American Music

by

The Blasters

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The Blasters were one of the great unsung roots rock bands. With Dave Alvin leading the way on guitar, and his brother Phil on vocals, these guys were at the forefront of the late 70's early 80's rockabilly revival. What seperated the Blasters from the rest of the pack was their ability to combine their rockabilly sound with everything from R&B and country to punk. And as members of the L.A. punk scene, they were influenced by bands like X, who Dave Alvin later joined after the Blasters broke up. They also had a little bit of a country sound at times, probably influenced a little by Dwight Yoakam, who they often shared a double bill with. Just like the title of this cd suggest, this is all American Music. Influenced a lot by people like Jerry Lee Lewis and Big Joe Turner. But by no means did they copy these artists. The Blasters had a distinct sound of their own. There is a ton of great music on this cd. The songs I particually like are their anthem "AMERICAN MUSIC" and "MARIE MARIE", a song which another outstanding rockabilly artist Shakin' Stevens made a hit out of over in England. I also like the song "BARN BURNING", a bluesy tune that Dave Alvin later did on his solo album. All the tunes here are 2 to 3 minute little gems that keep this album rolling along nicely. My only gripe about Blasters music is why haven't they released more of it. Warner Brothers needs to re-release the "Blasters Collection" cd of their greatest hits off their 4 albums. I can't believe "American Music" is all they have availiable from their catalogue. If you like the Blasters, I also suggest picking up "Blastered", a Tribute To The Blasters. This is an excellent collection of Blaster songs from 16 of the best rockabilly bands around. In the meantime, American music is a good (and only) place to start listening to what I consider one of the very best roots rock bands ever.