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Rating: The Blasters were formed in Los Angeles in the late seventies by brothers Phil and Dave Alvin, one a great rock'n'roll singer and the other a good guitarist with a rebellious hairstyle and an inspired composer influenced by both blues and hillbilly. They were soon joined by friends John Bazz, a very agile bassist, and Bill Bateman, a solid and precise drummer. Together, they dedicated themselves to reviving the roots of American music by blending rockabilly, country, swing, doo-wop, cajun, and rhythm'n'blues. To this mixture of traditional styles, the Alvin brothers added the final ingredients of good humor and a pinch of Los Angeles punk attitude.
Between 1980 and 1983, the Blasters recorded three particularly successful albums and a handful of great songs that in no way represent a useless and predictable rockabilly revival but perfectly match the street poetry and fiery spirit of Los Angeles at the time, the one sung about by the X. The magic created by the combination of Phill's mature and soulful voice, the electricity charged from Dave's guitar, and the strength from a perfect rhythm section create a vintage sound that leaves no one indifferent. The raw and angry "American Music," the splendid "The Blasters," and the excellent "Non Fiction," both released on the Slash label, represent, with their unmissable tracks full of rhythm and speed, the other eighties, those digging to retrieve the pure sound of Sun Records, the spirit of the early Elvis Presley and the legendary Hank Williams. Tracks like "Marie Marie," "American Music," "Border Radio," "Red Rose," "Long White Cadillac" and "Barefoot Rock" rightfully enter the great encyclopedia of rock'n'roll.
Alongside their continuous and fiery live performances, documented by the EP "Over There," Dave Alvin also found the time to join the X to create the country project The Knitters and to play with the Gun Club on the excellent "Las Vegas Story." These sporadic experiences brought new ideas to the Blasters, who in 1985 released their true masterpiece, the mature "Hard Line," again on the Slash label. Financed by John Mellencamp, who also participated compositionally, and co-produced with Don Gehman, "Hard Line" is a perfect meeting between energy and tradition. The album contains a series of high-quality songs where the band attacks rock'n'roll with great personality. "Trouble Bound," "Dark Night" and "Common Man" showcase Dave Alvin's great songwriting skills, while "Little Honey" and the beautiful "Just Another Sunday" are two street ballads composed with friend John Doe of the X. Unfortunately, despite the critical success of the album, the Blasters remained a cult group, plagued by ongoing internal arguments and sharp conflicts between the Alvin brothers that led to the band's breakup the following year. "Hard Line" remains the last album by the true Blasters, who reformed only in 2002 for a farewell tour documented by the adrenaline-charged live "Trouble Bound."
All their discography on the Slash label is featured in the splendid double anthology CD "Testament," a complete work that includes all the classics by the Alvin brothers alongside a series of classic tracks performed live. This work offers a complete view of the group's work, showcasing the deadly effect of their sound. Dave Alvin, after playing for a period with the X, began a respectable solo career full of great albums, among which it is worth mentioning the excellent "King Of California," the acoustic "Black Jack David," the traditional and award-winning "Public Domain," and the recent "West Of The West," where he classily interprets songs by Brian Wilson, Jerry Garcia, David Hidalgo, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, and Tom Waits.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Marie Marie (02:07)
(Dave Alvin)
Marie Marie
Playing guitar on the back porch
I sit in my car
While she sings so sad
Marie Marie
Marie Marie
It's so lonely in these farmlands
Please come with me
To the bright lights downtown
Marie Marie
I said, "Hey, pretty girl
Don't you understand
I just want to be your lovin' man"
Marie Marie
The sun is down in the corn fields
The evening is dark
And you sing so sad
Marie Marie
Marie Marie
I got two weeks in back pay
There's gas in my car
And your folks say I must go
Marie Marie
I said, "Hey, pretty girl
Don't you understand
I just want to be your lovin' man"
Marie Marie
Playing guitar on the back porch
I leave in my car
While you sing so sad
Marie Marie
05 American Music (02:10)
They want to hear that sound right from the USA
Well it can be sweet and lovely, it can be hard and mean
But one thing's for sure: it's always on the beam
They want to hear some American Music, American Music
They want to hear that sound right from the USA
It's a howl from the desert, the screams from the slums
The Mississippi rollin' to the beat of the drums
Because they're playing American Music, American Music
They want to hear that sound right from the USA
(bridge)
We got the Louisiana boogie and the Delta Blues
Country swing and rockabilly, too
We got jazz, country-western and Chicago blues
It's the greatest music that you ever knew
Well it's American Music,it's American Music
It's American Music
It's the greatest sound right from the USA
Well a US soldier boy has to stop right in his tracks
When he hears that crazy beat, he turns and doubles back
Because they're playing American Music, American Music
The whole world digs that sound from the USA
13 Red Rose (02:32)
(Dave Alvin)
Your father sat with the night's first drink
Your mother washed the dishes in the sink
You stood on the steps, wearing your best
One red rose on a new black dress
When we walked under the powerlines
I dreamed about it a thousand times
You weren't like the rest
One red rose on a new black dress
[Chorus]
One red rose on a new black dress
Crushing it between our chests
Tonight I'll wonder where you'll be
One dead rose is all I see
We hid in the weeds and we hid in the grass
Listening to the cars on the highway pass
Then you put me to the test
One red rose on a new black dress
[Chorus]
Then you said we could never come back
And walked awax through the housing tract
Leaving me with what's left
One red rose from a new black dress
[Chorus]
(Dedicated to the San Gabriel River Bed)
27 One Bad Stud (02:30)
Well one bad stud moved in my neighbourhood
Well one bad stud moved in my neighbourhood
He's big and man I know he ain't no good
He don't wear no hat, and Lord he don't wear no shoes
He don't wear no hat, and Lord he don't wear no shoes
He just hangs on the corner singing old country blues
[Chorus]
Oh well, one bad stud
One bad stud
One bad stud
One bad stud
I said, one, one, one, one,
One bad stud
If he likes your baby, you can kiss your baby goodbye
If he likes your baby, you can kiss your baby goodbye
'Cause the girls all love him like a schoolboy loves his pie
He loves his whiskey, he loves his rock 'n' rye
Yes, he loves his whiskey, he loves his rock 'n' rye
You know it takes ten bottles to make that fool get high
Well, he stole ten dollars and they locked that cat in jail
Well, he stole ten dollars and they locked that cat in jail
He got my baby to come and pay his bail
He's got great big muscles, Lord he looks like a bear
He's got great big muscles, Lord he looks like a bear
When the cat gets nervous you know I won't be there
28 Blue Shadows (03:15)
I've been around the world
And every man bleeds the same
But when the lights are dim
You never know who's to blame
I don't want no scars to show
I don't want no one to know
So I'll be killing time in the blue shadows
No other place for me to go
No other place for dying slow
So I'll be killing time in the blue shadows
I've been around the world
I take credit for the things I've done
But when the lights are dim
I'm not the only guilty one
I don't want no scars to show
I don't want no one to know
So I'll be killing time in the blue shadows
I've been around the world
And every story ends the same
But when the lights are dim
You won't remember my name
I don't want no scars to show
I don't want no one to know
So I'll be killing time in the blue shadows
No other place for me to go
No other place for dying slow
So I'll be killing time in the blue shadows
No other place for me to go
No other place for dying slow
So I'll be killing, just killing time
So I'll be killing time in the blue shadows
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