Angels of the Silences

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"Angels of the Silences"
Single by Counting Crows
from the album Recovering the Satellites
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1996 (1996-09-24)
RecordedLate 1996[1]
StudioThe Sound Factory (Los Angeles)[1]
GenreRock[2]
Length3:37
LabelDGC, Geffen
Songwriter(s)David Bryson, Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, Matt Malley, Ben Mize, Dan Vickrey.
Producer(s)Gil Norton
Counting Crows singles chronology
"A Murder of One"
(1995) 		"Angels of the Silences"
(1996) 		"A Long December"
(1997)

"Angels of the Silences" is a song by American alternative rock band Counting Crows. It is the lead single and second track from their second album, Recovering the Satellites (1996). The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it the highest-placing single from the album.

Background[edit]

Adam Duritz said about that song (from Storytellers):

I write quite a few songs where the sort of issue is faith–having faith, keeping faith. And this song in particular is about the difficulty in having faith in things, and finding things to have faith in, in yourself, in God, in like he said, a woman. Faith is a weird thing, it in a sense it is all about waiting. It's not actually about getting anything, you know, faith is about the wait, because once you get something there is no need anymore. So a lot about faith is just the willingness to sort of throw yourself on a fence and hang there for a while. That's a very difficult and bitter thing, you know. In this song, I keep saying the main character, *I*, I said, "All my sins, I would pay for them if I could come back to you." It's not just about finding things to believe in, it's about wanting to be able to believe in anything too. And it's about all the voices that get inside your head and whisper for you to do it or not to do it as well. And it's called "Angels of the Silences."

Composition[edit]

Similar to the content of the rest of Recovering the Satellites, the song has a heavier sound than that of Counting Crows' debut, August and Everything After, incorporating distorted guitar riffs, blearier production, and higher emphasis on percussion to create a driving and dirty instrumental. The song is in the key of A-flat Minor, with a chord structure of i-(b)II-VI-III and a tempo of 160 BPM.[3]

Track listing[edit]

CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Angels of the Silences"3:39
2."Recovering the Satellites"5:23
3."Round Here" (live)11:53

Personnel[edit]

  • David Bryson – guitar
  • Adam Duritz – lead vocals
  • Charlie Gillingham – Hammond B-3, background vocals
  • Matt Malley – electric bass
  • Ben Mize – drums
  • Dan Vickrey – guitar

Charts[edit]

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 77
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 8
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[6] 8
Scotland (OCC)[7] 30
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 55
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 41
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[10] 45
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[11] 19
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 4
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[13] 3

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States September 24, 1996 Contemporary hit radio DGC [14]
September 30, 1996 Alternative radio [15]
Japan October 2, 1996 CD Geffen [16]
United Kingdom October 7, 1996
  • CD
  • cassette
 [17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Recovering the Satellites (US CD album booklet). Counting Crows. DGC Records. 1996. DGCD-24975.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "Angels of the Silences". Amazon. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  3. ^ "Counting Crows: Angels of the Silences". Youtube. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9720." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9924." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  7. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "Counting Crows – Angels of the Silences". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  9. ^ "Counting Crows: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  11. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  12. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  13. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  14. ^ "Selected New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1164. September 20, 1996. p. 43.
  15. ^ "Be on the Lookout". Gavin Report. No. 2123. September 20, 1996. p. 28.
  16. ^ "エンジェルズ・オブ・ザ・サイレンシズ | カウンティング・クロウズ" [Angels of the Silences | Counting Crows] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 5, 1996. p. 37.
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