Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
Encyclopedia
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is the fifth studio album by Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...

, released in the United States on March 25, 2008. It is thematically divided into two sides: the rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 of Saturday Nights and the more country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

-influenced Sunday Mornings. Vocalist and lyricist Adam Duritz
Adam Duritz
Adam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...

 states that the album "is about really wanting to mean something and failing to do it. You want your life to mean something. You want to be somebody and then what you turn out to be is so much less than what you thought you were going to be."

The Saturday Nights portion was produced by Gil Norton
Gil Norton
Gil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...

 (who also produced the band's second album, Recovering the Satellites
Recovering the Satellites
-External links:**...

), while Sunday Mornings was produced by Brian Deck
Brian Deck
Brian Deck is an American music producer and member of band Red Red Meat. He co-founded Idful Studios in 1988. Since becoming a full time producer, Deck has worked with bands and artists including Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Califone, All Smiles, Fruit Bats , Gomez, The Grates, Holopaw, Baby & Hide,...

, perhaps best known for his production work on Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...

's album The Moon and Antarctica
The Moon and Antarctica
-2004 re-release bonus tracks:Isaac Brock was dissatisfied with the final mix and the album artwork for The Moon & Antarctica following its original 2000 release....

.

To promote the album, the band performed on Private Sessions
Private Sessions
Private Sessions is a television series produced by the A&E Network featuring entertainers interviewed by host Lynn Hoffman. Most guests are musicians that perform one or more of their songs during the hour-long episode, but actors also have appeared on the show.In the United States, the show...

, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

, The Late Show with David Letterman, The View, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...

.

The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, the band's highest peak since Recovering the Satellites
Recovering the Satellites
-External links:**...

. The cover depicts the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Pre-Production

After aggressively touring for five years, lead singer Adam Duritz
Adam Duritz
Adam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...

 explained he had, emotionally and physically, reached a nadir:

Recording of "Saturday Nights"

However, Duritz acknowledged that, upon listening to "1492
1492 (song)
"1492" is the first song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. Adam Duritz announced in a voicemail message to his fans on January 12, 2008, that this song would be released as part of a digital 45 release to precede the release of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, with...

" (then an out-take from the Hard Candy sessions) that he began thinking: "There's this album here":
After initial slow progress, Duritz has mentioned that, realizing Gil Norton was scheduled to produce the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...

' record "Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace" at the beginning of March, the band agreed to reconvene with Norton for another several weeks to complete the material at hand.

Recording of "Sunday Mornings"

Despite the band initially intending to release a single album under the "Saturday Nights" concept, Duritz began contemplating a companion piece for the record as they were finalizing their existing material:
Duritz claimed the band's decision to draft Brian Deck as the producer for the "Sunday Mornings" half of the record came out of frequent Internet research:
After some initial studio sessions and brainstorming, Duritz then realized a thematic significance and cohesion of the two records:
Duritz also described the recording process for "You Can't Count On Me":
From mid-March through mid-April 2007, the band recorded "Sunday Mornings" in Berkley. After Duritz took a two-week break, the band would reconvene with their engineer James Brown to mix the "Saturday Nights" half of the record from late-April to mid-May, followed finally by over three weeks of intensive mixing of "Sunday Mornings" throughout the remainder of May 2007. By early June the album was mastered.

Release

Initially, the band planned on releasing "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings" in November 2007. However, Duritz directly requested to Geffen Records to postpone the album's release until early 2008, citing the lack of promotional preparation including the selection of a single and album photography as the reasoning to do so. The label agreed, and the album's release date was moved back to March 25, 2008.

The album was also the #1 Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

 download upon its original release, additionally mentioned while performing on The View by Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...

 (a friend of Adam Duritz
Adam Duritz
Adam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...

).

Singles

On January 16, 2008, the band released a digital single as a free download on their official website. It comprises the songs "1492
1492 (song)
"1492" is the first song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. Adam Duritz announced in a voicemail message to his fans on January 12, 2008, that this song would be released as part of a digital 45 release to precede the release of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, with...

" (as the A-side) and "When I Dream of Michelangelo" (as the B-side). The latter song appeared at the end of an episode of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 series Brothers & Sisters.

The lead commercial single, "You Can't Count on Me
You Can't Count on Me
"You Can't Count on Me" is the second single and lead commercial single released by Counting Crows from their album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.-Critical reception:...

