Album · 30 years old this year
Recovering the Satellites
Recovering the Satellites is the second album by Counting Crows, released on 15 October 1996 on Geffen. It arrived three years after their debut, August and Everything After, and followed two years of touring the world. Gil Norton produced, with Adam Duritz, David Bryson, Charlie Gillingham and Matt Malley joined by newcomers Ben Mize on drums and Dan Vickrey on guitar. David Immerglück also played as a session musician before later becoming a full member.
The record went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 7 in Australia. It went double-platinum in the US and Canada. Of its three singles, "A Long December" did best, peaking at number 6 on the US Radio Songs chart and topping the Canadian chart. It is the album to reach for if you want to hear how the band followed a hugely successful debut, and reviews were generally positive.
Recovering the Satellites on Riffology
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Recovering the Satellites: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 59:28Tracklist
- 1CatapultBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey3:35
- 2Angels of the SilencesBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey3:39
- 3Daylight FadingBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey3:50
- 4I’m Not SleepingBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey4:58
- 5Goodnight ElisabethAdam Duritz5:20
- 6Children in BloomAdam Duritz5:24
- 7Have You Seen Me Lately?Adam Duritz4:11
- 8Miller’s AngelsAdam Duritz and Dan Vickrey6:34
- 9Another Horsedreamer’s BluesAdam Duritz4:33
- 10Recovering the SatellitesBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey5:25
- 11MonkeyAdam Duritz3:02
- 12MercuryAdam Duritz2:48
- 13A Long DecemberAdam Duritz4:58
- 14WalkawaysAdam Duritz and Dan Vickrey1:12
- Produced by
- Gil Norton, Marvin Etzioni
- Recorded at
- Capitol Studios, Coast Recorders, Sunset Sound Factory (Hollywood, California), Coast (San Francisco, California)
- Recorded
- Early 1996
- Mixed by
- Michael Barbiero
- Mixed at
- River Sound Studio
- Engineered by
- Steve Churchyard, Bradley Cook, David Vaught
- Label
- Geffen
- Length
- 59:28
Line-up
- David Immerglück · mandolin, pedal steel guitar · guest
- Marvin Etzioni · mandolin · guest
Singles
- “Angels of the Silences” · 24 September 1996
- “A Long December” · 19 November 1996
- “Daylight Fading” · 19 May 1997
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1996–1997 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1996–1997 | 4 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1996–1997 | 4 |
| Scottish Albums · 1996–1997 | 6 |
| Swedish Albums · 1996–1997 | 6 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996–1997 | 7 |
| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) · 1996–1997 | 14 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 1996–1997 | 19 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1996–1997 | 20 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996–1997 | 21 |
All 14 charts
| Swiss Albums · 1996–1997 | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996–1997 | 28 |
| German Albums · 1996–1997 | 40 |
| Dutch Albums · 1996–1997 | 54 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1996 | Gold |
| Canada · 1997 | 2× Platinum |
| New Zealand | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1997 | Gold |
| United States · 1997 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
69.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
65k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.7k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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More from Counting Crows
Full discography →
August and Everything After
1993
Across a Wire: Live in New York City
1998
This Desert Life
1999
Hard Candy
2002
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of…
2003
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
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1996-10-14 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 14 October 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 15 October 1996 | |
| Wikidata | 15 October 1996 | |
| US release | 15 October 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 14 October 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
15 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | BMG Direct | other | |
| 1996 | ZA | Geffen | 6007124161031 | other |
| 1996 | BR | Geffen | 720642497524 | other |
| 1996 | CA | DGC Records | 777495141418 | other |
| 1996 | US | DGC Records | 720642497517 | other |
| 1996 | CA | Geffen | 720642497524 | other |
| 14 October 1996 | GB | Geffen | 720642497524 | original |
| 15 October 1996 | US | DGC Records | 720642497524 | other |
| 15 October 1996 | US | DGC Records | 720642497524 | other |
| 15 October 1996 | US | DGC Records | 720642497548 | other |
| 15 October 1996 | AU | Geffen | 720642497524 | other |
| June 1999 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775475021 | other |
| 17 March 2017 | US | Geffen | 602557097603 | other |
| January 2025 | XW | Geffen | 00602537988495 | other |
| 30 January 2025 | XW | DGC Records | 00720642497524 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1420x1408, upscaled to 1500 (x1.07)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1420×1408 | upscaled: minor: best source 1420x1408, upscaled to 1500 (x1.07) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |