![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_inline_n0dszplHkI1qheirv.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
My first feeling when \u2018The B-Sides\u2019<\/em> popped into my inbox was excitement. I love The<\/strong>\u00a0Gaslight Anthem<\/strong>, I\u2019ve seen every show they\u2019ve played since 2008 and they\u2019re probably one of my favourite bands. It was a sure fire bet that I was going to love this.<\/p>\n However a quick glance at the track list soon changed my mind. Firstly, this is a collection of B-Sides from 2008-2011. Why? This means there\u2019s no early rarities of demos on here, and the B-Sides of the 2012 ‘Here Comes Your Man’<\/em> single (such as the brilliant ‘Misery’<\/em>, and a beautiful cover of ‘Skinny Love’<\/em>) aren\u2019t featured. Fair enough I guess, but the strangest thing is the tracks which they have chosen to include.<\/p>\n \u2018The B-Sides\u2019<\/em> consist of some covers, a few acoustic versions, a live track and \u2018She Loves You\u2019,<\/em> which was on the extended and iTunes UK releases of ‘American Slang’<\/em>. Disappointingly as well, none of the live tracks are from the moment when Bruce Springsteen played with The Gaslight Anthem<\/strong>, a moment which many fans would have liked to have seen here.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sadly, what is included isn\u2019t that enticing either. The majority of the acoustic versions are dull and add little to the existing songs, (apart from a few extra Mary\u2019s thrown into \u2018Great Expectations\u2019<\/em>). The exception to this is the acoustic re-work of \u2018Boxer\u2019<\/em> a beautifully emotive version which features some great, construction-like sound effects, giving the track a charming retro feel. It\u2019s almost worth getting \u2018The B-Sides\u2019<\/em> on the strength of this alone.<\/p>\n The only live track is a cover of \u2018State of Love and Trust\u2019,\u00a0<\/em>which while good enough doesn\u2019t really have any urgent need to be live. The rest of the covers are average, with an upbeat cover of \u2018Tumbling Dice\u2019<\/em> and a bluesy \u2018Once Upon a Time\u2019<\/em> being the best of the bunch.<\/p>\n Overall, while this isn\u2019t a bad release, it\u2019s certainly not necessary. With weird track choices and glaring omissions, this is only an essential for die-hard Gaslight Anthem<\/strong> collectors. I enjoyed what was there, but I\u2019d be hard pressed to justify its release.<\/p>\n 2.5\/5<\/p>\n \u2019The B-Sides\u2019<\/em> by\u00a0The Gaslight Anthem <\/strong>is out now on SideOneDummy<\/strong> Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Gaslight Anthem<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Tumblr<\/a><\/p>\n Words by Jay Sullivan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first feeling when \u2018The B-Sides\u2019 popped into my inbox was excitement. I love The\u00a0Gaslight Anthem, I\u2019ve seen every show they\u2019ve played since 2008 and they\u2019re probably one of my favourite bands. It was a sure fire bet that I was going to love this. However a quick glance at the track list soon changed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,723,10973,3875],"class_list":["post-24962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-sideonedummy-records","tag-the-b-sides","tag-the-gaslight-anthem"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n