new release: The '59 Sound SESSIONS (CD, LP, Deluxe LP)

Potential spoilers:

Got to listen to this. Being it’s just demos it’s probably not something to go back to all that frequently. That being said I did enjoy it and hearing the original lyrics in some of these songs was very cool. It’s clear what the songs ended up is much better of course. Cleveland rain certainly doesn’t flow as well as Jersey. Best parts were the OWL part in Placeholder and how the end of Our Fathers Sons became the intro to Great Expectations.

I think the robert Mays article helped me enjoy this more since it’s almost like a companion piec.

I agree! The article was awesome showing the journey to creating this masterpiece! I love listening to unreleased tracks and the hard takes on some.

It would be a dream come true a few years down the road if Brian released a "Tracks" kind of set because I know he has a lot of diamonds that he has wrote and passed on or did not make the cut. I mean look at the bonus tracks like "She Loves You" and "Blue Dahlia" that did not make the album cut that are just too incredible! I would be interested to see what other gems are hiding in Brian's notebooks or rough takes!

Where can I download/buy this? More than happy to pay for it, can't seem to find it digitally, just vinyl/CD

It is not released until this Friday. Some of the pre-orders from SideOne have come early so that is how most of us are enjoying it!

But here is the Amazon link for the mp3

https://www.amazon.com/59-Sound-Sessions-Gaslight-Anthem/dp/B07C5MFLTV

Such a fascinating listen. I was listening in the car with my partner, who likes Gaslight but isn’t an uber fan, and even he jumped and said ‘Cleveland rain???’ What I really like is that you can hear these songs as works in progress. A lot of people think you just write a song and that’s it, but these demos illustrate the work that’s involved in taking what you’ve written and making it as good as possible. Some of them are huge changes, like the complete change of lyrics in Miles Davis or the new chorus in High Lonesome, and then you’ve got the ones like Great Expectations that are very similar, but with that extra sprinkling of fairy dust. And then that idea of taking the really good bit in Placeholder and writing a new song around it – it’s that capability to listen to your own work critically, which I think is surprisingly rare.

One of the things that really fascinated me is how the vocals are a lot more raw. I realise these are demos and are likely to be single take, but I think there’s more to it than that; these sound like somebody doing a live performance, whereas on the actual album they are a lot more refined. I think it’s about learning the skill and the subtleties of making a record as opposed to getting a crowd going, and I think he did it during the recording of this record, as the previous two releases were in that rawer style.

It’s one of the things I really admire about Brian; he’s always keen to learn and to take advice/criticism in order to make himself a better musician. I guess it ties back to the songwriting as well; you have a bit you’re not quite happy with or you come up with a better idea, and you change it. It sounds simple, but I think it’s where a lot of bands fail, and a lot of people fail more generally. At risk of being the person making the Bruce comparisons, this is very much something they have in common. If you watch the making of Born to Run documentary, you can see he was still writing the lyrics to Jungleland whilst he was recording it, and we all know how that turned out!

Between listening to this and reading that article earlier in the week, I can’t wait until one of my books arrives!

Sent from Topic'it App

I admire that about Brian too! He will take anyone advice and also work his butt off to make sure that he gets the best album and product out! He is the man and there is no one like him!!!

Anyone else had an email to say the white vinyl has been delayed? I assume it will delay the rest of my order as well, but at least they’ve sent a download code in the meantime.

Sent from Topic'it App

I just realized that the hook/melody in "Placeholder" is pretty similar to the This Charming Man song "Bleeder." Good stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99eU4-nrMAs

That is true! Thank you for the connection! I hear that too! I love This Charming Man stuff, it is amazing to see how Brian has grown!