B-SIDES,THE |

Recording information: 91.5 Radio New York Studios, KEXP FM, Seattle, WA (05/2010); Cutting Room Studios, New York, NY (05/2010); Mad Dog Studios, Los Angeles, CA (05/2010); Sage and Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA (05/2010); The Magic Shop, New York, NY (05/2010); Webster Hall, New York, NY (05/2010); 91.5 Radio New York Studios, KEXP FM, Seattle, WA (05/22/2010); Cutting Room Studios, New York, NY (05/22/2010); Mad Dog Studios, Los Angeles, CA (05/22/2010); Sage and Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA (05/22/2010); The Magic Shop, New York, NY (05/22/2010); Webster Hall, New York, NY (05/22/2010); 91.5 Radio New York Studios, KEXP FM, Seattle, WA (07/24/2012); Cutting Room Studios, New York, NY (07/24/2012); Mad Dog Studios, Los Angeles, CA (07/24/2012); Sage and Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA (07/24/2012); The Magic Shop, New York, NY (07/24/2012); Webster Hall, New York, NY (07/24/2012).
On their studio albums, the Gaslight Anthem have worked out a kind of perfect ratio of earnestness and enthusiasm as they breathe new life into the rugged heartland rock of greats like Bruce Springsteen. With The B-Sides, fans are treated to another side of the band with a collection of live tracks, acoustic versions, covers, and unused studio cuts. While you could always describe the band's sound as raw, there's a sense of practiced composure on their albums that's refreshingly absent from the acoustic home recordings of "The Queen of Lower Chelsea" and "Boxer." Elsewhere, the Gaslight Anthem take a stab at the songs of some of their influences, offering up a ripping live rendition of Pearl Jam's "State of Love and Trust" alongside a cool and loose cover of the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice," showing that there's a lot more to their sound than their Garden State roots. The collection's most stirring moments come from recordings culled from the American Slang sessions. Album-opener "She Loves You" (originally a bonus track on the deluxe edition of American Slang) substitutes drive for a slow burn as the band plays around with atmosphere, creating a track that feels oddly ethereal despite its marching backbeat. One of that album's more stirring numbers, the titular "American Slang," also makes an appearance on the album, with a stripped-down arrangement that pares the song down to just acoustic guitar and vocals, transforming the song into a more plaintive, downbeat number as it exposes the raw emotions that live at the song's center. Changes like this provide a new angle to the songs of the band's strongest albums, making The B-Sides a collection that Gaslight Anthem fans will want to dig into and explore. ~ Gregory Heaney

• Handling Note: **Please allow an additional 72 hours for this item's shipment.**
• Internal ID: JITRE
• Genre: Rock
• Format: CD
• Released: 2014-01-28
• Format Detail: CD