Album Reviews

- by Christophe Vanheygen

Time flies. That’s definitely something you realize once your favorite punk rock albums start celebrating their 10^th, 20^th or even 25^th anniversary.

I still remember that one show The Gaslight Anthem did in a club in Brussels, sometime early 2009. Frank Turner and Polar Bear Club were the support acts. Epic line up, isn’t it? Some 600 people were there to witness the birth of something cool (get it?).

Anyway, that was the first European tour they did after Brian Fallon and co released ‘The ’59 Sound’.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of that record and for the occasion the band not only reformed to play the songs, they also released ‘The ’59 Sound Sessions’.

Now, as a – ahem – “musician” myself, it’s really fun to hear how songs evolved from writing to recording. Choruses changed, or parts of songs got lifted out of one tune and turned into a brand new one. Especially on the first listen some of the songs really take you by surprise because you expect to hear something you know so well.

Now, what makes this album a must-have for anyone who fell in love with ‘The ’59 Sound’ as much as I did, is the 60-page booklet that comes with the deluxe version.

Yeah, the songs are cool. But apart from the cover of the folk traditional ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ and the unreleased tracks ‘Placeholder’ and ‘Our Father’s Sons’, the music offers rather slim pickings.

Let’s just call it a collector’s item. Something for the fans.

If you’re not into The Gaslight Anthem (yet) or if you don’t know the band (yet), it’s better to pick up ‘Sink or Swim’ or ‘The ’59 Sound’ before you cough up your working class, blue collar dough for this one.

Track listing:

1. The ’59 Sound
2. God’s Gonna Cut You Down
3. Patient Ferris Wheel
4. Miles Davis & The Cool
5. Placeholder
6. High Lonesome
7. Great Expectations
8. Our Father’s Sons
9. Film Noir