As The Gaslight Anthem release their sophomore album, The ’59 Sound, one thing is inevitable. People are bound to draw comparisons between the New Jersey punk rockers and fellow New Jersey stalwart, Bruce Springsteen.
Emulating Bruce Springsteen Lyrics : Storytelling
Very few can tell a compelling and heartfelt story like “The Boss”. Telling tales of melancholy, tinged with optimism in the same vein as Springsteen is by no means an easy feat. Yet, The Gaslight Anthem’s singer and guitarist, Brian Fallon, conjures up scenarios of turmoil and escapism worthy of an appearance on Springsteen’s pivotal album, Born to Run.
Fallon’s majestic storytelling is no more evident than on, “Meet Me by the River’s Edge”; The Gaslight Anthem’s very own narrative of fleeing one’s surroundings, reminiscent of “Thunder Road” or “Born to Run”. The scene is expertly set with the heart-breaking lyrics, “We’ve been burned by all our fears/Just growing up around here”.
The Gaslight Anthem Blues
The ’59 Sound offers an array of blues for the listener to reflect upon. Nowhere is this more apparent than on numbers such as, “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and “Here’s Looking at You, Kid”. While the blues guitar work from Fallon and fellow guitarist, Alex Rosamilla, exudes the raw emotion that would make Eric Clapton proud, the true shining light of these songs is Fallon’s voice.
“Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” sees Fallon reach the pinnacle of his singing abilities, thus far. He ditches the punk rock style vocals that were adopted on The Gaslight Anthem’s debut album, Sink or Swim. Now Fallon overflows with feeling, as he embraces a soft, tender and soulful voice.
Music History With The Gaslight Anthem
Nevertheless, the true beauty of The ’59 Sound lies not in the exquisitely crafted lyrics, nor the soulful singing, but in the nostalgia that the record provides. The journey through time begins straight away, as the listener’s aural pleasures begin with a needle scratching on a vinyl record on the opening track, “Great Expectations”.
It is clear that The Gaslight Anthem boys respect the history of music. In fact, the album title alone is a reference to the tragic “day the music died”. Aside from that, a number of great musicians are alluded to in the lyrics, notably Elvis Presley and Tom Petty.
However, the nicest touch is on, “Miles Davis and the Cool”, a song about how people would act, if only they opened themselves up to the charm of great music, specifically Miles Davis and cool jazz. The song title obviously makes a blinding reference to the jazz legend’s 1957 classic album, Birth of the Cool, believed to be one of the early albums of the cool jazz movement.
The ’59 Sound marches along nicely with the rhythm section provided by Benny Horowitz on drums and Alex Levine on bass guitar. The drums are often brought to the fore and offer an element of defiance, when coupled with the sadness that consumes many of the songs.
The bass, however, is at times left somewhat anonymous, but on the songs where it can be made out with ease, with “Old White Lincoln”, for example, the listener is allowed to revel in the fine bass work that Levine showcases.
It would be fair to say that The ’59 Sound is one of the best releases of 2008. But then again, if life were fair The Gaslight Anthem would be playing in front of packed stadiums.
Album Rating: 8.5 out of 10
