12 .AYCac(e I NOVEMBER 1, 1996 I THE TULANE HULLABALOO August is gone, but they're still counting Richard Vath Associate Photo Production Editor

Guess I'll start it up ugain ... - Adam Duritz, Recovering the Satellites

Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows come back spirited from their three-year esu r · hiatus with their new release, ' I I Recovering the Satellites. The long- awaited project, which debuted this week at number one, features 14 tracks which offer Duritz's moving poetry nest- ed within long, melodious ballads and high-energy anthems. After selling nearly five million copies of their 1993 debut album, August and Everything After, the Counting Crows quickly became one of the more auspicious rock groups to emerge in the l 90s. By writing an album reminiscent of \ I great classic rock works, the band has become a favorite as well as an inspira- tion for many. Their debut release was followed by a long tour in promotion of the album. The t touring took its toll on the band mem- bers, especially Duritz. He needed to "get away from the fame and from writ- J ing music for a while." Soon after the tour's completion, he moved to Los f Angeles and tended bar with some friends at the Viper Room. This local bar was frequented by celebrities and musi- cians alike, and it soon became home for Duritz. It was "a nice place to hang out and collect (his) thoughts," but over time he gained the perspective he desperately C. needed. It wasn't until the summer of '95 that the band's primary songwriter became inspired again. After working on a few piano songs, he contacted the rest of the band in an effort to start things up; this sentiment was shared by the others. They FILE PHOTO After a 3 year hiatus, the Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows are back with their second album, Recovering the knew it was time. Satellites. Finding a producer proved to be an arduous process, as the Crows are perfec- autobiographical, the first record focusing Angels" (written in 1994 for Sean Penn's fol, the songs speak to the listener and ask tionists to the end. After settling on the on the effects of fame and success, and film The Crossing Guard) and the hopeful only that they be given a second thought. well-received Gil Norton, the group rent- the second focusing on the catharsis need- "A Long December" add soulful Duritz A definite gem, Recovering the Satellites ed a house and began recording. The ed in the wake of that success. piano baJJads to the list. The driving prove that the Counting Crows are far process took several months, but the fin- The album's first track, "Catapult," melodies found in "Children in Bloom" from a one-hit wonder and instead belong ished product speaks for itself. opens with a hypnotic organ melody that and "Have You Seen Me Lately?" set up in the annals of rock history: The album can be effectively divided flows into a moving guitar ballad. the perfect context for the songs' frustra- into two seven-track "records," the first "Angels of the Silences," the album's first tions. Tracks such as "Goodnight ... Someday I'm gonna stay but not beginning with ''Catapult" and ending single release, follows in the form of a Elisabeth," "Recovering the Satellites" today. with "Have You Seen Me Lately?" and driving pop tune. String arrangements and "Walkaways" also demonstrate the -Adam Duritz, "Walkaways" the second beginning with "Miller's augment the powerful songs of "Daylight band's genuine guitar sound. Angels" and ending with "Walkaways." Fading," "I'm Not Sleeping" and Overall, the variant dynamic styles Duritz describes the album as being "Another Horsedreamer's Blues." The employed by the band create a rich and mysterious and beautiful "Miller's sincere feel. Lyrically honest and insight-