The Blasters - Let's Rock Again (Live 1982)

Size: 128.5 MB
Time: 54:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Rockabilly Blues, Rock & Roll
Art: Front

01. Crazy Baby (Live) (2:45)
02. This Is It (Live) (2:09)
03. Border Radio (Live) (3:05)
04. I'm Shakin' (Live) (2:09)
05. Interview, Pt. 1 (Live) (0:38)
06. Tag Along (Live) (2:30)
07. Stop The Clock (Live) (1:55)
08. Interview, Pt. 2 (Live) (0:22)
09. Go Go Go (Live) (1:58)
10. Carl Perkins Interview (Live) (1:17)
11. Blue Suede Shoes (Live) (With Carl Perkins) (4:32)
12. Honey Don't (Live) (With Carl Perkins) (4:19)
13. Rock-A-Billy Fever (Live) (With Carl Perkins) (4:10)
14. Interview, Pt. 3 (Live) (1:07)
15. American Music (Live) (2:03)
16. Hollywood Bed (Live) (3:02)
17. Interview, Pt. 4 (Live) (0:50)
18. Built For Comfort (Live) (With Willie Dixon) (3:11)
19. I'm Ready (Live) (With Willie Dixon) (3:12)
20. Willie Dixon Interview (Live) (0:24)
21. Marie Marie (Live) (1:51)
22. So Long Baby Goodbye (Live) (2:37)
23. Interview, Pt. 5 (Live) (0:54)
24. Boppin' The Blues (Live) (With Carl Perkins) (2:59)

Here’s something obscure and awesome: an hour-long TV special by The Blasters, recorded live in Chicago back in 1982, with guest appearances by Carl Perkins and Willie Dixon.

The Blasters were one of the best bands of the ’80s. They came out of the same scene as X, Los Lobos, and even Dwight Yoakam, but never quite broke big. They got tagged as rockabilly revivalists, which brothers Phil (vocals) and Dave Alvin (guitars) certainly had the slick haircuts to be, but their music had so much more going on than that. On their self-titled album (not their debut, though few have heard their actual first release, American Music), they blazed through ’50s rock ‘n’ roll, country, R&B, the blues, and stomping tunes that blended all those styles and more. Their rhythm section—pianist Gene Taylor, bassist John Bazz, and drummer Bill Bateman—swung as hard as they rocked, and saxophonists Steve Berlin (who also worked with Los Lobos and the Plugz) and Lee Allen (the man behind the R&B hit “Walkin’ With Mr. Lee,” which the band covered live) gave the arrangements punch. Over the course of three studio albums and a blazing live EP, the band made a serious attempt at keeping the heart of American music—what Dave Alvin summed up as “the Louisiana boogie and the Delta blues/We got country swing and rockabilly, too/We got jazz, country western, and Chicago blues/It’s the greatest music that you ever knew” in the song of the same name—alive in the mid ’80s. This broadcast shows just how great they were; if you haven’t heard them before now, the two-CD set Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings will be a revelation. ~Phil Freeman

Please don't complain about frequencies. This is low quality recordings so don't expect great sound.

Let's Rock Again (Live 1982) MP3
Let's Rock Again (Live 1982) FLAC

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VA - Hoodoo Voodoo

Size: 232,7 MB
Time: 98:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Blues, Rock, R&B
Art: Front

01 Lavern Baker - Voodoo Voodoo (1:48)
02 Dr. John - I Been Hoodood (3:12)
03 The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - I Got My Mojo Working (3:32)
04 Tony Joe White - Conjure Woman (3:58)
05 The Coasters - Idol With The Golden Head (2:21)
06 Chris Connor - Witchcraft (3:06)
07 The Sleepstones - I Put A Spell On You (3:46)
08 Esther Phillips - Mojo Hannah (2:24)
09 Brook Benton - Born Under A Bad Sign (3:06)
10 Bobby Short - Witchcraft (2:20)
11 Ray Charles - The Midnight Hour (3:02)
12 David Newman - Congo Chant (4:23)
13 The Coasters - The Shadow Knows (2:15)
14 The Shadows Of Knight - Bad Little Woman (2:33)
15 The Nashville Teens - Hoochie Coochie Man (3:35)
16 Top Cats - Fortune Teller (2:43)
17 Dave Edmunds - Ju Ju Man (3:25)
18 The Blasters - Dark Night (3:48)
19 Champion Jack Dupree - Evil Woman (4:20)
20 Jackson Firebird - Voodoo (3:49)
21 Green On Red - Sixteen Ways (3:39)
22 Dr Feelgood - Lucky Seven (2:44)
23 Crazyhead - Fortune Teller (2:57)
24 Screaming Sirens - Voodoo (3:06)
25 Tony Joe White - Voodoo Village (3:06)
26 Dr. John - Zu Zu Mamou (7:59)
27 Mudhoney - Thirteenth Floor Opening (2:31)
28 Alice Cooper - Black Juju (9:07)

