Bayside - Acoustic

Wed 8th Mar, 2006 in Music Reviews

In fable-like circumstances at around 3am on Halloween last year, Bayside struck tragedy when their tour bus hit a patch of ice and rolled. During the incident, bassist Nick Ghanabarian suffered serious back injuries and was hospitalised along with 2 crew members, but worst of all was the death of drummer John “Beatz” Holohan.

Since said incident the 2 uninjured members, vocalist/guitarist Anthony Raneri and guitarist Jack O’Shea, went on as an acoustic duo to complete the “Never Sleep Again” tour they were on with Hawthorne Heights and Aiden when the accident happened. They also decided the acoustic thing worked so well that they would release an acoustic CD, packaged along with a couple of electric demos the band were working on, and topped off with a live DVD of the last performance of the tour.

Many were quick to call the band tasteless and cold for getting on with things so soon (they returned to the tour after 2 weeks), and taking it even further by putting this release together. For a package that is a little more comprehensive than simply recording a live show and putting it out, it seems a little hard to call this a cash in.

To open the proceedings is a new number, Winter, an obvious and heartfelt tribute to their recently lost best friend. The lyrics read like a eulogy, prompting the listener to really feel the emotion of what is being conveyed. “I’ve been feeling 3 feet tall this month / hardly indestructible / but the snow melts and the rhythm goes on,” cries Anthony. If anything it would appear that these guys truly believe what they say when they retort that they are doing this because this it what Beatz would want them to do.

This neat little CD contains a further 6 studio-recorded tracks of Bayside material in acoustic mode, 2 b-sides recorded during the “Bayside sessions”, an Elliot Smith and Smoking Popes cover, topped off by Don’t Call Me Peanut taken from the last show of the “Never Sleep Again” tour.

The production is beautiful, and the songs came together sounding like they had been specifically written to be acoustic and that they had worked on them for months before recording them. They come out sounding so good they even put a lot of real acoustic acts to shame.

Anthony’s voice is something unique, one of the finest voices to come out of the “punk” or “emo” genres in quite some time. Never does he miss a note or falter. The guitar work is intricate though not wanky or over the top.

The b-sides are a great listen and they serve as an interesting mid-album break from the acoustic songs on either side of them. Recorded with Beatz and Nick in March and April of 2005 as part of the sessions for their last self titled release, these are not your typical crappy quality b-sides. Again, production is good enough to have seen them included on the album and not seem out of place.

Tracks 8 and 9 see them take on Elliot Smith’s Baby Britain and the Smoking Pope’s Megan. To those unwise to the sounds of the aforementioned artists, telling that these are not Bayside songs would be a difficult task, both have been transformed the way covers should be done; as a tribute to the original but with a new spin. Josh Carter (of the Smoking Popes) also makes a guest appearance on his track.

Closing up is a live version of Don’t Call Me Peanut in acoustic mode again. Great song, though there is nothing making this track stand out from the rest, it has the same feel as the other acoustic stuff, except it has roars, cheers and clapping over the top.

As mentioned right in the beginning, the package also contains a nice little DVD shot at the last show of the tour at the House of Blues in Chicago. Picture and sound quality is astounding, but other than the fact that this is Bayside in rare acoustic mode, there is little to differentiate this from your regular live DVD from any other band. Add a “the recording of” segment and some tribute clips of John Beatz and you have yourself a nifty little DVD.

With the effort that has gone into making this such a great release it would be hard to call this a cash in. Everyone deals with such tragedies in their own personal way, and for Anthony and Jack they decided it was best to push on and celebrate the life of Beatz and the impact he had on fans everywhere.

So decide for yourself. Heartless bastards or friends dealing with pain, it doesn’t matter, this is a top shelf release and should definitely hold pride of place in your collection.