The Blasters
Testament: The Complete Stash Recordings
Dave Alvin and The Guilty Men
Out in California

The Blasters burst onto the Los Angeles music scene with their fiery brand of juiced-up rockabilly just as the punk scene was blossoming in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Like their punk peers, they played with unbridled energy and were quickly embraced by bands such as X, with whom they often shared a bill. Their lineup included full-bodied vocalist/guitarist Phil Alvin, his brother, the group's primary songwriter and lead guitarist, Dave Alvin, bassist John Bazz, ivory-banger Gene Taylor and hard hitting drummer Bill Bateman. After releasing their debut, American Music to critical praise on Rollin' Rock in 1980 (now available on Hightone), The Blasters signed with Stash and recorded three albums proper, plus a live EP, which, in addition to some other loose ends, is all included on the double-CD, 52-track collection Testament.

The first disc, which spans The Blasters' first two Slash albums is well-executed rockabilly fare that incorporates elements of soul and R&B, but never establishes an identity of its own. Granted, it's great music for taking on a cross-country trip in a '55 Chevy, but nothing that leaves much of an impression once removed from the stereo.

On Disc 2, The Blasters output evolved into a more Steve Earle/Bruce Springsteen roots-rock sound highlighted by Dave Alvin's growth as a songwriter. Songs such as Just Another Sunday and Little Honey display raw emotion and true lyrical power. The second disc concludes with 11 live cuts from a wattage-intensive show in London (and one cut from New York) that blends originals with covers like Jerry Lee Lewis' High School Confidential. The show took place in the early 1980s but could easily be mistaken for a lost tape from an obscure Eisenhower-era band.

In 1986, Dave Alvin left The Blasters to join X and then to pursue a solo career. Since then, he has evolved into one of the premier singer/songwriters and producers of the alt-country/roots rock genre. Alvin's latest release, Out in California, a live document culled from several recent West Coast shows, is ample proof that Alvin's best work was not far from behind him when he left his old bandmates. Highlights from his solo career (Blue Boulevard, Fourth of July), revamped Blasters tunes (American Music) and classic blues covers (Don't Let Your Deal Go down) gel to form a memorable Dave Alvin album rather than an updated rockabilly record, which is the case with the inspired, yet derivative, bulk of Blasters material.
—Wade Tatangelo
Testament: The Complete Stash Recordings (Slash/Rhino)

Out in California (Hightone)

Butthole Surfers
Humpty Dumpty LSD

This new offering from the American punk scene's all-time weirdo champions consists of 16 rare and/or unreleased tracks, running the temporal gamut from 1982 to 1992. What does it sound like, you ask? What the hell do you think it freakin' sounds like? It sounds like a gaggle of intelligent, somewhat talented and hugely acid-damaged kids running amok in a Mars Music after closing time, that's what it sounds like. This isn't the weary and wary group of men that wrote the hit single Pepper for a major-label release; this is a collective of idealistic freaks bent on tweaking the far edges of sensory perception. Humpty Dumpty careens from mellow garage strumming to blasting punk to lots and lots of abstract noisy pummel. It also careens from funny to engaging to wholly unlistenable, and unfortunately, there's quite a bit of the latter taking up space on this shiny plastic disc. (Latino Buggerveil Records; www.midheaven.com)
—Scott Harrell

Bill Frisell
:Rarum V: Selected Recordings

The vaunted ECM label unveils its :Rarum series, high-end best-of compilations that involve the musician at every step — most notably giving them complete say in what selections will be included. Regular readers of this space may know of my reverence for the work of guitarist Bill Frisell. Let's just sum it up by saying that he's my favorite living instrumentalist. Thus, it's a fine thing to see Frisell among ECM's first batch of :Rarums, along with such luminaries as Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and others. These 14 tracks (clocking in at a maxed-out 76:36) run from 1981 to 1996 and capture the guitarist at various stages of development. Besides recordings of Frisell as a leader, the set includes his work as a member of bands led by Paul Motian, Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler and Paul Bley. The core of the music is the kind of ethereal Euro-jazz that has been the stock-in-trade of ECM, along with shades of avant-garde, layered acoustic material, rock-leaning stuff and various esoterica. Frisell's warbly, inimitable guitar sound and left-of-center improvisational bent are on display throughout. For the most part, Frisell has eclipsed his ECM work with his subsequent long association with Nonesuch, but :Rarum V: Selected Recordings is a stellar primer to an extraordinary talent. (ECM, www.ecmrecords.com)
—Eric Snider