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The Blasters - Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings |
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05 August 2005 |
The Blasters Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings - (Rhino) In continuing their attention paid to the early days of the Slash record label, Rhino has rightfully seen fit to give The Blasters' Slash catalogue the deluxe treatment with Testament . The result is one package with their three full-length releases, their Live EP, and odds and ends that fans new and old shouldn't do without. How important were The Blasters in the grand scheme of things? Very. The Blasters were the epitome of emphasizing the similarities between punk's urgency and rockabilly's excitement. As Brits found a kinship to punk in reggae, the USA mined its own past and found that, yes, rock and roll didn't just suddenly become exciting with punk's arrival. This formed a significant part of The Blasters' audience, and even forced the most hardcore of punk fans to say, "I hate everything that isn't punk...except The Blasters". The Blasters weren't a bunch of throwbacks by any stretch of the imagination. Dave Alvin's guitar had a bite as sharp as Billy Zoom's, Phil Alvin was a "real" singer, the timekeeping was impeccable in drummer Bill Bateman and bassist John Bazz, and Gene Taylor proved that a little bit of piano was just fine. Add the contributions of sax men like the legendary Lee Allen and the pre-Los Lobos Steve Berlin and you have one of the most "complete" bands of the era - one that married it's passions with extraordinary musicianship and, by way of Dave Alvin's pen, extraordinary songs. The Blasters released two great records (The Blasters and Hard Line), one great live EP (Over There: Live At The Venue, London), and one truly exceptional record (Non-Fiction) during their stay at Slash and the only way to do them justice is to present them in their entirety. Here, the effects on shaping modern American roots music are on full display. Of course, such a journey has to start with the basics and that's what the bands self-titled Slash debut did. Debts were paid through covers like the stomp of "I'm Shakin'", the outrageous "I Love You So", and even with Phil Alvin's yodel on Jimmie Rodgers' "Never No More Blues". The real sign of things to come, though, came by way of Dave Alvin-penned originals. Both "Marie Marie" and "Border Radio" became anthems - the former for letting the hopes for a good time roll and the latter as a tribute to the emotional power a good tune can have. Then, of course, there's the pride in "American Music" where an obviously rich history is celebrated. What happened next can only be described as resulting in one of the finest albums of the era. Non-Fiction kept the band's roots firmly rooted, but found the band more able to tell their own stories of loves and hopes lost and found. The naïve quality of "One More Dance" and "It Must Be Love", the longing of "Jubilee Train" (which would have made Woody Guthrie proud), and the devastating account of things just going wrong on "Bus Station". Dave Alvin came into his own here as a songwriter, and had the benefit of the entire band's contribution to realize the songs as the mini-opuses they are. As bonus tracks from the era, Alvin's "Flat Top Joint" holds its own with anything off of Non-Fiction but more interesting with the benefit of hindsight is John Doe's vocal appearance on "Justine". The Blasters and X shared an artistic kinship that criss-crossed numerous times (the most dedicated being Dave Alvin's short stay as X's full-time guitarist after Zoom's departure, the Knitters country project, and The Flesheaters' all star lineup that included Dave Alvin, Bateman, Doe, and X drummer DJ Bonebrake). Before getting to Hard Line, we have the band's output from the Streets Of Fire soundtrack - a great take on Lieber and Stoller's "One Bad Stud" and the original "Blue Shadows". Definitely their most far-reaching release, Hard Line found the band firmly rooted in their own vision of roots music and the fact that this actually means widening their musical scope. Phil Alvin makes "Samson And Delilah" the spiritual shout that it is, while David Hidalgo's accordion makes "Hey Girl" a memorable incursion into more Tex-Mex territory (of course, Hidalgo and Los Lobos were not only another example of kindred spirits and friends of The Blasters but took in Steve Berlin as a full-time member around this time). The band were paid quite a compliment in "Colored Lights", penned for them by one John Cougar Mellencamp, and the guest background vocal appearance of the legendary Jordanaires added much to the doo-wop flavour of "Trouble Bound". As a sign of things to come, Dave Alvin shared songwriting credits with Doe on "Just Another Sunday" and "Little Honey" (both of which would have sounded right at home on Joe Doe's solo debut Meet John Doe or Dave Alvin's post-Blasters Romeo's Escape). Again, the outtakes impress, especially Alvin's "Can't Stop Time". Fittingly, the proceedings close with The Blasters in their element - on the stage. Over There: Live At The Venue, London is beefed up here to a total of ten tracks from that performance. Like the original release, the only Dave Alvin original here is "I Don't Want To". What we finally do have, though, is the band's "Walking With Mr. Lee" written by mentor Lee Allen. Finally, in closing, we have a rare recording of the Alvin brothers alone as a duo on "Take Out Some Insurance" live in New York. Really, we're not talking about a particularly long career here (although consider the Hightone reissue of the bands first release essential as well) when you consider the breadth and scope of the music The Blasters made. The fact is they lived and breathed the music they played - and showed their influences the respect that they richly deserved while finding their own powerful voice along the way.
9.0
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