," was released to radio on February 4, 2008. A music video for the song was released on March 20, 2008. It would go on to peak at #2 on Billboard's Adult Alternative chart (also known as the Triple A format), held off the top spot by R.E.M's "Supernatural Superserious
Supernatural Superserious
"Supernatural Superserious" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It is the first single and third track from the band's fourteenth album Accelerate and was first released on February 11, 2008 as an MP3, and February 25, 2008 on CD...

" and briefly charted on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart, peaking at #35.

While there has been no follow-up physical single releases, two album tracks have been serviced as airplay singles to the Adult Alternative format; both of which have enjoyed strong airplay. "Come Around
Come Around (Counting Crows song)
"Come Around" is the last song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.Despite never issued as a physical single release, "Come Around" was serviced as an airplay single to the Adult Alternative radio format in summer 2008...

" first charted the format in summer of 2008, and went on to top the chart the week of September 19, 2008 (it remained the #1 single for four weeks). A third track, "When I Dream of Michelangelo
When I Dream of Michelangelo
"When I Dream of Michelangelo" is the eighth track on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings ....

" (previously released as half of the "digital 45" that preceded the release of the album) would make its first chart appearance on the Adult Alternative chart in December 2008, and has since peaked at #7.

Track listing

All songs written by Adam Duritz
Adam Duritz
Adam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...

, except where indicated.

Saturday Nights
  1. "1492
    1492 (song)
    "1492" is the first song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. Adam Duritz announced in a voicemail message to his fans on January 12, 2008, that this song would be released as part of a digital 45 release to precede the release of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, with...

    " – 3:50 (produced by Norton and Steve Lillywhite
    Steve Lillywhite
    Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...

    )
  2. "Hanging Tree
    Hanging Tree (Counting Crows song)
    "Hanging Tree" is the second track on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.-Song Meaning:Duritz has cited in interviews that the angst he felt not being around his grandmother for a long time due to frequent touring, up until her passing while he was in Perth, Australia,...

    " (Duritz, Dan Vickrey
    Dan Vickrey
    Daniel Vickrey is an American musician. He has performed since 1994 as a lead guitarist in the alternative rock band, Counting Crows...

    ) – 3:50
  3. "Los Angeles" (Duritz, Ryan Adams
    Ryan Adams
    David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...

    , Dave Gibbs
    Dave Gibbs
    Dave Gibbs, born August 22, 1965, is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work in the Boston-based power-pop band, Gigolo Aunts....

    ) – 4:40
  4. "Sundays" – 4:21 (produced by Norton, Dennis Herring
    Dennis Herring
    Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...

    , and David Lowery
    David Lowery
    David Lowery is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter; he is the founder of alternative rock band, Camper Van Beethoven, and co-founder of the more traditional rock band, Cracker...

    )
  5. "Insignificant" (Duritz, Vickrey, Charles Gillingham, David Immerglück
    David Immerglück
    David Immerglück is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist in the alternative rock bands Counting Crows, Camper Van Beethoven and the Monks of Doom...

    ) – 4:14
  6. "Cowboys" – 5:22


Sunday Mornings
  1. "Washington Square
    Washington Square (Counting Crows song)
    "Washington Square" is the seventh track on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, and the track that opens the Sunday Mornings half of the album.-Song Meaning:...

    " – 4:17
  2. "On Almost Any Sunday Morning" – 2:58
  3. "When I Dream of Michelangelo
    When I Dream of Michelangelo
    "When I Dream of Michelangelo" is the eighth track on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings ....

    " (Duritz, Gillingham, Immerglück, Vickrey) – 3:10
  4. "Anyone But You" (Duritz, Gillingham, Immerglück) – 5:25
  5. "You Can't Count on Me
    You Can't Count on Me
    "You Can't Count on Me" is the second single and lead commercial single released by Counting Crows from their album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.-Critical reception:...

    " – 3:16
  6. "Le Ballet D'or
    Le Ballet D'or (Counting Crows song)
    "Le Ballet D'or" is the twelfth track on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.-Song Meaning:In an early 2008 live performance, Duritz explained the meaning of the song:...

    " (Duritz, Gillingham, Immerglück) – 5:01
  7. "On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago
    On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago
    "On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago" is the thirteenth track on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.-Song Meaning:Lead singer Adam Duritz explained the meaning of the song in an early 2008 live performance:...

