Review Summary: This remake is more technical but doesn't really capture the spirit of the original.
Note: Keasbey Nights by Streetlight Manifesto is a re-recording of the Catch 22 album by the same name. This review assumes you are familiar with the original and the backstory of the remake. Consult another one of the reviews for this album, or one for the Catch 22 original, for more background.
I debated for awhile the best format for comparing Streetlight Manifesto's Keasbey Nights remake to the original. My first instinct was to discuss it track by track, but as I started writing it, I realized my discussion of each track seemed to draw roughly the same conclusion. Instead, I think a brief overview is best; the relationship between the two albums as a whole is similar to the relationships of each of the fourteen tracks to their counterparts.
In short, Streetlight Manifesto's version of Keasbey Nights is more technically impressive and rehearsed than the Catch 22 original, resulting in crisper performances. From small tweaks in timing to whole song structure, Streetlight's album is smart and improved from the original in every way we could have hoped for. It's extremely reverent to the original, but takes all of the experience Tomas Kalnoky developed over ten years in creating dramatic, symphonic arrangements of songs into upgrading the sound and compositions of each song.
And yet, the Catch 22 version of the album still reigns supreme for reasons that are more complicated. 22's Keasbey Nights -- my pick for greatest 3rd wave ska album to date -- is largely a confessional, singer-songwriter ska album. Everything about the album aligns with Kalnoky's angsty, coming-of-age lyrics. Even the slightly tinny brass sound, perhaps over-corrected by Streetlight Manifesto's very dark horn timbre, matches the uneasy tone of the album.
Catch 22's Keasbey Nights has somewhat of an improvised, thrown-together feel to it. It comes across as achingly genuine, equal parts nervy execution and stark emotional core. Moments like the bark that opens Day In Day Out just feel forced in Streetlight's album.
Tracks that rely on instrumental performance are the only ones that Streetlight produces the definitive version. Kristina, in particular, takes on new poignance with the heartbreaking sax solos. Those tracks are relatively few, though.
Perhaps the most interesting result of having an updated version of Keasbey Nights is that it allows us to really compare the evolution of Tomas Kalnoky as a bandleader. You see, as similar as they sound at moments, Streetlight Manifesto and Kalnoky-era Catch 22 are fundamentally different bands. Whereas Streetlight intimately plans and optimizes each moment to give each track as much punch as possible, old Catch 22 was much looser and less obsessive. It's fascinating to have Keasbey Nights recorded from both of these mindsets. The problem is that the songs themselves are really best-suited for the Catch 22 approach.
Ultimately, both versions of Keasbey Nights are great in certain ways, but it's the Catch 22 version that best captures the spirit of the album.
And, in case you're curious, here's a list of which version I prefer of each song on the album:
1. Dear Sergio - Streetlight (this is the most changed song, and it's for the better)
2. Sick and Sad - Catch 22
3. Keasbey Nights - Catch 22
4. Day In Day Out - Catch 22
5. Walking Away - Streetlight
6. Giving Up Giving In - Catch 22
7. On and On and On - draw
8. Riding the Fourth Wave - Streetlight, strongly
9. This One Goes Out To - Streetlight
10. Supernothing - draw
11. 9mm and a Three-Piece Suit - Catch 22
12. Kristina - Streetlight, strongly
13. As the Footsteps Die Out Forever - Catch 22
14. 12341234 - Catch 22, strongly
