The Blasters | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1981 | |||
Studio | United Western | |||
Genre | Roots rock [1] | |||
Length | 30:47 | |||
Label | Slash, F-Beat | |||
Producer | The Blasters | |||
The Blasters chronology | ||||
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The Blasters is the second album by American rock band the Blasters. Originally released in the United States by the independent label Slash Records, its strong sales performance required a deal for wider distribution with Warner Bros. Records. [2] The album was well received, being ranked among the top 10 albums of 1982 by Time magazine and peaking at number 36 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. [3] [4]
The album was issued in the United Kingdom via F-Beat Records. The British album featured different artwork from the American version, which depicts lead singer Phil Alvin in what was later described as "the way he contorts his face between almost every verse in his trademark grinning-skull grimace." [5]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A− [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [9] |
The Blasters was critically well received. Reviewing the album in 1982 for The Village Voice , Robert Christgau said that Phil Alvin has "easily the most expressive vocal style in all of nouveau rockabilly", while "Dave Alvin's originals introduce a major songwriter, one with John Fogerty's bead on the wound-tight good times of America's tough white underbelly, though his focus is shallower, sexual rather than spiritual." [10] Rolling Stone critic Debra Rae Cohen praised the "bright, raw playing, terrific taste and... full-bodied vocals", while drawing special attention to the band's drummer, Bill Bateman, whose playing she indicated was "[t]he real key to the Blasters' exuberant authenticity". [8] Trouser Press declared that the album "smokes" and that the band's performance was "tighter than a drum". [2]
According to a 2002 PopMatters article, the national distribution of The Blasters was an eye-opener for listeners of "rockabilly, country, blues, and New Orleans roadhouse R&B," who found a band capable of producing new material that "stood up well to the influences from whence they sprang". [11]
All songs composed by Dave Alvin, except where noted.
David Albert Alvin is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s and has been involved in various side projects and collaborations. He has had brief stints as a member of the bands X and the Knitters.
Lee Francis Allen was an American tenor saxophone player. Phil Alvin, Allen's bandmate in The Blasters, called him one of the most important instrumentalists in rock'n'roll. Allen's distinctive tone has been hailed as "one of the defining sounds of rock'n'roll" and "one of the DNA strands of rock."
The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described "American Music" is a blend of rockabilly, early rock and roll, punk rock, mountain music, and rhythm and blues and country.
Confusion Is Sex is the debut studio album by American noise rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1983 by Neutral Records. It has been referred to as an important example of the no wave genre. AllMusic called it "lo-fi to the point of tonal drabness, as the instruments seem to ring out in only one tone, that of screechy noise".
Slates is an EP by the Fall, released on 27 April 1981 by Rough Trade Records. It was one of singer Mark E. Smith's favourite Fall releases, and he claimed it was aimed at "people who didn't buy records".
Wild Gift is the second studio album by American rock band X, released on May 4, 1981, by Slash Records. It was very well received critically, and was voted the year's second best album in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll. Wild Gift was later ranked at number 334 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Cheap Trick is the debut studio album by the American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1977. It was released under Epic Records and produced by Jack Douglas, a frequent collaborator of the band. The album did not reach the Billboard 200 chart but did "bubble under" at number 207 for one week in April 1977.
Computer Games is the debut album by American funk musician George Clinton, released by Capitol Records on November 5, 1982. Though technically Clinton's first "solo" album, the record featured most of the same personnel who had appeared on recent albums by Parliament and Funkadelic, both formally disbanded by Clinton in 1981. Conceived in the aftermath of a period marked by financial and personal struggles for Clinton, Computer Games restored his popularity for a short time before P-Funk fell victim to renewed legal problems and scant label support in the mid-1980s.
Distant Plastic Trees is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1991. Lead vocals on the album are performed by Susan Anway.
Submarine Bells is an album by New Zealand group the Chills, released in 1990. This was the band's first album on a major label, as Martin Phillipps signed to Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Slash Records, to release the album in the U.S. The album reached #1 on the New Zealand album charts and had significant support from American college radio. The album was awarded gold status in New Zealand and represents the peak of the Chills' popularity at home. It is considered to be one of the defining albums of the Dunedin sound. The supporting tour for Submarine Bells culminated in a triumphant home-coming concert in Dunedin Town Hall.
Fire of Love is the debut album of the American rock band the Gun Club, released in 1981 on Ruby Records.
The Neighborhood is the fifth album by the rock band Los Lobos. It was released in 1990 and includes contributions from, among others, Levon Helm and John Hiatt.
Philip Joseph Alvin is an American singer and guitarist known primarily as the leader of the rock band The Blasters. His voice has been described as "robust...powerful...rich, resonant, [and] supremely confident."
Hard Line is the fourth album by the American roots rock band the Blasters, released in 1985. Dave Alvin quit the band shortly after the album's release. The album peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard 200.
...And a Time to Dance is a 1983 EP by Los Lobos. It was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Steve Berlin and was the band's first release on Slash Records. The EP brought the band its first wide acclaim. It was voted best EP of the year in the Village Voice's influential Pazz & Jop critics poll. Critic Robert Christgau gave the record an "A−" in his Consumer Guide, calling it "good old rock and roll East L.A. style." Trouser Press raved about "a spicy romp back and forth across musical borders few can traverse with such ease," while Rolling Stone called it "an infectious dance record that deserves to be heard by rock fans."
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die is the second album from American punk rock band the Flesh Eaters. Released in 1981, it is perhaps their most acclaimed work. The band's roster on this album comprises Dave Alvin (guitar), John Doe (bass), Chris D., Steve Berlin, D. J. Bonebrake and Bill Bateman (drums).
American Music is the debut album by American rock band The Blasters, released in 1980.
Romeo's Escape is the debut album by American artist Dave Alvin, released in 1987. It was released in Europe as Every Night About This Time. It has been reissued multiple times under both titles. The album included three songs previously written and recorded by Alvin with The Blasters,.
Non Fiction is the third album by the American roots rock band the Blasters, released in 1983.
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