Hoodoo Voodoo

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The Blasters - Live 1986

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:56
Size: 132.6 MB
Styles: Roots rock, Electric blues
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[3:17] 1. Rock And Roll Will Stand
[4:19] 2. Trouble Bound
[3:44] 3. Jubilee Train
[3:59] 4. Mystery Train
[4:24] 5. Just Another Sunday
[2:04] 6. I Don't Want To
[3:44] 7. Somebody Done Hoodooed The Hoodoo Man
[3:34] 8. Help You Dream
[3:27] 9. Crazy Baby
[2:17] 10. I'm Shakin'
[2:42] 11. Border Radio
[4:16] 12. Dark Night
[2:00] 13. Off The Wall
[2:43] 14. Red Rose
[3:02] 15. American Music
[5:36] 16. Long White Cadillac
[2:40] 17. Marie Marie

The Blasters were lauded by the critics and developed a loyal following mainly because of the intensity of their live shows. Phil drenched in sweat, Dave wailing on the guitar while Bazz and Bateman were pushing the rhythm into overdrive. With all that energy and talent, the Blasters never resorted to histrionics and that added to their appeal and authenticity. As time went by the roots rock scene had waned. Dave joined X and wanted to branch out record solo albums. In 1986, Dave was playing his final shows with the original Blasters line-up. Gene Taylor was gone, Steve Berlin was playing with Los Lobos and Lee Allen was honking the sax on tour with Fats Domino. This takes us up to February 14, 1986 at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano where this show was recorded. Stripped down, back to the original quartet and playing like it was 1980 or maybe better!

Live 1986 mc
Live 1986 zippy

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The Blasters - 2 albums: Hard Line / 4-11-44

Album: Hard Line
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:48
Size: 82.0 MB
Styles: Roots rock, Electric blues
Year: 1985
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. Trouble Bound
[4:14] 2. Just Another Sunday
[3:12] 3. Hey, Girl
[3:50] 4. Dark Night
[3:33] 5. Little Honey
[3:46] 6. Samson And Delilah
[3:25] 7. Colored Lights
[3:38] 8. Help You Dream
[3:43] 9. Common Man
[2:36] 10. Rock And Roll Will Stand

After releasing two strong albums for Slash, the Blasters had plenty of critical acclaim and a sizable hometown following, but they hadn't come especially close to landing a hit record, and on the 1985 album Hard Line, they overhauled their approach in the studio in hopes of creating something that sounded more contemporary (and saleable). Producer Jeff Eyrich pumped up the sound of Bill Bateman's drums (and for a few tracks replaced him with Stan Lynch of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), Dave Alvin's guitar tone got thicker and harder, the horn section of Lee Allen and Steve Berlin sat out the sessions, and the emphasis was put squarely on new songs which owed less to rock & roll's past than on the Blasters and Non-Fiction. The Blasters certainly hadn't turned their back on their influences: the Jordanaires, the vocal group that added harmonies to several of Elvis Presley's biggest hits, contributed backing vocals to four cuts, while an impassioned version of "Samson and Delilah" kicked off side two with raw gospel fervor, and "Trouble Bound" and "Help You Dream" showed Dave Alvin's gift for writing in traditional styles was as strong as ever. The album's biggest gesture toward the mass market was bringing in noted fan John Cougar Mellencamp to write and co-produce one tune, but "Colored Lights" doesn't significantly lower the album's batting average, and it hardly sounds like a creative compromise, even if it isn't as good a song as those Dave Alvin brought to the sessions. Alvin's songs took on a darker tone on Hard Line, especially the tale of a small town lynching, "Dark Night," the anti-Reagan rant "Common Man," and the busted romance of "Just Another Sunday," while the fiddle-led acoustic arrangement of "Little Honey" serves the tune far better than the version X recorded on Ain't Love Grand (with co-author John Doe on vocals). Phil Alvin rarely had a better run as a singer as he did on this album, which finds him better controlled but just as impassioned and expressive as ever. And the closing track, the rollicking "Rock and Roll Will Stand," is a darkly funny appraisal of the music biz that shows the Blasters knew just what they were getting into by trying to scale the charts, and were prepared for the consequences. Hard Line proved to be the Blasters' final studio album with their original lineup, and while it sounds like an experiment that only partially succeeded, the best moments revealed they could move forward without losing what made them special, and if this is as close to a sell-out as they got, they held on to their principles far better than the vast majority of roots rock bands who figured a different producer might get them on the radio. ~Mark Deming

