The Year 2021 in Music

Continuing with our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through Friday. Today we share music reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.

(The 2006 album The Open Door by Evanescence opens our look in 2021 album reviews).

We looked into the Evanescence album The Open Door in September, marking an anniversary for the second studio album for the band. Amy Lee leads the vocals for Evanescence, looking into the connection Lee had with a former love interest as well as the fans of the band. The album looks further into early life experiences, loss and the finding of meaning through the course of life that the band explores with us through the experience.

(We reviewed the 1996 album Recovering the Satellites by Counting Crows in October).

The Recovering the Satellites album by Counting Crows responds to unexpected success and the adulation that, like with Evanescence in dealing with their debut album, offered some emotional feedback to the fanbase. The interpersonal for the Counting Crows and their lead singer and lyricist Adam Duritz, after acknowledging the fans appreciation, tends less with a romantic relationship lost than to an eagerness to connect on an individual level. Recovering the Satellites, like with The Open Door, seeks direction in the emotional realm.

(August brought us the review of the 1996 album Dust by Screaming Trees).

The 1996 album Dust followed 1992’s Sweet Oblivion for Screaming Trees, a band that in my humble opinion deserves a higher level of acclaim than they physically achieved. The thematic references to biblical passages in speaking to contemplations of death. Whether the band was thinking of directing their aspirational reach personally, within the genre of grunge music they played, or the death of Kurt Cobain as with the song Dying Days, there is a gloom that pervades the album. That experience, in all its depth, feels like the point of the album Dust.

(Matt Lynn Digital shared the David Foster produced album The Christmas Album, from 1993, in December of 2021).

The Christmas Album of 1993 by David Foster featured songs performed with stars, including Vanessa Williams, Céline Dion, Natalie Cole and Wynonna Judd. The album’s mood combines secular and religious feeling with a respectful admiration for the season underpinning the songs offered.

(March brought the Matt Lynn Digital sharing of the album Ten by Pearl Jam).

A hit album of the grunge genre characteristic of the early 1990s is Pearl Jam‘s 1991 album Ten. Grunge was the style of the day, as was a confessional storytelling notion that included homelessness, divorce, remarriage, stepparents and emotional health concerns for school age kids. Coping with notions of bullying or scorn, the song Jeremy takes perhaps the harshest response to the trauma of any song on the album.

(The post-punk, alternative stylings of R.E.M. with the 1991 album Out of Time).

The post-punk, alternative sound of the band R.E.M. were permitted a spotlight with the album Out of Time in February of 2021. The composition and sequencing of the songs with Out of Time were artfully done to offer the careful listener a crafted argument against themes strictly of sex and violence. The album speaks to notions of self-defining depth in love, political awareness, relationships with parents and other intimates, and differing perspectives on pregnancy.

(The 1986 album Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys was reviewed by Matt Lynn Digital in November of 2021).

The debut album Licensed to Ill for Beastie Boys fused hip hop and hard rock when created in advanced of the album’s November of 1986 release. The incorporation of the hard rock influence with sampling conventions in hip hop made for a successful launching of a sounds that already existed separately, broadening an appeal for audiences that sensed they wanted a sound while waiting for the proper audio clues. Licensed to Ill would become the first #1 album that also was in the hip hop genre.

(Matt Lynn Digital offered a look into the 1985 album Scarecrow by John Mellencamp in July of 2021).

John Mellencamp offered a look into small town America with the 1985 album Scarecrow. The social concern that came through for Mellencamp with this album looked into taking advantage of farmers making a living on their land, modest living outside of steel mills, and the strong connection Mellencamp himself felt for the heartland of the United States.

(The 1982 self-titled album Asia by Asia earned a look by Matt Lynn Digital in March of 2021).

Asia formed as a super band formed from parts of King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes and Buggles to create an album named after the new band itself, namely Asia. The interplay of Heat of the Moment and Only Time Will Tell in offering an apology for poor behavior and a realization of lost love announce a thematic direction for the 1982 album. The notion of love’s sting later drifts into questions of class in military service, feeling seen in professional and relationship pursuits, and finally growing through experience to see life more fully.

(Matt Lynn Digital offered a look into the 1971 James Taylor album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon in January of 2021).

A calm, understated style greeted our ears with the 1971 album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon by James Taylor. You’ve Got a Friend remains a meaningful song for me from the album, with the song itself originally being written and recorded by Carole King. The song reflects on the practical quality nature of friendship, trust and the permission to be vulnerable in a safe space. This album resonates for me on these terms.

(The 1971 album Aqualung by Jethro Tull was reviewed by Matt Lynn Digital in May of 2021).

The album Aqualung by Jethro Tull was released in March of 1971. The album itself questions the orthodoxy of formal religion while maintaining a belief in God. Notions of justice are questioned through the music, as well as the role of humanity in the conduct of those purposes. The questions raised in this album are quite relevant to the human experience.

(The 1968 album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs by Chick Corea was reviewed shortly after the musician’s death in February of 2021).

The Chick Corea album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs released in 1968. Matt Lynn Digital looked into this album shortly after Mr. Corea’s death in February of 2021. The album itself offers five songs of Jazz, which is the style of the pianist played in.

Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.

Matt – Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Counting Crows and the 1996 album ‘Recovering the Satellites’

The second studio album of adult alternative pop rock band Counting Crows released on October 15, 1996. Recovering the Satellites offers what Stephen Thomas Erlewine for All Music called “a self-consciously challenging response to their unexpected success” with the bands debut album August and Everything After. Today we look into the songs of Recovering the Satellites on the heels of the 25th anniversary of the album’s release.

(Recovering the Satellites is the second studio album for the band Counting Crows. The album itself was first released twenty-five years ago yesterday, on Tuesday, October 15th, 1996).

Catapult open Recovering the Satellites, having been written by Adam Duritz, David Bryson, Charlie Gillingham, Matt Malley, Dan Vickrey and Ben Mize. Much raw emotion present in the lyrics, speaking of insecurity while looking for emotional and personal direction.

Angels of the Silences was the opening single from the album, getting into the notions of success felt after the success of the opening album for Counting Crows. While it’s possible to interpret the lyrics as a statement to fans and success, the questioning done with the lyrics tend to work better if considering a relationship with a love interest.

(The cover for the single Angels of the Silences, which supported the Counting Crows album Recovering the Satellites).

Daylight Fading was another single released in support of Recovering the Satellites, with writing credit going to Duritz, Gillingham and Vickrey. There’s a definite yearning for the romantic connection of love and understanding of private moments, which doesn’t quite arise for lyricist Adam Duritz with this track.

(The cover for the single Daylight Fading, which supported the Counting Crows album Recovering the Satellites).

I’m Not Sleeping reinforces the notion of longing for love and peace through drifting to dreams when sleeping. There’s a despondent note to the perspective with the need for answers elevating both from the accumulated feeling of the album plus within the song itself.

Goodnight Elisabeth is a lullaby written by Adam Duritz for a legitimate love interest that Duritz had during the band’s success during the early to mid-1990s. The song is one of a love lost, with city names serving as signposts for places where different perspectives of loss and hopefulness manifest themselves.

Children in Bloom offers an additional slice of sadness in emotionally navigating the confusing prairies of flowering of adulthood and grown-up relationships. The notion of seeking, nurturing and making those are the focus of waking up, emotionally, to putting the singer’s self out into the world.

(From left, Dan Mize, Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, Matt Malley, Dan Vickrey and David Bryson).

The seventh of fourteen songs on the Retrieving the Satellites album is Have You Seen Me Lately? Songfacts confirms that the “song is about [Adam Duritz‘] strange trip into celebrity,” wherein Duritz had difficulty dating other celebrities. Looking at things from the perspective of those the Counting Crows‘ singer dated, I can confess that the feelings underneath the lyrics are a bit bemusing.

Miller’s Angels offers a bit of a subdued ballad, leading the album with more than 6.5-minutes of writing from Duritz and Dan Vickrey. The song’s length might be a bit long for the musicality and lyrical quality brought forward of looking for absolutes in a world where finding comfort there seems like a losing effort.

Another Horsedreamer’s Blues brings back the notion of a lost faithfulness in things and life, as we raised when pointing out the notion of unexpected success in the opening of this review. Mixing the notion of a lost love, Margery, with the notion of betting on horses seems likes a mixing of messy means of seeking the stable love that, still, that Duritz is seeking through the songs of Recovering the Satellites.

(From left, Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, David Bryson, Matt Malley, Dan Mize and Dan Vickrey).

Recovering the Satellites, the tenth song and title track of this Counting Crows album, is among the clearer songs for the album in addressing the notion of coping with the emotional fallout of success, access to relationships and lifestyle, and the cycle people see of a rising star that eventually returns from where it started; or worse. The song does feel to me to be focusing strictly on relationship questions.

Monkey relates something that, in 2006, Adam Duritz called “a misguided love song.” The point was that sometimes women can be unpleasant, yet more to the point that there are “girls who are actually worth it.” So yes, there is optimism in the sea of angst that is Recovering the Satellites.

Mercury begins a relatively clear look into a romantic relationship where Duritz‘ love interest is perhaps captured with understanding through the song’s lyrics. The singer seems to capture the absence of consistency and the responses he brings to the confusion that results. The empathy that closes the sentiment shows a sweetness that I appreciate.

(A Long December was the second of three singles released in support of Counting Crows album Recovering the Satellites).

A Long December is perhaps the most complete song on Recovering the Satellites. The place of emotion that inspired the song, let alone the clarity of the metaphor, pain and empathy delivers something whole from a place that was clearly anything but complete. The fundamental optimism and clarity of growth and memory combines with a musicality, lyricism and sentiment that shines above anything else on the album, in my humble opinion.

Walkaways steps up with an album closing sound every bit the equal of A Long December from an individual perspective. The structure is simple, acoustic and brings a contemplative feel to the journey that album has delivered. The album’s message of success faster than expected resonates. The notion of wanting the long lasting, legitimate notion of aspiring for self-actualization in love, success, quality feelings are all underpinnings for what I feel the album says. With simple lyrics and music on Walkaways, the writing of Adam Duritz and Dan Vickrey for this song meet the mark.

Matt – Saturday, October 16, 2021