American Music

Right from the beginning, with Dave Alvin's title song, the Blasters made their statement, that basic rock & roll was as contemporary in 1980 as it had been in the mid-'50s. The other 12 tracks, which mixed Dave and Phil Alvin originals with covers like "I Wish You Would" and "Never No More Blues," reiterated the opening remark, re-creating the feel of a biker bar after a couple of tall ones. Actually, the Blasters didn't have much to say beyond this record, of which only a couple of thousand copies were pressed, but they went on to a few years with Warner Bros. [In the late '90s, the debut was released on CD with six bonus tracks, all covers, and that statement seemed just as valid as it had at first.]