Audio-Visuals

THE BLASTERS LIVE: GOING HOME
Directed by Michael Murphey
(Shout! Factory)
A lot of people love the Blasters and consider them the best American roots rock band there ever was. I'll freely admit I'm not one of those folks (I never could warm up to Phil Alvin's voice), but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the live performance captured on The Blasters Live: Going Home. Recorded in August 2003 in Santa Ana, the DVD presents the original lineup of the veteran band tearing through its classics ("Border Radio," "Marie Marie," "American Music"), deeper album cuts ("Trouble Bound," "Help You Dream," "Red Rose") and faithful batch of covers ("One Bad Stud," "I"m Shakin'"), as tightly and enthusiastically as if the band had never broken up. The group is also joined by some guests, including rockabilly great Sonny Burgess and bluesman Billy Boy Arnold; members of West Coast doo-wop groups the Medallions and the Calvanes also lend a throat or two. Having never seen Phil perform, I have to admit it's a hoot: the guy's got a classic rock & roll grimace, even if his voice is getting a bit stiffer. I get the most pleasure, though, from watching lil' brother Dave (one of my favorite songwriters and guitarists) tear up his Strat with the fire of a punk rocker and the touch of a bluesman, not to mention pianist Gene Taylor rip the keys off his digital piano. The disk is augmented with some tasty extras for fans, including interviews with each original band member and vintage performances by both the classic and current lineups. Not being a fan, this DVD doesn't really jazz me up, but a Blasters fan will absolutely love it.

There is, of course, a companion soundtrack album which deletes some of the songs found on the DVD and adds a few others. Collect them all for maximum live Blastersness. Michael Toland [buy it]