MANILA, Philippines - The past decades have sent the rise and fall of the seemingly invincible artists and groups, Side A has braved the storms and persevered through whatever trends. The name is synonymous with an unmatched classic-after-classic repertoire of songs (spanning a whopping collection of more than a dozen official albums, a Christmas album, singles and various greatest hits collections) and unequaled live performances nationwide and abroad.
The band, composed of Naldy Gonzales, Joey Generoso, Ernie Severino, Leevon Cailao and Ned Esguerra, is not resting on its collective laurels. Its music lives on and just like wine, it gets finer with every new musical outing. In line with the band’s celebration of its silver anniversary, Warner Music releases a special collection titled SIDE A 25, a double-disc offering that includes 25 years of the greatest and best music that the band has created.
Featuring vintage material from the band’s beginnings — Eva Marie, the Tagalog ditty ’Di Pa Huli, the band’s breakthrough heartbreak anthem Hold On and the infectious remake of Labuyo’s Tuloy Pa Rin, the collection also puts together fan favorites through the years, including sentimental tracks like Until Then, So Many Questions, Forevermore, Will I Ever, Set You Free, By Your Side, If Only and Let The Pain Remain, among numerous others, and goes the extra mile with live renditions from its legendary 10th Anniversary Concert disc I Believe In Dreams, Foolish Heart and its revivals Ang Aking Awitin and Tell Me.
And no new release is complete without a new track, in which the band happily obliges with Before I Let You Go, a previously unreleased original that, judging by the title alone, will have fans swooning to its bittersweet lyricism and melody.