 4-letter word in the song...it makes the song hit home that much harder and I've never felt has had anything to do with trying to 'harden' the group's image. This album has a few dry spots. "Monkey" and "Another Horsedreamer's Blues" stand as really the lone losers to me on here. Other than that it's one great song after another. The reason this one wasn't as heralded as "August and Everything After" is because it didn't fit the mold that the record-review and media industry had shoved the Crows into immediately after the debut gained some success. Remember, they were critcal darlings until about 10 seconds after Mr. Jones became a hit, then everyone thought it was cool to hack on them and they have ever since. "Goodnight Elisabeth", "Have You Seen Me Lately?", "Mercury", "Catapult", "Miller's Angels" ... they're all masterpiece songs. Let alone that I didn't mention any of the album's three hits, "A Long December", "Angels of the Silences" (better in its acoustic form on the live double album Across A Wire) and "Daylight Fading". This album doesn't have the romantic aura about it that "August" still carries, but it surely isn't less of a record because of that fact.
From sublime to ridiculous I was so impressed by Counting Crows' original and captivating initial effort, August & Everything After, that as soon as the follow-up (Recovering the Satellites--deserving of no more than parenthetical mention)was released, I bought it without previewing it.
Well, that's another life lesson learned.
Perhaps there was extreme pressure to release a second CD while the time was ripe. The time might have been ripe, but the music and the creativity were all too green. The lyrics were trite. The stale musical fills not only lacked horribly in creativity, they were repeated and repeated to an agonizing degree--a case of substituting quantity for quality.
"August" remains a musical gem in my collection. Had I not known the quality of which Adam Duritz is capable, I might have given this second effort a marginal second star. It just isn't within me to reward complacency, however.
Best overall effort Counting Crows... an amazing alternative rock band. After four great studio albums (soon to be a 5th), I remain convinced that this is their most emotional and convincing album. The poetic folk-rock of August & Everything After still remains unparalleled, as does the bright, lush pop-rock of This Desert Life and Hard Candy. But Recovering the Satellites is so emotional, hard, dark, and filled with brilliant songs that span the 14-track disc.
From the distorted intro of "Catapult" to the acoustic closer "Walkaways," the Crows have crafted their finest album to date. Listen and you'll understand... the desperation in Duritz's voice, and the hard guitars that come together brilliantly on "Angels of the Silences." "Goodnight Elisabeth" is simply one of the best ballads I've ever heard, and the catchy lyrics of "Have You Seen Me Lately" and "Monkey" will have you singing along in no time. "Daylight Fading" and "I'm not Sleeping" really take you somewhere, something no album has done for me since I first heard Exile on Main St.
The album suffers only slightly from weaker tunes in the middle such as "Miller's Angels" and "Another Horsedreamer's Blues."
And the Crows save the best for the end of the album. "A Long December" is understated, brilliant (both lyrically and musically) and damned catchy. A fantastic album that everyone should hear.
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