The '59 Sound is the second studio album by The Gaslight Anthem, released on August 19, 2008 on SideOneDummy Records.

In December 2008, eMusic named The '59 Sound the best album of 2008. NME rated it as the 47th best album of the year. (originally printed in the December 11, 2008 issue of NME magazine) The title track was number 62 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008."". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved 2009-01-12

In July 2009, following Bruce Springsteen's guest appearances with the band at Glastonbury and Hyde Park, sales of the album increased by 200%.

The song "Here's Looking At You, Kid" was used in the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Tooth".

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 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."

Release

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.

The album was simultaneously released on vinyl. The Green Hell Exclusive was limited to 300 copies. The second most limited color, white (with only 500 copies pressed) completely sold out in its first few hours of availability on Vinyl Collective's pre-order page. The third most limited color, blue (limited to 1,000 copies) has also sold out. The album was also pressed on the standard black (see for more info on the LP's color pressings).

Singles

* "The '59 Sound" (July 22, 2008)

** b/w: "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues"

* "Old White Lincoln" (December 1, 2008)

** b/w: "The '59 Sound" (live acoustic on KEXP)

* "Great Expectations" (March 23, 2009)

** b/w: "Miles Davis & The Cool" (live acoustic on KEXP) / "Great Expectations" (live acoustic at Y-ROCK)

* "The '59 Sound" (June 15, 2009)

** b/w: "State of Love and Trust" (live Pearl Jam cover) / "We Came to Dance" (live, from Sink or Swim)

* "The Backseat" (September 21, 2009)

** digital download-only track

Credits

* Brian Fallon - vocals, guitars

* Alex Rosamilia - guitar, vocals, Wollensack

* Alex Levine - bass, vocals

* Benny Horowitz - drums, percussion, tubular bells, tambourine, garbage cans, chains

Song references

The album's booklet features complete lyrics. The following list of references are uncredited in the liner notes.

* "Great Expectations" contains the lines "It's funny how the night moves / Humming a song from 1962" from "Night Moves" by Bob Seger.

* "Old White Lincoln" contains the line "I lit a cigarette on a parking meter" from "Talkin' World War III Blues" by Bob Dylan. Also contains the line "Baby darling, we will be, in the cold cold ground." from the Tom Waits' song "Cold, Cold Ground". It also contains a reference to Waits' "Ol' 55".

* "High Lonesome" contains the lines "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hands" and a variation of the following line about "a boy who looks like Elvis" from "Round Here" by Counting Crows; the line "There were 'Southern Accents' on the radio" refers to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1985 song and album of the same name; the line "At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet" is taken from "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen. The title of the song likely refers to a phrase coined by John Cohen.

* "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" contains a play on the line "But not me, baby" from "Yer So Bad" by Tom Petty. Petty is also name-dropped in the lyrics. The title of the song is also a novel by Tom Robbins.

* "Meet Me by the River's Edge" contains the line "No surrender, my Bobby Jean" and a variation of Springsteen's line "No retreat" from the songs "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean," found on Bruce Springsteen's 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.. In addition, it also includes the phrase "wash these sins," a reference to Springsteen's Racing in the Street from the 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town.

* "The Patient Ferris Wheel" refers to "broken heroes," which also appears in Springsteen's 1975 hit, Born to Run, from the album of the same name.

*"Miles and the Cool" has references in almost every verse. Second verse "put on your diamond soled shoes" alludes to the Paul Simon track "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" from the album Graceland. The following plea to "Climb down from your window" echoes Dylan's single "Can You Please Crawl out your window". The Third Verse brings a rock allusion in almost every word starting with "Poor Mr. Pitiful" which hints to Warren Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" but more likely drawn from the Otis Redding/Steve Cropper song "Mr Pitiful" from the album The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads GA next phrase "I can't Turn you Lose" is also the title of a Redding tune which has been covered by many. "Your Daddy's aim is true" from the third line references Elvis Costello's "Allison" off his first album My Aim is True and the next line "she never understood that it ain't no good" is taken verbatim from Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" off the album Highway 61 Revisited.

* "Casanova, Baby!" contains the line "Twistin' the night away" from the Sam Cooke song of the same name. Cooke's music is a known influence on the album, as stated by lead singer Brian Fallon. It also contains the line "It's past quarter to three, and it's past the midnight hour", references to the #1 hit by Gary U.S. Bonds (and frequently played in concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) and Wilson Pickett's 'In the Midnight Hour'. An allusion to Pickett's "Mustang Sally" can also be heard therein. It also contains the line "dead man's town" which appeared in Springsteen's song "Born in the U.S.A." and "slip this skin" which appears in the Springsteen song "Streets of Philadelphia."

* The title of "Here's Looking At You, Kid" refers to a quote from the 1942 film Casablanca.

* The album's lyrics also contain literary references. "Great Expectations" references the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The line "I sat by my bed side with papers and poetry about Estella" refers to the protagonist's love interest in Great Expectations. In addition to this the line "In a prison cell, where we spent those nights." is probably a reference to the Pip's nights spent with convict Magwitch during the novel. The line "I hope we don't hear Marley's Chains we forged in life" in "The '59 Sound" is a reference to the ghost of Jacob Marley from Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

References

Category:The Gaslight Anthem albums

Category:2008 albums

it:The '59 Sound

Artist/Band Information

The Gaslight Anthem are an American rock and roll band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, consisting of Brian Fallon (lead vocals, guitar), Alex Rosamilia (guitar, backing vocals), Alex Levine (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Benny Horowitz (drums, percussion, tambourine). They released their first album, Sink or Swim, on XOXO Records in May 2007, and their second album, The '59 Sound, on SideOneDummy Records in August 2008. The band released their third album, American Slang, on June 15, 2010.

History

Pre-Gaslight

Before The Gaslight Anthem, drummer Benny Horowitz and guitarist Alex Rosamilia played in The Killing Gift. Prior to The Killing Gift, Benny Horowitz was the drummer of The Low End Theory, Full Circle Swing, and Dilemma. He was also responsible for booking several punk rock and hardcore shows at the Manville Elks lodge in Manville, New Jersey.

Front man Brian Fallon played in This Charming Man with Michael Volpe on lead guitar, Christopher Clementi on bass and Mike LeBoeuf on drums prior to forming The Gaslight Anthem.

Brian Fallon also played lead guitar, and lead vocals in Cincinnati Rail Tie, prior to forming The Gaslight Anthem.

Sink or Swim (2007–2008)

The Gaslight Anthem's full length debut Sink or Swim was well received by both independent music review sites such as punknews.org, AbsolutePunk.net, and more mainstream publications such as Spin.com.

A 4-song EP titled Señor and the Queen was released on February 5, 2008 through Sabot Productions. A double-7" vinyl version of the EP was also released on standard black vinyl, as well as limited edition pressings on clear vinyl, red vinyl (500 copies), and white vinyl (100 copies).

The '59 Sound (2008–2009)

The band's second full-length album, The '59 Sound, was released on August 19, 2008 through SideOneDummy Records.Conoley, Ben., Exclaim!, September 2008. The record was produced by Ted Hutt and features Hot Water Music's Chris Wollard and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones's Dicky Barrett as guests. The album was voted the #1 album of 2008 by eMusic, and received a high rating from Pitchfork Media.

In 2008, the band covered "God's Gonna Cut You Down" for the Johnny Cash tribute album All Aboard! A Tribute to Johnny Cash. In 2009, the band's song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" was featured as part of the soundtrack of the video game Skate 2 and Skate It. The band sometimes covers Tom Petty's "American Girl" and "Refugee" live.

In 2009, The Gaslight Anthem supported Social Distortion on their European tour and was announced as a support act for Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park Calling.

At England's Glastonbury Festival on June 27, 2009, Bruce Springsteen joined the band on stage during their performance of "The '59 Sound." Brian Fallon later contributed to Springsteen's headlining set, performing the song "No Surrender." At London's Hard Rock Calling festival on June 28, the band was again joined by Springsteen on stage and again performed "The '59 Sound." As with Glastonbury, Fallon contributed to Springsteen's headlining set and joined him in singing "No Surrender".

On August 6, 2008 the band made British music history becoming the first band to ever appear on the cover of Kerrang! magazine without the magazine having previously written about them. Kerrang! called them "The best new band you'll hear in 2008." In addition, the band has received airplay on BBC6 Music, and embarked on a UK & European tour in November. In August 2009, The Gaslight Anthem won the 2009 Kerrang! Award for "Best International Newcomer".

On August 7, 2009, The Gaslight Anthem performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and played at Pinkpop on June 1, 2009.

The band performed at the UK's Reading and Leeds Festivals in late August, and has finished an extensive North American headline tour set for September and October. Murder By Death, Frank Turner, The Loved Ones, Jesse Malin, The Measure (SA), and Ninja Gun performed in the support slots on this tour.

American Slang (2010–present)

The Gaslight Anthem entered the studio once again with producer Ted Hutt to record their second album for SideOneDummy Records.

The band's new album, entitled American Slang, was released on June 14, 2010 in the UK and June 15, 2010 in the USA . According to frontman Brian Fallon, the songwriting on the new album is different than on the band's previous efforts.

In addition to 5 UK dates, the band have been confirmed to play at festivals including Bonnaroo Festival, The Austin City Limits Music Festival, Southside Festival, Hurricane Festival, Hard Rock Calling, Rock Werchter, Reading and Leeds Festivals. and Øyafestivalen.

Details of North American tour dates were announced on April 27, 2010 on a new website for American Slang ..

Description and influences

The Gaslight Anthem's music embraces many elements of the Jersey Shore sound. Brian Fallon's fondness for Springsteen, a significant influence on their music, is a fact celebrated by fans and critics alike. Representative of such views, one critic wrote, "The Gaslight Anthem are like something out of speculative fiction: this is what pop music would be if Springsteen hadn't listened to his producer, let The Ramones record Hungry Heart, and launched the C.B.G.B.'ers into megastardom.""Review of 'Senor and the Queen.'" .

Joe Strummer has often been spoken about and referenced by lead singer Brian Fallon and the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe," is a tribute to the legendary Clash frontman.

Band members

* Brian Fallon - lead vocals, guitar (2005–present)

* Alex Rosamilia - guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)

* Alex Levine - bass, backing vocals (2005–present)

* Benny Horowitz - drums, percussion, tambourine (2005–present)

* Andy 'Diamond' Denicolo - manager (2005–present)

Discography

Albums

* Sink or Swim (2007)

* The '59 Sound (2008) US #70, UK #55 and certified 'silver' in December 2009

* American Slang (15 June, 2010) US #16, UK #18

Singles and EPs

* Señor and the Queen EP (February 2008, CD & double 7" vinyl)

* "The '59 Sound" single (July 2008, 7" vinyl) Billboard Modern Rock #35 http

* "Old White Lincoln" single (December 2008, CD & 7" vinyl)

* "Great Expectations" single (March 2009, CD & 7" vinyl)

* "The '59 Sound" single (June 2009, CD & 7" vinyl) UK #115 http

* "The Backseat" single (September 2009, download)

* "American Slang" single (March 2010)

Other releases

* "Sink or Swim Demos" (7" vinyl)

* Live at Park Ave. EP (April 18, 2009, 10" vinyl - exclusive)

References