Live Acoustic

For longtime Guster fans, the Boston band's 2013 album Live Acoustic is kind of a big deal—especially when you consider that Guster was formed as a live acoustic trio but it took the group 22 years to release a proper live acoustic set. From the opening version of “Backyard,” a rich resonance is immediately noticeable. That’s because these songs were recorded inside a Presbyterian church in Austin, Texas—which makes this stripped-down version of “That’s No Way to Get to Heaven” just that much more special. Accompanied by The Guster String Players, songs like the normally peppy “Do You Love Me” play with a dimension of pop sophistication that at times recall Phil Spector’s famed recording techniques. Not even an eerie-sounding theremin or the beautiful string arrangements can upstage the soaring vocal harmonies that echo through the church in an exceptionally lush rendition of “Long Way Down.” The large, roomy sound and dramatic string tones are especially conducive to Guster’s more melancholic musings, like the lovelorn “Rocketship” and “Rainy Day.”