Blasters – This Is It

It’s been a while since I posted a Blasters song (although I’ve posted performances by them), so I thought we would revisit them today on this fine Sunday. When I listen to the Blasters, I feel that I’m hearing every American sound that mattered. Rockabilly, R&B, gospel, blues, and the ghost of early rock ’n’ roll. This song is from their self-titled album, released in 1981.

I missed the Blasters when they were real-time, but I’m happy to be catching up with them now. They didn’t follow trends; instead, they stuck with what they knew best. 1950s energy reimagined through the early 1980s, without the trap of big production and high-gloss synths.

The Blasters album was the one that put them on the map. It caught the ear of critics, landed them an opening spot for Queen and The Cars, and even made them heroes of the early L.A. punk scene. But they didn’t fit neatly anywhere; they were too raw for pop radio, too traditional for punk, and too loud for nostalgia. They were their own being.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but mainstream radio back in the ’80s would have been greatly improved by these guys. They were a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

You can hear the ghosts of Gene Vincent and Little Richard shouting approval. It’s pretty simple, just the sound of American rock ’n’ roll refusing to die. If you’re new to The Blasters, start here with this album because… This is it.

This Is It

This is it, now, baby
The moon, it sure looks fine
I can tell your future by looking
At the highway sign

It’s something we’ll never know
Unless we get up and go
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, this is it
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, now, baby
It’s something we can share
Don’t worry about the rules
Tonight i just don’t care

Our world’s just a little too grey
Tonight’s right for our getaway
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, now, baby
It ain’t no hanging crime
But when the sun comes up
Maybe you’ll change your mind

If you want to go home say when
But you’ll never come with me again
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, this is it
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

46 thoughts on “Blasters – This Is It”

  1. Didn’t know anything about those Blasters before, and the title “This is it” rings in my ears like a destorted echo of “Is this it ?” by the Strokes.
    The two tunes are obviously different but your review had spotted a light on a band I should remember. Thank.

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  2. Pingback: Blasters – This Is It – MobsterTiger

  3. Now you’re talking. Anything involving the Alvin brothers is worth my time. Live one is great. Their love of the music comes through every time. I have the compilation of The Blasters, but I really need to go through all their stuff with a fine tooth comb. Great post.

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  5. This is a great song, Max. I’m movin’ ‘n groovin’ in my chair, as I’m listening to it and writing this clever comment. I cannot tell you how many bands and artists I now dig I missed at the time when they put out their music. And it’s largely thanks to music blogging and fellow bloggers like you, who time and again introduce me to great music that’s all new to me!

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  9. First of all, we should all point good thoughts to Phil Alvin, who has been very sick for a while now. Thankfully Dave has beaten his cancer.

    The retro feel of the Blasters is one of the reasons why Dave left the band. He wanted to do more, he has done more, and Phil wanted to stay right where they were.

    There is no accounting for what is and what isn’t on the charts. I’m so far away from whatever is currently “hot” these days. But the Blasters were great.

    You have posted about their song “American Music.” Well, that’s what they played, a gumbo of all of it. I quote:

    https://caf0279981e78dd30bff3516c3a8da10.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html

    We got 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
    It’s American music
    It’s that crazy sound right from the U.S.A

    By the way, you upped The Hollywood Fats band a day or so ago, for which I thank you because that record is one lost to the ages. Hollywood Fats (Michael Mann) was the first, I believe, guitarist after Dave left the Blasters.

    THANK YOU

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    1. That Hollywood Fats album is great! I had never heard it until last week. I was thinking…how did I not hear this? Authentic blues played with passion.
      Anyway on The Blasters…yes a little bit of everything in their music. As I said in the post…I missed them real time but I love them now.
      Oh…that link came up blank.

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  10. The URL in my previous comment is unintentional. Sorry about that.

    You finally got around to watching Casablanca? Oh my. That is such a great movie!!!

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      1. ‘Of all of the Blockbusters and all of the Alice In Videolands in the world how did I manage to not yet see this?😉’

        A great flick, and I’m no fan of soppy romances.

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      3. Bogart was great. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was probably my father’s favorite movie, and it is high up on the list of my favorites. All the work where Bogie is acting and John Huston is directing is worth checking out. Bogie’s take on Phillip Marlowe is simply marvelous.

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      5. Old movies? I got lots of recommendations. I love the comedy of Preston Sturges, who was a producer, director and writer. I don’t have to tell you about the Marx Brothers. It Happened One Night is another classic. One of my favorites is Harvey, with Jimmy Stewart. It is my favorite Easter movie, but it isn’t at all about Easter. I find myself quoting and trying to live up to the philosophy espoused by Elwood P. Dowd. My Man Godfrey is great.

        Oh there’s lots. If you have never seen The Great Escape, it is worth the time. Great fun.

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      6. It Happened One Night …I love that one! I also like My Man Godfrey, and The Great Escape…that is why it is so puzzling that I didn’t see Casablanca!
        Oh yea…LOVE the Marx Brothers.

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      7. Casablanca is a lot of things. A great movie. A wonderful piece of propaganda. A strong romance. But not sappy. Unless you mean at the very end between Rick and Louis.

        Oh, and my apologies if I gave the impression John Huston was involved in Casablanca. Casablanca was directed by Michael Curtiz.

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  11. They cram rock n roll goodness into just over 2 minutes. This is what I heard when I stumbled onto these guys. Phil sweating the music out, Gene Taylor solo and a Dave Alvin’s guitar slinger solo squeezed in between the kind of music that made me love rock n roll. Paying homage to the past influences but making it new again with some more flavor. Keep them coming Max. Oh yeah, one of my favorite album covers. I think I’ll it it on a T-shirt.

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      1. obb I remember going to the record shop to look for the album. Just had the name of the band. It was a funky place, the guy pointed to the wall and there was that sweaty face and all those teeth on the album cover. I knew I couldn’t go wrong.

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    1. I don’t think so…the two brothers formed them….you may be thinking of the bass player in the Replacements I posted a few weeks ago.
      Hope you are doing well! It rained this morning and I’ve been under the weather a little…and the weather didn’t help. No walk today for Martha and I. I’ll be over soon!

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      1. Not sure, I just remember you wrote about him a long time ago and he kinda looked like that guy.

        I’m doing well. Spent way too long online today but I got mostly caught up.

        Sorry to hear you have been under the weather a little. You push yourself too hard and you’ve got things on your mind to boot. It can catch up with you. Please try to take it easy. OK on visiting 🙂

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      2. I’ll have to check on that.

        I didn’t spend too much time online today…I wanted to take a nap but a nap doesn’t work for me…it makes me feel worse…I’m feeling a little better now. Oh…FINALLY I finished your email!

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      3. Some can’t nap. Never been a problem for me 🙂 Even though I didn’t take one today. Glad you are feeling a little better. I will read your reply tomorrow. Am about to sign off.

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