Album · Compilation
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of…
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of… is a Counting Crows compilation released in November 2003 on Geffen. It gathers songs from the American rock band's first four studio albums, August and Everything After, Recovering the Satellites, This Desert Life and Hard Candy, so it works as a tidy overview of their first decade.
The title comes from a line in "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby": "If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts." It suits a collection built from looking back over a body of work. For anyone who knows the band only from the radio, or who wants the early years in a single sitting before exploring the full albums, it is a sensible place to begin.
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of…: tracklist, credits and charts
17 tracks · 1:16:48Tracklist
- 1Angels of the SilencesBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey3:40
- 2Round HereBryson, Janusko, Jewett, Roldan, Duritz5:32
- 3Rain KingDavid Bryson and Adam Duritz4:17
- 4A Long DecemberAdam Duritz4:59
- 5HanginaroundBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey4:16
- 6Mrs. Potter’s LullabyAdam Duritz7:46
- 7Mr. JonesDavid Bryson and Adam Duritz4:34
- 8Recovering the SatellitesBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey5:25
- 9American GirlsAdam Duritz4:36
- 10Big Yellow TaxiJoni Mitchell3:46
- 11OmahaAdam Duritz3:41
- 12Friend of the DevilDawson, Garcia, Hunter4:37
- 13Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)David Bryson and Adam Duritz3:54
- 14Anna BeginsBryson, Duritz, Hawkins, Holly, Jones4:33
- 15Holiday in SpainAdam Duritz3:51
- 16She Don’t Want Nobody NearAdam Duritz and Brendan O’Brien3:09
- 174 White Stallions (live)Trott, Vickrey, Winningham4:12
- Produced by
- Gil Norton, T‐Bone Burnett, David Bryson, Dennis Herring, Steve Lillywhite, David Lowery, Brendan O'Brien
- Executive producer
- Gary Gersh
- Recorded at
- Capitol Studios, Coast Recorders, Sunset Sound Factory, Conway Recording Studios, Kiva West Recording Studios, Sunset Sound, The Village, AFAS Live
- Recorded
- 1993–2003
- Mixed by
- Michael Barbiero, Scott Litt, Pat McCarthy
- Mixed at
- River Sound Studio, Ocean Way Recording
- Engineered by
- Steve Churchyard, Bradley Cook, Robert Hart, Steve Holroyd, Howard Willing, Pat McCarthy
- Label
- Geffen
- Length
- 1:16:48
Line-up
- Steve Bowman · drums (drum set), vocals
- David Bryson · guitar, vocals
- T‐Bone Burnett · guitar
- Bill Dillon · guitar, guitorgan
- Adam Duritz · piano, harmonica, lead vocals
- Charlie Gillingham · Hammond organ, piano, chamberlin, accordion, vocals
- David Immerglück · guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandocello, mandolin, vocals
- Matt Malley · guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- Gary Louris · background vocals
- Maria McKee · background vocals
- Mark Olson · background vocals
- Denny Fongheiser · percussion, drums (drum set) · guest
- Sheryl Crow · background vocals · guest
- Vanessa Carlton · vocals · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2003–2004 | 15 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2003–2004 | 32 |
| Dutch Albums · 2003–2004 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2003–2004 | 8 |
| Ireland 2 · 2003–2004 | 41 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2003–2004 | 70 |
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen Soundscan) · 2003–2004 | 71 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2003–2004 | 73 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Netherlands · 2004 | Platinum |
| New Zealand · 2006 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 2004 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
28.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
13
ListenBrainz listeners
13k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
—
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 2 November
Every year →
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Foo Fighters · 1999
The Battle of Los Angeles
Rage Against the Machine · 1999
eMOTIVe
A Perfect Circle · 2004
The Masterplan
Oasis · 1998
Shine On
Pink Floyd · 1992
This Desert Life
Counting Crows · 1999
No Tourists
The Prodigy · 2018
The Best of 1980–1990
U2 · 1998
On Parole
Motörhead · 1979
Death to False Metal
Weezer · 2010
Live at Reading
Nirvana · 2009
No Security
The Rolling Stones · 1998
More from Counting Crows
Full discography →
August and Everything After
1993
Recovering the Satellites
1996
Across a Wire: Live in New York City
1998
This Desert Life
1999
Hard Candy
2002
New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall February 4–6, 2003
2006
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
2008
iTunes Live From SoHo
2008
Aural 6
2008
August and Everything After: Live at Town Hall
2011
Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation)
2012
Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow
2013
Somewhere Under Wonderland
2014
Butter Miracle, Suite One
2021
Butter Miracle: The Complete Sweets!
2025
Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately? (songs from the HBO original documentary)
2025
The best of 2003
All of 2003 →
Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
Hail to the Thief
Radiohead · 2003
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
blink‐182
blink‐182 · 2003
Results May Vary
Limp Bizkit · 2003
Deftones
Deftones · 2003
The Golden Age of Grotesque
Marilyn Manson · 2003
Waking the Fallen
Avenged Sevenfold · 2003
The Long Road
Nickelback · 2003
Dance of Death
Iron Maiden · 2003
Thirteenth Step
A Perfect Circle · 2003
Take a Look in the Mirror
Korn · 2003
More on Geffen
The label →
Appetite for Destruction
Guns N’ Roses · 1987
Use Your Illusion II
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
Guns N’ Roses · 1993
On Tour Now!
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
blink‐182
blink‐182 · 2003
G N’ R Lies
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Weezer
Weezer · 2001
Permanent Vacation
Aerosmith · 1987
Pump
Aerosmith · 1989
August and Everything After
Counting Crows · 1993
Get a Grip
Aerosmith · 1993
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 2003-11-02 vs 2003-11-24 (musicbrainz), 2003-11-25 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 24 November 2003 | ignored lone early release dated 2003-01-01 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 2 November 2003 | |
| Wikidata | 25 November 2003 | |
| US release | 25 November 2003 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 8 December 2003 | earliest UK or European date |
16 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | BR | Geffen | 602498615041 | other |
| 2003 | XE | Geffen | 602498615041 | other |
| 2003 | ZA | Geffen | 6009143072732 | other |
| 1 January 2003 | CA | Geffen | 075021030015 | original |
| 24 November 2003 | DE | Geffen | 602498615041 | other |
| 25 November 2003 | CA | Geffen | 602498613009 | other |
| 25 November 2003 | US | Geffen | 602498613009 | other |
| 25 November 2003 | US | Geffen | other | |
| 8 December 2003 | GB | Geffen | 602498615805 | other |
| 2004 | AU | Geffen | 0602498618431 | other |
| 2004 | US | Geffen | 075021030015 | other |
| 2004 | XE | Geffen | 0602498627983 | other |
| 2004 | XE | Geffen | 602498617908 | other |
| 26 January 2004 | GB | Geffen | 602498613009 | other |
| 2 November 2004 | US | Geffen | other | |
| 2 November 2004 | US | Geffen | 075021030015 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1433, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1425×1433 | upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1433, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |