The '59 Sound Explained

The '59 Sound is the second full-length album by The Gaslight Anthem. It is the follow-up to their debut album Sink or Swim and was released on August 19, 2008.

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 second single on December 1, 2008 in the UK. Opening track "Great Expectations" will be released as the third single in the UK on March 23, 2009.

The album was simultaneously released on vinyl. The most limited color, white (with only 500 copies pressed^[1]) completely sold out in its first few hours of availability on Vinyl Collective's pre-order page. The second most limited color, blue (limited to 1,000 copies^[2]) has also sold out. The album was also pressed on the standard black (see this website for more info on the LP's color pressings).

In December 2008, eMusic named The '59 Sound the best album of 2008.^[3] NME rated it as the 47th best album of the year.^[4] The title track was number 62 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.^[5]

Recording

Speaking of the differences between this album 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."^[6]

Track listing

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" (featuring Dicky Barrett) – 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
13. "Once Upon a Time" (Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise cover) (iTunes-only bonus track) – 3:58

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)

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.^[7]
• "Old White Lincoln" contains the lines "I lit a cigarette on a parking meter / And walked on down the road" from "Talkin' World War III Blues" by Bob Dylan.^[8]
• "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^[9] ; 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.^[10]
• "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" name drops Tom Petty in the lyrics.
• "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.^{[11] [12]} .

Notes and References

1. http://www.vinylcollective.com/2008/07/09/po-the-gaslight-anthem-the-59-sound-lp/ The Gaslight Anthem "The '59 Sound" LP >> Vinyl Collective - dated Wednesday, July 9, 2008
2. http://www.vinylcollective.com/2008/07/09/news-about-the-gaslight-anthem-59-sound-blue-vinyl/ News about The Gaslight Anthem "The '59 Sound" blue vinyl >> Vinyl Collective - dated Wednesday, July 9, 2008
3. http://www.emusic.com/features/hub/best2008/index.html The Best Albums of 2008, eMusic
4. http://stereogum.com/archives/yearend-list/nmes-top-50-of-2008_041012.html NME's Top 50 Albums of 2008 - Stereogum.com
5. "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved 2009-01-12
6. http://stereokill.net/?p=551 Stereokill.net >> Blog Archive >> Interview: Alex Rosamilia (The Gaslight Anthem)
7. http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/nightmov.htm Night Moves - Bob Seger (Lyrics and Chords)
8. http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/talkin-world-war-iii-blues Bob Dylan | Talkin' World War III Blues
9. http://www.kovideo.net/lyrics/c/Counting-Crows/Round-Here.html Round Here lyrics - Counting Crows
10. http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/i/imonfire.php Bruce Springsteen lyrics - I'm on Fire
11. http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/b/bobbyjean.php Bruce Springsteen lyrics - Bobby Jean
12. http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/n/nosurrender.php Bruce Springsteen lyrics - No Surrender