The Blasters
Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (Rhino) For the uninitiated, the Blasters were a band from the Los Angeles suburb of Downey. They weren’t just any band, however. The Blasters were the consummate American roots-rock band. Led by the Alvin brothers, Dave and Phil, they took the seemingly disparate genres of rockabilly, gospel, R&B, and straight-up rock & roll and made them into an uncommonly listenable whole. At the time the recordings on Testament were made, 1981-85, there were few, if any, bands covering the same territory, and that made the Blasters even more special. These guys meant every word they sang, every note they played, and their emotions came through so loud and clear that people were compelled to listen. Along with such Dave Alvin classics as “Border Radio,” “American Music,” “Long White Cadillac,” and “Dark Night,” this 2-CD set contains their inventive covers of tunes from the likes of Jimmie Rodgers, Slim Harpo, Bo Diddley, Don & Dewey, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The real highlight, though, is the live recordings, done in London in 1982 and originally released as an EP. Now lengthened to include four outtakes, they show the band in its real glory: working up a nasty sweat, sax legend Lee Allen strutting his stuff, and the crowd literally climbing the walls. The fact that these recordings have been unavailable was a crime, but Testament makes it right again. It’s all that anyone familiar with the band could have asked for, and if you missed the Blasters the first time, Testament is sure to satisfy your rock & roll jones. (Dave Alvin plays the Texas Union Theatre, along with Tom Russell and Katy Moffatt, Friday, April 19.)
This article appears in April 19 • 2002.