Album of the Day — May 28
Counting Crows — Recovering the Satellites
Counting Crows — Recovering the Satellites
28.May.2020
Counting Crows
Recovering the Satellites
1996
Almost 30 years into their career and Counting Crows have sold about 20 million albums worldwide.
Not too bad for a band that more or less had a revolving door policy and a dedicated lack of commitment from many players in Berkley, California when it began.
By 1992, the band had stabilized with:
Adam Duritz — vocalist, occasional pianist, and primary songwriter
David Bryson — guitar
Matt Malley — bass
Charlie Gillingham — keyboards
Steve Bowman — drums
Its that line-up had recorded the demo that prompted a bidding war between nine different labels — yep, there were that many back in 1992. Geffen Records won out in a deal rumored to be so large that the band was nicknamed “Accounting Crows”.
Nine months before their T-Bone Burnett produced debut, August and Everything After was released, they filled in for Van Morrison at the January 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, playing “Caravan.”
Their debut album was released in September ’93 and by December the first single “Mr. Jones” was a radio and MTV hit.
Suffice it to say, by the spring of 1994, Counting Crows were bona fide rock stars.
The band had some ups … and they had some downs:
Seven million albums sold (the fastest-selling record since Nirvana’s Nevermind)
A couple of Grammy nominations
One nervous breakdown (singer Adam Duritz)
There was grunge explosion
The death of a rock icon (Kurt Cobain)
Three years between albums … that used to be a long time
When it came time to record the album “after the album that made you famous” it was, not surprisingly, challenging. It’s safe to say the odds were not in the bands favor for a successful sophomore album.
Enlisting British producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Throwing Muses) and second guitarist Dan Vickrey they holed up for three months to track the record that would become Recovering the Satellites.
This album would is a much richer and denser sounding album than their debut. Likely attributed to not only their maturation as musicians after their time on the road opening for everyone from The Rolling Stones to Midnight Oil but also the addition of Vickrey as a guitarist. Norton’s background and diversity as a producer certainly contributed.
Perhaps it was most influenced by Adam Duritz’s struggles with the success and all that goes with it that adds depth and darkness. Elements that had been absent from their debut.
And on Recovering the Satellites, the stories are not Duritz is telling us are not so pleasant.
So, as mental health awareness month winds down, it’s worth taking a closer look at a few of the lyrics on Recovering the Satellites. Adam Duritz’s struggle was very real … very painful … and proves that all that glitters is not gold:
I’M NOT SLEEPING ANYMORE
But I’m not sleeping anymore, anymore
But I’m not sleeping anymore, anymore
I’m not sleeping
I’m not sleeping anymore
I said, rain, rain, go away
Come again some other day
’Cause I got all this shit to say
But I’ve gone back to find my way
My sister’s mother’s favorite son
Lost among the chosen one
But I’ve got news for everyone
’Cause I’m going out that door
GOODNIGHT ELISABETH
We couldn’t all be cowboys
So some of us are clowns
And some of us are dancers on the midway
We roam from town to town
I hope that everybody can find a little flame
Me, I say my prayers,
Then I just light myself on fire
And I walk out on the wire once again
And I say
Goodnight Elisabeth
HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY
Get away from me
This isn’t gonna be easy
But I don’t need you
Believe me
You got a piece of me
But it’s just a little piece of me
And I don’t need anyone
And these days I feel like I’m fading away
Like sometimes when I hear myself on the radio
Have you seen me lately?
I was out on the radio starting to change
Somewhere out in America
It’s starting to rain
Could you tell me the things you remember about me
And have you seen me lately?
There is a literary quality to Duritz’s lyrics that don’t necessarily require complex musical arrangements. It requires the right musical arrangements. And with his bandmates in Counting Crows, he has a group that can work with him to fit the music into the lyrics like a hand into a glove.
Recovering the Satellites is full of lyrics of a man who is struggling. And he was, he did have a nervous breakdown between albums. Of course, to many, this came across as just another lead singer whining about being a rock star.
Neil Strauss, in his NY Times review at the time, called Adam Duritz “self-pitying”.
Andy Gill from The Independent was less guarded in his review calling Duritz a “classic solipsistic soul-barer, that just won’t shut up about himself”.
My take is different. I don’t see why an artist, popular or not, should be prohibited from using their medium to hammer out their demons … which is what Duritz does on this record.
Would we say the same of John Updike or Phillip Roth?
I doubt it.
Because Duritz’s word count is less, he gets harsher treatment?
That seems unfair.
Is he being penalized for bearing his soul?
For having a breakdown?
For using the first person?
By and large, though, most critics were mixed on Recovering the Satellites. They either highlighted or condemned Counting Crows for their obvious influences (R.E.M., The Band, Bruce Springsteen). The landscape may have widened from the peak era of those artists, but artists influence one another.
Some influences are more transparent than others. Not every band can be Television or Can or Porcupine Tree … but when was the last time you listened to any of those bands?
I also once saw an exhibit of George Braques and Pablo Picasso and thought to myself: “Wait a minute …”
Recovering the Satellites was still an immediate success with fans. It was a #1 record in the U.S. and sold well around the world. It wasn’t as successful as their debut, but expecting it to sell seven million copies again, even in the halcyon days of the ’90s, was unrealistic.
The beauty of the record lies in the fact that Duritz understands the Sisyphean nature of being a rock star. The only thing certain is that it’s gonna end — as he calls out in the title track:
RECOVERING THE SATELLITES
It’s a lifetime decision
Recovering the satellites
All everybody really knows for sure…
That you’re gonna come down
That you’re gonna come down
The hit single “A Long December” is a lyrical metaphor that’s easily applicable to both stepping back into the fray of both the music business and love. For a literary, lyrical and sensitive empath, like Adam Durtiz, both moves are equally heartbreaking … but necessary.
And for the first time on Recovering the Satellites, Duritz provides just a little ray of sunshine and a hint of optimism:
A LONG DECEMBER
And it’s been a long December and there’s reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And it’s one more day up in the canyon
And it’s one more night in Hollywood
It’s been so long since I’ve seen the ocean I guess I should
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah