The '59 Sound
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The '59 Sound is the second studio album by American rock band The Gaslight Anthem, released on August 19, 2008 on SideOneDummy Records.
In December 2008, eMusic named The '59 Sound the best album of 2008.[1] NME rated it as the 47th best album of the year.[2] The title track was number 62 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.[3]
In July 2009, following Bruce Springsteen's guest appearances with the band at Glastonbury and Hyde Park, sales of the album doubled.[4]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Absolutepunk.net | (92%)[5] |
Allmusic | [6] |
NME | (9/10)[7] |
Pitchfork Media | (8.6/10)[8] |
Punknews.org | [9] |
Rocklouder! | [10] |
The Tune | [11] |
Punknews.org gave the album a very positive review, stating: "The ’59 Sound offers more poetically told tales of love, dancing, driving and girls called Maria, set against the quaint American rock’n’roll backdrop that band have been constructing throughout their previous two releases."
Allmusic gave the album a mostly positive review and concluded that "If Fallon often comes off as a youthful Springsteen wannabe on The '59 Sound, he also happens to be pretty good at it."
Absolutepunk.net raved about the album, saying that it's "Packed full of vivid imagery and storytelling that resembles "Born to Run"/"Darkness on the Edge of Town"-era Springsteen, "The '59 Sound" is an impeccable work of punk-rock art where each listen offers something new, never taking any hint of imagination or personal effect away from the listener; this is the album The Killers wanted to make with "Sam's Town" but were unsuccessful at."
Recording
Regarding the differences between The '59 Sound and their first full-length album, Sink or Swim, guitarist Alex Rosamilia noted that, "For Sink or Swim, we had a week or so and what we brought to the studio. For [this] last record we had about 5 weeks and quite the arsenal of gear to tear through. Which did lead to a couple ideas I don't think we would've had otherwise."[12]
Release
The album was released on August 19, 2008 and peaked on the Billboard 200 at #70. [13] A 7" vinyl single was released on July 22, featuring the title track and the song "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" on the B-side. "Old White Lincoln" was released as the 2nd single on December 1, 2008 in the UK. Opening track "Great Expectations" was released as the 3rd single in the UK on March 23, 2009.
Influences
Allmusic described the album's sound as a "heartland rock version of Social Distortion." [14]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz, except where noted[15]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Great Expectations" | 3:05 |
2. | "The '59 Sound" | 3:09 |
3. | "Old White Lincoln" | 3:23 |
4. | "High Lonesome" | 3:05 |
5. | "Film Noir" | 3:29 |
6. | "Miles Davis & The Cool" | 4:11 |
7. | "The Patient Ferris Wheel" | 3:34 |
8. | "Casanova, Baby!" | 2:57 |
9. | "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" | 3:30 |
10. | "Meet Me by the River's Edge" | 3:19 |
11. | "Here's Looking at You, Kid" | 3:36 |
12. | "The Backseat" | 4:14 |
Total length: | 41:32 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "Once Upon a Time" (Robert Bradley; originally performed by Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise) | 3:58 |
Total length: | 45:30 |
Personnel
- Band[15]
- Brian Fallon – lead vocals, guitar
- Alex Rosamilia – guitar, backing vocals, Wollensack
- Alex Levine – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Benny Horowitz – drums, tubular bells, tambourine, garbage cans, chains
- Additional vocalists[15]
- Chris Wollard
- Joe Sirois
- Dicky Barrett
- Hollie Fallon
- Joe Sib
- Kim Yarbrough
- Gia Ciambotti
- Production[15]
- Ted Hutt – record producer, mix engineer
- Ryan Mall – assistant producer and mix engineer
- Tom Baker – audio mastering
- Ryan Mall – samples
- Lisa Johnson – photographs
- Jonas Kleiner – art direction, design
References
- ^ The Best Albums of 2008, eMusic
- ^ NME's Top 50 Albums of 2008 - Stereogum.com (originally printed in the December 11, 2008 issue of NME magazine)
- ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved 2009-01-12
- ^ [NME, 11 July 2009, pg. 37, "Speed Dial: Brian Fallon"]
- ^ Absolutepunk.net review
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ NME. 23 August 2008, p.47.
- ^ Pitchfork Media review
- ^ Punknews.org
- ^ Rocklouder! review
- ^ The Tune review
- ^ Stereokill.net >> Blog Archive >> Interview: Alex Rosamilia (The Gaslight Anthem)
- ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-gaslight-anthem/chart-history/
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-59-sound-r1387980/review
- ^ a b c d The '59 Sound (Media notes). Los Angeles: SideOneDummy Records. 2008.
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External links
- The '59 Sound at Amazon