Blasters founders
Dave Alvin and
Phil Alvin have had a famously combative relationship over the years, but as
Dave once said, "We argue sometimes, but we never argue about
Big Bill Broonzy." So it's fitting that their love of
Big Bill brings them together in the recording studio for their first album together since
the Blasters'
Hard Line in 1985.
Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play & Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy features
the Alvin Brothers performing a dozen songs from the
Broonzy songbook, and while listening to this is a potent reminder of how good
Broonzy's songs still sound in the 21st century, it also demonstrates the complementary talents of
Dave and
Phil Alvin.
Dave is the hot-shot (but musically savvy) guitarist whose fiery leads and switchblade solos give the melodies a spark they wouldn't have with
Phil calling all the shots, and
Phil has the outsized, passionate vocal style that brings
Big Bill's tales to life in a way
Dave's more modest instrument can't quite match (though
Dave sings as well, and doesn't embarrass himself when he steps up to the mike). Put them together, and in this context you don't get
the Blasters, but you do get something that recalls a bit of the wild fun that band knew how to conjure. It's clear
the Alvins love this music and know how to mess with it in just the right way, and they don't treat
Broonzy's tales of all manner of wild living like museum pieces, but as vital, living bits of American music, and that's how they sound on this album.
Common Ground isn't "The Return of
the Alvin Brothers" so much as a joyous continuation of the mission they launched when
the Blasters first hit the stage in 1979, and if they're a little older and craggier in 2014, they clearly know how to make this stuff rock, and this is a modest triumph for one of roots rock's most fascinating partnerships. ~ Mark Deming
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