Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites (2025 2LP reissue vs original RL/Gateway)

Recovering the Satellites has always been the darker, louder, more guitar-heavy follow-up to August and Everything After--built around stacked guitars that can turn dense fast. With HBO’s “Have You Seen Me Lately?” putting the band back in the conversation, a new 2LP vinyl reissue arrives at exactly the right moment. In this review I compare the 2025 reissue to an original U.S. RL/Gateway pressing and explain what you gain — and what you give up — with the new cut.

• Label: Geffen / Interscope

• Release: 2025 2LP reissue (standard-weight vinyl)

• Remastering: Dave Donnelly (DNA Mastering) from the original ¼" production master tapes

• Comparison: Original U.S. RL/Gateway pressing

In 1993, August and Everything After didn’t just introduce a band — it created a moment. But then came the problem every breakout band eventually faces: what do you make next when the whole world is watching?

Recovering the Satellites is the sound of that pressure. Less innocence. More guitars. More volume. It’s a record that rewards late‑night listening — but it’s also a record where mastering choices matter, because the densest sections can tip from thrilling into congested.

Pressing details

2025 2LP reissue — standard-weight vinyl; remastered by Dave Donnelly (DNA Mastering) from the original ¼" production master tapes.

My copy is standard-weight vinyl and the overall pressing quality feels average rather than premium. Both LPs arrived slightly warped, but track without issue and play quietly throughout.

I’m not going to speculate about the cutting chain beyond what’s documented. What matters here is what comes off the speakers — and how that presentation compares to the original U.S. RL/Gateway pressing.

Overall sound

Original RL/Gateway

The original vinyl, mastered by Robert Ludwig at Gateway Mastering has presence. It’s more open in the upper mids, with more bite on guitars and more life in the snare. Even when the mix is thick, you get a stronger sense of separation — the band doesn’t collapse into a single warm mass.

It isn’t “audiophile polite.” It’s a little raw, a little dangerous — and that edge is part of why this album works so well.

2025 2LP reissue

The 2025 reissue is uniformly warm, with fuller lower mids. It’s smoother and more controlled — especially in the densest moments. The tradeoff is that the upper mids and highs feel restrained, so the presentation turns flatter: less shimmer, less separation, less of that “alive in the room” energy the original delivers.

Track notes

“Have You Seen Me Lately?”

This is the anchor track for me because it pushes the mix hard. On the reissue, the densest sections feel more controlled — the upper‑mid edge is smoothed over. But that smoothing comes with a cost: the guitars lose some bite, and the song loses some danger.

“Daylight Fading”

On the original, the guitars have more chime and room sound — you can follow the layers without straining. On the reissue, those same layers feel more blended together. It’s still listenable, but less immersive.

“Goodnight Elisabeth”

The 2025 reissue gives Adam’s vocal added weight and more heft to the acoustic guitar. It’s a warm, flattering presentation. But the original RL/Gateway pressing has noticeably more air and inner detail, so the small piano touches and low-level textures around the vocal come through more clearly.

“Walkaways” (closing track)

This is one of the most intimate moments on the album—just voice and acoustic guitar—and it lives or dies on the emotional texture in Adam’s delivery. The 2025 reissue adds a little extra body and perceived loudness to the vocal, and on its own it’s perfectly listenable. But the original RL/Gateway pressing has that added presence that reveals the ache in his voice—the subtle strain, the nuance, the human edge. On the original, the song doesn’t just play; it lands.

Who this reissue is really for

If you’ve never owned Recovering the Satellites on vinyl, this new 2LP is a clean, affordable way to put the album back in your listening room. Quiet new pressings matter on a record like this — a little surface noise can kill the mood fast.

But if you already have a strong original RL/Gateway, there’s no upside here sonically. Across the board, the reissue fails to beat the original — it trades bite and shimmer for a smoother, warmer presentation.

Verdict

This 2025 reissue is perfectly listenable and reasonably priced, but it feels like a missed opportunity. The mastering choices lean uniformly warm, with fuller lower mids but restrained upper mids and highs — which reduces air, separation, and that “alive in the room” energy the original delivers.

If you’re chasing the absolute best sound, the original still defines what this record can really do. If you just want a quiet, brand‑new copy — and you’re not interested in paying collector prices — this new 2LP set will get you there.