2xLP BLACK VINYL

For their second album, Recovering the Satellites, Counting Crows crafted a self-consciously challenging response to their unexpected success. Throughout the record, Adam Duritz contemplates his loss of privacy and sudden change of fortunes, among other angst-ridden subjects. In one sense, it's no different from the subjects that dominated August and Everything After, yet his outlook is lacking the muted joy that made "Mr. Jones" into a hit. Similarly, the music is slightly more somber, yet the approach is harder and more direct, which gives even the ballads a more affecting, visceral feel. Recovering the Satellites occasionally bogs down in its own pretentiousness -- for a roots rock band, the group certainly has a lot of artsy goals -- yet when they scale back their ambitions to simple folk-rock, such as on the single "A Long December," they are at their most articulate.

A1        Catapult
A2        Angels Of The Silences
A3        Daylight Fading
A4        I'm Not Sleeping
B1        Goodnight Elisabeth
B2        Children In Bloom
B3        Have You Seen Me Lately?
C1        Miller's Angels
C2        Another Horsedreamer's Blues
C3        Recovering The Satellites
D1        Monkey
D2        Mercury
D3        A Long December
D4        Walkaways