IN REVIEW: The Gaslight Anthem - "The B-Sides"

Remember way back in early January when I expressed disdain over the idea of the "greatest hits" album in this day and age? I opined in that piece that a collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks would make more sense for most fans of a band. Like clockwork, here's a collection of Gaslight Anthem B-sides, although its presentation proves just a bit misleading. Allow me to explain.

Handwritten, Gaslight Anthem's fourth album, was a breakthrough success back in 2012; spurred by the strength of singles 45 and Here Comes My Man, it got the band a slew of new fans (and lost a few hipsters). The thing is, that was their first album on a major label; their previous two albums were released on indie outfit Side One Dummy, who's responsible for the release of this compilation.

So, yes, this is a collection of B-sides. However, prefacing the title with "the" implies completion, so as to say "these are all of Gaslight Anthem's B-sides". That's simply not true; it's merely the B-sides for singles Gaslight Anthem released while they were signed to Side One Dummy, so as to say it roughly covers 2008-2011 (or three years out of their eight year existence). Nothing done before or after this contract sees consideration.

That said, The B-Sides is a decent enough collection of tunes that gives a handful of great songs a proper home. Their 2010 Record Store Day release, comprised of original track She Loves You and a spirited cover of The Rolling Stones' Tumbling Dice are the set's highlights, although they're closely followed by a pair of acoustic covers; Fake Problems' Songs for Teenagers (from a 2011 split) and Robert Bradley's Once Upon a Time (a bonus track from The '59 Sound) are both heartfelt and capable versions of the original counterparts.

Aside from those four songs, however, all we get are six inferior acoustic versions of their own songs, and a live version of Pearl Jam's State of Love and Trust, which they'd already recorded as part of their iTunes Session EP in 2011. So, while these songs were all technically B-Sides, it's perhaps more accurate to call this a collection of acoustic demos.

At the end of the day, diehards and collectors will get at least marginal enjoyment out of The B-Sides, and there isn't much you can do when the rights to a band's songs are spread out over multiple labels. Still, it doesn't feel like a proper B-sides compilation because it's missing so many really good B-sides, be it covers (Johnny Cash's God's Gonna Cut You Down, Tom Petty's You Got Lucky, Nirvana's Sliver, Bon Iver's Skinny Love, etc.) or originals (Blue Dahlia, Hold You Up, Misery, etc.).

It would have been nice if all of their labels got together and agreed to put out a good representation of the band's B-sides, but that inevitably would have cost more in licensing fees than it's ever destined to make. Regardless, as it stands it's a marginally acceptable compilation that, when picked apart and combined with the other songs I mentioned above, fills in The Gaslight Anthem's blanks more effectively and enjoyably. Plus, it gives us something to do while we wait for album #5, which should see release this year.

January 28, 2014 • Side One Dummy

Highlights She Loves You • Tumbling Dice • Songs for Teenagers