Hard Line

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Album: 4-11-44
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:25
Size: 113.2 MB
Styles: Roots rock, Electric blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:29] 1. Daddy Rollin' Stone
[3:42] 2. 4-11-44
[3:39] 3. Rebound
[3:15] 4. It's All Your Fault
[3:16] 5. Julie
[3:35] 6. Dry River
[3:15] 7. Your Kind Of Love
[2:50] 8. Love Is My Business
[4:10] 9. Slip Of The Tongue
[4:02] 10. Precious Memories (The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised
[3:29] 11. Boneyard (Dick Tracy Theme)
[3:21] 12. Window Up Above
[3:33] 13. Just To Be With You
[2:44] 14. Fire Of Love

While the Blasters called it quits in 1986 after Hard Line failed to break through to the mass audience, it was only a few years later that lead singer Phil Alvin brought the band back, though without the participation of his kid brother, Dave Alvin, who played guitar with the Blasters and wrote their most memorable songs. For years, Phil Alvin promised to take the Blasters back to the studio, and in 2004 a new Blasters album finally appeared, 4-11-44. One spin confirms that this edition of the band can play up a storm, and that Phil's passionate roadhouse vocals are as exciting as they've ever been; Keith Wyatt is, if anything, a stronger picker than Dave Alvin, the rhythm section cooks with gas, and the results will get the party started with soul fire and real rock drive. But if you're a fan of the Blasters, it's hard to not feel as if something is missing on 4-11-44. When the Blasters started out, they were practically the only game in town for this sort of charged-up blues and retro-rock wailing; these days, there are a number of worthwhile bands flying the flag for this sort of music, and while the Blasters are still better than most of them, the guys on 4-11-44 don't sound as special as the band that cut American Music or The Blasters. There was an almost ministerial fervor to the group's original recordings, as if they needed to wake up an audience to a musical tradition that was on the verge of dying out; 4-11-44, on the other hand, sounds like a great roadhouse band rocking on out, but there isn't nearly as much force behind it. It doesn't help that the set list isn't nearly as interesting as the Blasters' previous albums; while there are two new Phil Alvin originals, including the great title song, the truth is he can't write with the same impact as his brother, and while the covers are all great songs, they don't have the same resonance as the classic obscurities the old band made its bread and butter. 4-11-44 is a good album, and it does nothing to tarnish the Blasters' name, but it just doesn't bear the same weight and move with the same fervor as the original band's catalog, and in this case these small details really do make all the difference. ~Mark Deming

4-11-44

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The Blasters - Fun On Saturday Night

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:35
Size: 81.5 MB
Styles: Rock roots, Electric blues
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[2:32] 1. Well Oh Well
[3:32] 2. Jackson
[3:56] 3. Breath Of My Love
[2:12] 4. Fun On Saturday Night
[3:54] 5. No Nights By Myself
[2:23] 6. Love Me With A Feeling
[3:11] 7. I Don't Want Cha
[2:35] 8. Please Please Please
[2:18] 9. Rock My Blues Away
[3:28] 10. Penny
[2:35] 11. The Yodeling Mountaineer
[2:54] 12. Maria Maria

