Album
This Desert Life
This Desert Life is the third studio album from Counting Crows, released on 2 November 1999 through DGC Records. It follows August and Everything After and Recovering the Satellites, and keeps the same personnel as the latter: David Bryson, Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, Matt Malley, Ben Mize and Dan Vickrey. The one change is that multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück, previously credited as a session player, joined as a full member.
The record sits comfortably in the band's alternative rock and soft rock leanings, and "Hanginaround" is the way in. It was the first of three singles, topping the US Adult Alternative Songs chart and reaching number 28 on the Hot 100. The sleeve is by comic book artist Dave McKean, known for his work with Neil Gaiman, adapted from his art for Gaiman's picture book The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish. Reviews were generally positive, and it had passed two million sales worldwide by February 2002.
This Desert Life: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 59:51Tracklist
- 1HanginaroundBryson, Duritz, Gillingham, Malley, Mize, Vickrey4:07
- 2Mrs. Potter’s LullabyAdam Duritz7:46
- 3Amy Hit the AtmosphereAdam Duritz and Matt Malley4:37
- 4Four DaysAdam Duritz3:28
- 5All My FriendsAdam Duritz4:49
- 6High LifeAdam Duritz and Dan Vickrey6:21
- 7ColorblindAdam Duritz and Charlie Gillingham3:24
- 8I Wish I Was a GirlCrows, Duritz, Gillingham5:54
- 9SpeedwayAdam Duritz and Dan Vickrey3:44
- 10St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream / Kid ThingsAdam Duritz15:40
- Produced by
- Dennis Herring, David Lowery
- Mixed by
- Dennis Herring
- Engineered by
- Richard Hasal
- Recorded
- 1998
- Labels
- DGC Records, Geffen
- Length
- 59:51
Singles
- “Hanginaround” · 18 October 1999
- “Mrs. Potter's Lullaby” · 15 August 2000
- “All My Friends” · 2000
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1999 | 8 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1999 | 19 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1999 | 9 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1999 | 19 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1999 | 20 |
| Swedish Albums · 1999 | 20 |
| Dutch Albums · 1999 | 21 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1999 | 26 |
| German Albums · 1999 | 36 |
| Scottish Albums · 1999 | 54 |
All 11 charts
| Ireland 2 · 1999 | 56 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 2001 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 2000 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
67.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
39k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
8.5k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
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Every year →There Is Nothing Left to Lose
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A Perfect Circle · 2004
The Masterplan
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The Prodigy · 2018
The Best of 1980–1990
U2 · 1998
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Live at Reading
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More from Counting Crows
Full discography →
August and Everything After
1993
Recovering the Satellites
1996
Across a Wire: Live in New York City
1998
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
The best of 1999
All of 1999 →
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers · 1999
Slipknot
Slipknot · 1999
Significant Other
Limp Bizkit · 1999
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Foo Fighters · 1999
The Battle of Los Angeles
Rage Against the Machine · 1999
Enema of the State
blink‐182 · 1999
The Fragile
Nine Inch Nails · 1999
Issues
Korn · 1999
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Re-Arranged
Limp Bizkit · 1999
№4
Stone Temple Pilots · 1999
‘hours…’
David Bowie · 1999
More on DGC Records
The label →
Nevermind
Nirvana · 1991
In Utero
Nirvana · 1993
Weezer
Weezer · 1994
Hormoaning
Nirvana · 1992
Weezer
Weezer · 2008
Neighborhoods
blink‐182 · 2011
Raditude
Weezer · 2009
Mutations
Beck · 1998
Live and Loud
Nirvana · 2013
Death to False Metal
Weezer · 2010
Live at Reading
Nirvana · 2009
Christmas With Weezer
Weezer · 2008
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia only
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 November 1999 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 2 November 1999 | |
| Wikidata | 1999 | |
| US release | 2 November 1999 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1 November 1999 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | DGC Records | 606949041526 | other |
| — | US | Geffen | other | |
| 1999 | XE | DGC Records | 606949041526 | other |
| 1999 | AU | DGC Records | other | |
| 1999 | ZA | Geffen | 6001210179238 | other |
| 1999 | AU | Geffen | 606949041526 | other |
| 1 November 1999 | GB | DGC Records | 606949041526 | original |
| 2 November 1999 | US | — | other | |
| 2 November 1999 | CA | Geffen | 606949041526 | other |
| 2 November 1999 | US | — | other | |
| 2 November 1999 | US | DGC Records | 606949041526 | other |
| 18 March 2008 | XW | Geffen | 602517671584 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |