The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound - 10 Years Later

This week, the Ringer published an oral history on Gaslight Anthem's seminal album The '59 Sound, which you can read by clicking here.  It is long, but definitely worth the read, featuring quotes by our website's namesake.  I've written about the Gaslight Anthem many times on this website, and the article addresses the elephant in the room: their connection to Springsteen.  Being soulful rockers from Central Jersey, the comparisons were frequent.  But, it was both a blessing and a curse: while it helped expand their audience, it brought an avalanche of hype and expectations from the group going forward.  While I consider their albums American Slang and Handwritten to be classics, you could see how they were still under pressure to deliver a more mainstream, crossover success.  Anyway, the Gaslight Anthem are currently reunited and on tour, celebrating the 10 year anniversary of this album, and, yes, I do have my tickets for later this summer.

Cover Spotlight - "Take 'Em As They Come" by Jimmy Eat World

Earlier this month, I saw the Gaslight Anthem play their largest show in New Jersey at the PNC Art Center (you can see my excitement in the comments section of this post).  While the Gaslight Anthem delivered a fantastic performance to a packed crowd, I was very impressed by their opening act, Jimmy Eat World.  While their star has faded over the last decade, they cranked out a tight set of solid rock songs - there wasn't a "slow or new song that let's people go to the bathroom" moment during the hour or so they played.

While the Gaslight Anthem's connections to Springsteen are very solidly drawn (lead singer Brian Fallon admitted to having a photo of Springsteen in his dressing room, leading to cheers of "Bruuuuuuce" from the crowd), you will have to dig deeper to find the link between Jimmy Eat World and the Boss.  And, here it is: a cover song (released only as an iTunes exclusive) of a song released only on a B-sides and rarities collection.  It's a fun and faithful rendition of "Take 'Em As They Come" that emphasizes the strongest parts of the song: the immediate opening, the frantic energy, and the catchy chorus.

Song Spotlight: “Old Haunts” by The Gaslight Anthem

When a band name checks Bruce Springsteen twice in one song (“Meet Me by the River’s Edge”), it’s no secret that they are heavily under the influence of The Boss. So it won’t come as a surprise to anyone with a passing interest in the The Gaslight Anthem to see them featured on a Springsteen blog.

In comparison to Bruce, I’d say these NJ-based rockers are more interested in capturing a mood and emotion than they are in telling vivid stories with characters and plot turns (especially their two most recent albums).

While you can probably pick out any one of their songs and find a connection to Springsteen – not a bad thing! – I wanted to shine a spotlight on the song “Old Haunts” from their 2010 album American Slang. I see this song as their rendition on “Glory Days.”

So don't sing me your songs about the good times
Those days are gone and you should just let them go
And god help the man who says "If you'd have known me when..."
Old haunts are for forgotten ghosts

Much like “Glory Days”, this song is about looking to the past when you should be looking to the future. While “Glory Days” is a bit more wistful, “Old Haunts” cuts to the bone.

"Peg O' My Heart" featuring Bruce Springsteen!

I guess technically this should be a video of the week, but I don’t care.  Bruce is definitely a fan of punk rock.  His cover of "London Calling", his playing with The Gaslight Anthem, and times he’s invited The Dropkick Murphy’s to play along with him.  However, one thing Bruce had not done before is appeared on a punk album.  That was until last year, when The Dropkick Murphy’s released Going Out In Style.  That album featured a punk cover of the traditional Irish ballad "Peg O' My Heart" featuring none other than Mr. Bruce Springsteen!

I've always enjoyed The Dropkick Murphy’s and I know they are big fans of Bruce Springsteen.  Their covers of “Badlands” and “Born In The USA” are some of my favorite covers of Bruce songs.  When Bruce invited them to play some of his songs on stage with them I thought it was really cool of Bruce to sort of give them “the rub.”  But I never thought Bruce would appear on one of their albums.  It almost seemed beneath him, to appear with a band that wasn’t anywhere near his level.  The Dropkick Murphy’s are hardly a “no-name” band, their appearance on the soundtrack to the 2006 film The Departed gave them huge exposure.  But when they go out and tour, they play concert halls, ballrooms,  and clubs.  Bruce plays major sports arenas and stadiums.  But after all these years I should know better than to doubt Bruce.

Anyways, this is a great performance of a great song off a great album featuring a great band and a great cameo by Bruce.  In other words, it’s great.  So enjoy!

Springsteen Video of the Week - Gaslight Anthem's "Backstreets"

Back in 2009, Brucespringsteen.net released a series of videos called "Hanging Out On E Street".  The series contained a variety of lesser known artists discussing Bruce and covering his classics.  Unfortunately, the page was  taken down when they redesigned Bruce's site, but just type in "Hanging Out On E Street" into Youtube and you'll see a variety of fantastic videos.

The above video was my personal favorite, and it made me interested in seeking out more of Gaslight Anthem's music.  Gaslight Athem's popularity has steadily increased since 2008, and I think we can all credit Bruce's endorsement of them as the main reason (What other reason could there be?  Their catchy tunes? Hogwash.) The lesson for any musician is this: Bruce is a kingmaker.  You get in good with him, and you are set for life.