Released December 1981 Label US: Slash
UK: F-Beat | Length 30:47 | |
Genre Rock and roll, rockabilly, roots rock The Blasters
(1981) Over There Live at the Venue, London
(1982) | ||
The Blasters is a 1981 album by American rock and roll band The Blasters. Although the album was released in the US by the independent label Slash Records, its strong sales performance required a deal for wider distribution with Warner Bros. Records. The album was well-received, making Time magazine's list of "top 10 albums" for 1981 and peaking at #36 on Billboard's "Pop Albums".
Contents
The album was issued in the UK via F-Beat Records. The British album featured different artwork from the American version.
Critical reception
The album was critically well received. 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". Staff reviewer John Cruz of Sputnikmusic declared "they took all that was old and made it new again and took what was new and played it the way the cats way back when used to play it". Trouser Press declared that the album "smokes" and that the band's performance was "tighter than a drum". Rolling Stone praised the "bright, raw playing, terrific taste and...full-bodied vocals", while drawing special attention to the band's drummer, Bill Bateman, whose playing it indicated was "[t]he real key to the Blaster's exuberant authenticity...."
Track listing
All songs composed by Dave Alvin, except where noted.
- "Marie Marie" – 2:07
- "No Other Girl" – 2:29
- "I'm Shakin'" (Rudy Toombs) – 2:22
- "Border Radio" – 2:47
- "American Music" – 2:10
- "So Long Baby Goodbye" – 2:24
- "Hollywood Bed" – 3:33
- "Never No Mo' Blues" (Elsie McWilliams, Jimmie Rodgers) – 2:47
- "This is It" – 2:15
- "Highway 61" (Albert Laundrew) – 3:00
- "I Love You So" (Bo Diddley) – 2:51
- "Stop the Clock" (Bob Ehret, Damon Robertson) – 1:56
The Blasters
With