RTS Review

Counting Crows multi-platinum August and Everything After was one of the most successful debuts in rock history, and not just commercially. Sure, it sounded like a hodgepodge of half the great bands of the late sixties and early seventies, but what new group or artist doesn't sound like the sum of their influences? Dylan sounded like Guthrie, Springsteen sounded like Dylan, and Counting Crows singer-lyricist Adam Duritz wrote and sounded a bit like both of them, along with a healthy dose of Van Morrison. But Duritz and his band also showed plenty of honest inspiration. The trick, then, for their sophomore effort was to retain that emotional honesty while claiming some new musical territory for themselves.

Recovering the Satellites, the long-awaited follow-up to August, is about two-thirds of the way there. With producer Gil Norton replacing T-Bone Burnett, the band has gone for an edgier, more muscular sound that creates added musical tension but sacrifices some of the earlier album's delicate grace. The first single, "Angels of the Silences," has a propulsive, raging energy, but it lacks the wit and the sensual groove that made "Mr. Jones" such a standout. And the bluesier cuts, particularly "Miller's Angels" and "Mercury," sound positively lead-footed compared to the first album's "Round Here" and "Time and Time Again."

When Satellites does work, though, it works wonderfully: "Daylight Fading" is a wistful Eagles-style rocker; "Monkey" is an irresistibly catchy pop song; and "Have You Seen Me Lately?" is Duritz's memorable, slightly self-mocking look at the perils of celebrity. Best of all, though, is "A Long December," a gorgeous, unforgettable ballad that comes near album's end and provides the sort of emotional climax every artist shoots for. When Duritz sings, "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 myself/ To hold on to these moments as they pass," you can hear the mixture of hope and heartbreak in his voice; it's hard to imagine there will be a more memorable song this year. Recovering the Satellites may not be the masterpiece Counting Crows' champions were predicting, but in its best moments it confirms that the band is capable of greatness.

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