Artist: The Gaslight Anthem
Album: B-Sides
Source: Spotify
Pre-listening Notes: The Gaslight Anthem is one of my favorite bands going right now. This is a collection of B-sides and outtakes from singles that were released between The '59 Sound and American Slang. If you aren't familiar, they are classic rock worshiping pop-punk dudes. If you are, then you already know and/or have already heard most of these songs.
Initial Reaction: It opens with She Loves You (not The Beatles song, Dad). A slower paced song, with epic sing-a-longs. It's a usual TGA ballad, this could easily have been on a record.
Random Thoughts: Acoustic version of The '59 Sound. It's not as good as the electric, original. But, it gets the job done. The next two songs are covers. A live version of the Pearl Jam song, State of Love and Trust followed by The Rolling Stones song Tumbling Dice from the Record Store Day single they did a few years back. The State of Love and Trust cover sort of does the original justice, but I just don't think has the same passion that Pearl Jam gives it. They fare better on the Stones cover. It could be the studio setting, instead of live. The Queen of Lower Chelsea is one of my favorite TGA songs. I like the different sound to the acoustic version. Again, generally acoustic versions will never replace the electric versions of songs I love, but it's nice to have different versions to listen to occasionally. Another cover, this one of a Fake Problems song. I am not familiar with the original, so I'm just going to say this version is better. Acoustic version of one of my favorites off of The '59 Sound, Great Expectations, is a much better song for this format. Another cover of a band I have never heard previously, so see my comment on the Fake Problems song. This song is actually really good (I raised my final grade by a half point for this song). Boxer is a better acoustic song than American Slang. And it ends with a final cover which is great.
Final Reaction: This is a great collection of songs, mostly the covers. My only real complaint would be that the acoustic versions don't quite live up to the zing of the originals. They mostly seem like showcases of Brian Fallon's voice. But, any fan would be perfectly happy with these songs alongside the originals.
Final Grade: 8.5/10
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