The Blasters
View on Discogs
View on Wikipedia
Album Summary
Right out of the sun-baked streets of Downey, California came The Blasters, and in 1981 they laid it all down on wax with their self-titled debut for Slash Records — a Los Angeles indie label that knew something real when it heard it. The album was produced by the band themselves, a testament to their deep conviction that nobody understood their sound better than they did. Recorded at a moment when the early 1980s Los Angeles scene was a wild collision of punk clubs and roadhouse tradition, The Blasters captured something that felt ancient and urgent all at once — a ferocious blend of rockabilly fire, Chicago blues grit, and rock and roll thunder that they'd been honing night after night in the clubs of Southern California. Phil Alvin out front, Dave Alvin conjuring lightning on guitar, and a rhythm section that hit like a freight train — this record was proof that American roots music wasn't dead, it was just waiting for the right hands to carry it forward.
Reception
- Upon its 1981 release, the album earned strong critical praise within roots rock and college radio circles, with reviewers singling out the band's raw authenticity and ferocious energy as something genuinely apart from the polished pop dominating the charts at the time.
- Critics celebrated the record as a vital and convincing reclamation of classic American musical forms, noting that The Blasters wore their influences — rockabilly, R&B, blues, and country — not as costumes but as a birthright.
- The album built the band a devoted grassroots following, particularly among listeners who felt the new wave era had left real American music behind, and it became a touchstone on the underground circuit.
Significance
- The Blasters' debut stands as one of the founding documents of the 1980s American roots rock revival, planting a flag alongside kindred spirits and helping map out a territory that would eventually grow into the Americana movement of the 1990s and beyond.
- By channeling the raw DIY energy of punk rock directly into the bones of rockabilly, blues, and early rock and roll, the album proved that these forms could be resurrected without being embalmed — they could still breathe, sweat, and shake the walls.
- Tracks like 'American Music' and 'Marie Marie' articulated a philosophy of cultural memory and working-class pride that resonated far beyond the Los Angeles club scene, giving the roots rock revival both an anthem and a conscience.
Tracklist
-
A1 Marie Marie 174
2:03
-
A2 No Other Girl 105
2:26
-
A3 I'm Shakin' 150
2:20
-
A4 Border Radio 122
2:43
-
A5 American Music 192
2:07
-
A6 So Long Baby Goodbye 185
2:21
-
B1 Hollywood Bed 126
3:33
-
B2 Never No More Blues 202
2:45
-
B3 This Is It 177
2:14
-
B4 Highway 61 194
2:58
-
B5 I Love You So 114
2:47
-
B6 Stop The Clock 164
1:53
Artist Details
The Blasters are a roots rock outfit that came out of Downey, California in 1979, cooking up a righteous blend of rockabilly, blues, R&B, and country that cut straight through the glossy pop nonsense of the early 80s like a hot knife through butter. Led by brothers Phil and Dave Alvin, these cats were the real deal — schooled in the tradition of Big Joe Turner and Eddie Cochran, they became the beating heart of the Los Angeles punk-adjacent roots revival scene, earning the respect of everyone from hardcore kids to seasoned blues veterans. Their self-titled album and *Non Fiction* stand as testaments to American musical heritage done with fire and conviction, and their influence can be heard in damn near every roots rock and Americana act that came after them.