    " (Duritz, Gillingham) – 4:57
  8. "Come Around
    Come Around (Counting Crows song)
    "Come Around" is the last song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.Despite never issued as a physical single release, "Come Around" was serviced as an airplay single to the Adult Alternative radio format in summer 2008...

    " (Duritz, Vickrey) – 4:31 (produced by Norton)


Dutch bonus track
  1. "Wennen aan September" (acoustic; featuring Bløf
    Bløf
    BLØF is an award-winning four-piece Dutch rock band from Vlissingen, Zeeland, the Netherlands, which has become popular regionally and internationally for its music, its frequent collaborations with bands from other parts of the world, willingness to incorporate other genres into their "sound", and...

    )


UK bonus track
  1. "Baby, I'm a Big Star Now" – 5:59


iTunes Store bonus tracks
  1. "There Goes Everything" (Duritz, Immerglück)
  2. "Come Around" (acoustic version)
  3. "Sessions" (Duritz, Gillingham, Immerglück) – 4:17
  4. "Sunday Morning L.A." (Duritz, Gillingham, Immerglück) – 5:48


The iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

 version also includes a track-by-track interview with Duritz.

Personnel

Counting Crows
  • Jim Bogios – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , sleigh bells
    Jingle bell
    A jingle bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing...

    , tambourine
    Tambourine
    The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....

    , maracas
    Maracás
    Maracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

    , vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

  • David Bryson – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Adam Duritz
    Adam Duritz
    Adam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...

     – vocals
  • Charlie Gillingham
    Charlie Gillingham
    Charlie Gillingham is best known for his performance on the Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, piano, and keyboards for the band Counting Crows...

     – keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

  • David Immergluck
    David Immerglück
    David Immerglück is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist in the alternative rock bands Counting Crows, Camper Van Beethoven and the Monks of Doom...

     – guitar
  • Millard Powers
    Millard Powers
    Avery Millard Powers III is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and grammy nominated recording engineer.-Early history:...

     – bass guitar, upright double bass
    Double bass
    The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

    , vocals
  • Dan Vickrey
    Dan Vickrey
    Daniel Vickrey is an American musician. He has performed since 1994 as a lead guitarist in the alternative rock band, Counting Crows...

     – guitar, banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

    , keyboard, vocals


Additional musicians
  • Brian Deck
    Brian Deck
    Brian Deck is an American music producer and member of band Red Red Meat. He co-founded Idful Studios in 1988. Since becoming a full time producer, Deck has worked with bands and artists including Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Califone, All Smiles, Fruit Bats , Gomez, The Grates, Holopaw, Baby & Hide,...

     – piano plucking
  • Dave Gibbs
    Dave Gibbs
    Dave Gibbs, born August 22, 1965, is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work in the Boston-based power-pop band, Gigolo Aunts....

     – vocal arrangements and backing vocals on "Los Angeles"
  • Dennis Herring
    Dennis Herring
    Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...

     – dobro, acoustic guitar on "Sundays"
  • Matt Malley – bass guitar on "Sundays"
  • Ben Mize – drums on "Los Angeles" and "Sundays"


Production
  • Brian Deck – Sunday Mornings (except "Come Around")
  • Dennis Herring
    Dennis Herring
    Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...

     – co-production on "Sundays"
  • Steve Lillywhite
    Steve Lillywhite
    Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...

     – co-production on "1492"
  • David Lowery
    David Lowery
    David Lowery is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter; he is the founder of alternative rock band, Camper Van Beethoven, and co-founder of the more traditional rock band, Cracker...

     – co-production on "Sundays"
  • Gil Norton
    Gil Norton
    Gil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...

     – Saturday Nights and "Come Around", co-production on "1492" and "Sundays"

Sales chart performance

Albums
Chart (2008) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

12
Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

3
Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...

8
Australian Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

22
Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 Albums Chart
32
Irish Albums Chart
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...

28
Dutch Top 100 5


Singles
Year Single Chart Peak
Position
2008 "You Can't Count on Me" AAA Charts 2
2008 "You Can't Count on Me" Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...

34
2008 "You Can't Count on Me" Billboard Pop 100 80
2008 "Come Around" AAA Charts 1
2009 "When I Dream of Michelangelo" AAA Charts 7
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