Guitarist and songwriter Dave Alvin left the Blasters in 1986, and it wasn't until 2004 that the band, under the leadership of lead vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin, got around to cutting a new studio album, 4-11-44, so the gap of a mere eight years between that album and 2012's Fun on a Saturday Night seems like a brief intermission by comparison. 4-11-44 felt uneven, as if this once mighty band lost the muscle and the focus they commanded in their prime, but even though they still don't have a songwriter strong enough to compensate for Dave Alvin's absence, Fun on a Saturday Night is a definite improvement, a great set of classic blues and R&B covers that cuts a solid groove and sounds like these guys are having a hell of a good time. Phil Alvin's voice is a few shades grainier than it once was, but he wails like he means it as he tears into "Rock My Blues Away," "Well Oh Well," and "Love Me with a Feeling" with a joyous abandon. Alvin struts like a bantam rooster as he duets with Exene Cervenka on "Jackson," and reveals you don't necessarily have to be crazy to cover James Brown's "Please, Please, Please." Alvin also sounds convincing when the band slows the tempo on "No More Nights by Myself" and "Penny," and his longtime cohorts, bassist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman, have just the right touch for this material, tough when they need to be and easy when the song calls for it. Guitarist Keith Wyatt has impressive chops and the good sense to not make like a show-off, and when the band turns their classic "Marie Marie" into a Mexican folk number on "Maria Maria," the gambit works like a charm. Easily the oddest number here is also the sole original; "Breath of My Love" is a funny but harrowing tale of domestic discord written by Phil Alvin that cuts to the bone and may feature the first recorded instance of a doo wop chorus singing "Nine One One." Fun on a Saturday Night isn't an epochal roots rock statement like the Blasters' best work, but that also doesn't seem to be what the band had in mind for this set; instead, this is four guys playing some songs they love with the skill and smarts of a lifetime devoted to the music, and this is 36 minutes of good rockin' fun that will kick off a Saturday night (or any other night of the week) in high style. ~Mark Deming

Fun On Saturday Night mc
Fun On Saturday Night zippy

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The Blasters - The Blasters Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:30
Size: 145.4 MB
Styles: Roots rock, Electric blues
Year: 1991
Art: Front

[2:05] 1. Marie Marie
[2:27] 2. No Other Girl
[2:21] 3. I'm Shakin'
[2:43] 4. Border Radio
[2:07] 5. American Music
[2:20] 6. So Long Baby Goodbye
[3:30] 7. Hollywood Bed
[4:40] 8. Roll 'em Pete
[2:31] 9. Red Rose
[2:53] 10. Long White Cadillac
[3:34] 11. Boomtown
[3:42] 12. Common Man
[2:14] 13. Justine
[3:47] 14. Trouble Bound
[3:32] 15. Little Honey
[3:47] 16. Samson And Delilah
[3:48] 17. Dark Night
[2:48] 18. Cry For Me
[4:53] 19. Kathleen
[3:40] 20. Help You Dream

Baritone Saxophone – Steve Berlin; Bass – John Bazz; Drums – Bill Bateman; Guitar – Phil Alvin; Harmonica – Phil Alvin; Lead Guitar – Dave Alvin; Piano – Gene Taylor; Tenor Saxophone – Lee Allen; Vocals – Phil Alvin.

The Slash years are compiled here, along with three previously unreleased tracks, forming the perfect overview of the Blasters' short recording career devoted to blues, country, and R&B. From the outset of their career, from "Marie Marie" to "Border Radio," it was clear Dave Alvin would be a songwriter to be reckoned with -- one for the ages. Tracing his development through "Long White Cadillac" (later recorded by Dwight Yoakam), "Trouble Bound" (with the Jordanaires on vocals), and the hard country of "Dark Night," brother Phil Alvin brings the necessary heart, soul, and authenticity to the work, and the band is a master of their form. Few work or rock harder. ~Denise Sullivan

The Blasters Collection mc
The Blasters Collection zippy

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The Blasters - Live: Going Home

Size: 121,9+81,2 MB
Time: 52:04+34:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Blues Rock, Rock & Roll
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. Marie Marie (3:22)
02. Real Rock Drive (2:06)
03. Border Radio (2:34)
04. Crazy Baby (3:25)
05. Help You Dream (4:49)
06. Have Mercy Baby (4:22)
07. No Other Girl (2:24)
08. Don't You Lie To Me (5:10)
09. So Long Baby Goodbye (4:48)
10. Red Headed Woman (3:45)
11. Wandering Eye (5:39)
12. American Music (4:05)
13. One Bad Stud (5:29)

