IN REVIEW: The Gaslight Anthem

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

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Sam Roberts Band

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider . W...

IN REVIEW: Rancid - "Trouble Maker"

As far as punk rock goes, it's hard to name a hotter hot streak than the trio of records Rancid cranked out between 1995 and 2000; the star making ...And Out Come the Wolves , the far-reaching Life Won't Wait and their balls-to-the-wall second self-titled album solidly positioned Rancid as leaders of the second generation of punk. It also preceded a period of slow progression, as Rancid would take eleven years to release their next three records. By the time ...Honor Is All We Know came in 2014, many fans (myself included) had to wonder whether or not this was the end of the road. Such concerns are handily dealt with on the closing track of the standard edition of their ninth record, the positively punishing This Is Not the End . Well, okay then, that's sorted. Now, what of this new record? What do we make of the use of their original logo on the cover, a logo that hasn't graced a Rancid record in 25 years? Is this a throwback to the band's heyday, a new begin...

SOUND BITES

Search This Blog