Guster - A Guide to Guster Music and Guster CDs!

Below is a guide to my favorite band of the past few years - and one of my favorite live performers - GUSTER!@

Guster: Live On Ice CD (Guster, 2004)

Guster has in the last two years leaped into my favorite current band - especially live. If you've ever seen a Guster concert (and you should!) you will immediately fall in love with them. The music is raw and powerful - lots of acoustic guitar and sounds and plenty of big drum and bongo beats. The lyrics are simple yet powerful. Guster has for years been hugely popular among college populations and stations - but their music (like Demons and the Airport Song) are hitting it big time and onto MTV. Their shows are sold out and they play with the like of Howie Day (who I actually dislike) and other acoustic rockers. Excellent album - my personal favorite of the last 3 years!!

1. Careful
2. Happier
3. Red Oyster Cult
4. Ramona
5. Barrel Of A Gun
6. Flowers, (Nothing But)
7. Come Downstairs And Say Hello
8. Demons
9. Amsterdam
10. I Spy
11. Airport Song
12. Homecoming King
13. Fa Fa

From the album notes - excellent remarks: Guster's energetic live shows and loyal fan base have been widely chronicled, so an album recorded in the group's natural on-stage habitat is an especially welcome addition to their catalog. GUSTER ON ICE: LIVE FROM PORTLAND, MAINE is about as close as one could get to being at the concert, and showcases Guster's cheerful acoustic guitar- and vocal harmony-driven sound amid tons of giddy crowd noise. Sometimes sounding like a less-melancholy Toad the Wet Sprocket, the group charges through a selection of its best-known songs ("Amsterdam," "Red Oyster Cult," "Fa Fa") with unbridled enthusiasm, inviting the adoring crowd to share in the fun. As the track list draws from all of Guster's previous releases, GUSTER ON ICE could serve equally well as a fan memento or "best of"-style introduction.

Guster: Lost and Gone Forever CD (Guster, 1999)

Of Guster's studio albums, Lost and Gone Forever is my favorite because it shows a more emotional and versatile side of Guster. There are the drum heavy and rocking songs like Barrell of a Gun and What you Wish For - but there are the slower, more powerful songs like Happier and SO Long. Lost and Gone Forever showcases the creativity and various skills of Guster as each song moves from one style and beat to the next. The end result is a CD that is made for open-window drives and beach days.

1. What You Wish For
2. Barrel Of A Gun
3. Either Way
4. Fa Fa
5. I Spy
6. Center Of Attention
7. All The Way Up To Heaven
8. Happier
9. So Long
10. Two Points For Honesty
11. Rainy Day

Guster: Goldfly CD  (Guster, 1998)

Goldfly is the CD that really got me into Guster... and now, I'm rather obsessed. I own every Guster CD and, no matter what else I'm listening to, I find my way back to Goldfly because it is, at its essence, what Guster is all about - fun, acoustic music with catchy beats and easy tunes. Goldfly is what put Guster on the map as a hugely popular College Band and College presence. If you are just getting into Guster or really enjoy acoustic music or drum-heavy music, Goldfly will surely excite you!

My personal favorite song on the album is Demons - a wildly catchy tune that is superbly done. Great Escape is a great start into the album - and there isn't a track I don't really enjoy!

1. Great Escape
2. Demons
3. Perfect
4. Airport Song
5. Medicine
6. X-Ray Eyes
7. Grin
8. Getting Even
9. Bury Me
10. Rocket Ship
11. (untitled) - hidden track

Guster: Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller (guitar, vocals); Brian Rosenworcel (percussion, vocals).

Guster:  (Guster, 2003)

Keep it Together is Guster's latest studio album (though Live On Ice is their latest release - its a live show) and shows a more mature Guster. Its an album that combines the essences of their past two - the rocking fun of Goldfly and the versatility of Lost and Gone Forever. Like the past two albums, Keep It Together moves from track to track with different tunes, sounds and beats. At its core though is acoustic guitar, strong lyrics and voice, and stronger drums and bongos. Diane is a powerful song that shows range. Homecoming Queen and Red Oyster Cult are catchy and meant to push forth the lyrics. Overall, another excellent Guster album that doesn't disappoint.

Track listing
1. Diane
2. Careful
3. Amsterdam
4. Backyard
5. Homecoming King
6. Ramona
7. Jesus On The Radio
8. Keep It Together
9. Come Downstairs And Say Hello
10. Red Oyster Cult
11. Long Way Down
12. I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today
13. untitled - hidden track
14. untitled - hidden track