CD 2:
01. Red Rose (2:46)
02. Trouble Bound (3:56)
03. I'm Shaking (2:30)
04. Sadie's Back In Town (3:07)
05. I Ain't Got You (3:17)
06. Flip Flop And Fly (8:09)
07. JB Lenoir Jam (4:51)
08. All Your Love (6:05)

In 2002, the original lineup of the Blasters -- vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin, guitarist Dave Alvin, drummer Bill Bateman, and bassist John Bazz -- reunited to play a few shows to celebrate the release of a retrospective compilation of their recordings for Slash Records. In the grand tradition of giving the public what they want, a year after the original set of five shows had come and gone the reunited Blasters were still playing gigs for their loyal fans, and when Dave Alvin decided to pull the plug on the reunion in August of 2003, he did so in style with a special gig featuring a handful of special guests -- Chicago blues harp master Billy Boy Arnold, rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess, and members of two classic L.A. doo wop groups, the Calvanes and the Medallions. A mobile recording truck and a video crew were on hand to preserve the show for the ages, and the results have been released in both audio and video form as The Blasters Live: Going Home. The CD version has the burden of competing with an earlier live album from the first set of reunion gigs, Trouble Bound, but while Trouble Bound has a slightly higher stomp factor, Going Home finds the band in tighter and leaner form, with pianist Gene Taylor getting a greater chance to strut his stuff and the guests allowing the Blasters to show off the full range of their chops and their influences. Ultimately, both albums document one of America's greatest roots rock bands in its natural environment, on-stage in front of an appreciative audience, and like Trouble Bound, Going Home shows the passage of time hasn't dimmed the Blasters' ability to make with the hard rockin' boogie that made "American music" the stuff of legend around the world. If you dig the Blasters at all, you'll want to hear both discs...and after you do, you'll hope that the Alvin brothers can patch up their differences long enough to take their show on the road again sometime soon. It's mighty fine stuff. ~by Mark Deming

Live: Going Home

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The Blasters - Trouble Bound

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:30
Size: 154.5 MB
Styles: Roots rock
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:13] 1. Red Rose
[3:39] 2. Trouble Bound
[3:33] 3. Long White Cadillac
[5:26] 4. Cryin' For My Baby
[2:22] 5. I'm Shakin'
[3:41] 6. Blue Shadows
[4:50] 7. Help You Dream
[5:55] 8. Common Man
[4:14] 9. Hollywood Bed
[3:13] 10. Too Tired
[3:07] 11. I Wish You Would
[2:17] 12. Sadie's Back In Town
[5:32] 13. Dark Night
[3:57] 14. So Long Baby Goodbye
[3:44] 15. American Music
[4:46] 16. One Bad Stud
[3:52] 17. Marie Marie

While the original lineup of the Blasters made more than their share of great records, their rocket-powered blend of rockabilly, blues, country, and any anything else that sounds good in a roadhouse on a Saturday night was always meant to be experienced in person, live and loud. However, the Blasters' sole live release, the six-song EP Over There: Live at the Venue, London, simply lacked the space to communicate the many good things the group could do in front of an audience. Fortunately, in the spring of 2002 the original Blasters lineup -- Phil Alvin on guitar and vocals, Dave Alvin on lead guitar, John Bazz on bass, and Bill Bateman on drums -- reassembled for a handful of California shows to promote the retrospective release Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (1981-1985), and someone had the good sense to record their shows at the Hollywood House of Blues. Trouble Bound (in which the foursome are joined by pianist Gene Taylor, who joined the group shortly before they cut The Blasters in 1981) doesn't exactly break any new ground for the Blasters, but it sure does a hell of a job of capturing what they do best -- even the relatively understated numbers like "Help You Dream" and "Too Tired" sizzle with energy, and when they open up the throttle on "Long White Cadillac," "So Long Baby Goodbye," and "Marie, Marie," they sound muscular, impassioned, and joyously alive. Engineer Mark Linett does a great job of getting the band's sound on tape with a very live ambience that still sounds tight and punchy, and the dedication to friend, influence, and sometime bandmate Lee Allen is a true sign of class. In short, Trouble Bound is the great live album this great live band has long deserved, and the fact that they cut it 16 years after they last shared a stage together simply proves that the right ingredients are what make a great recipe work. ~Mark Deming

Trouble Bound mc
Trouble Bound zippy

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