Collection

If you can get it, the best introduction to the Blasters is the two-disc compilation Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings. But that’s long out of print. The next-best option is this 20-track best-of, which includes pretty much every essential song from the L.A. rockabilly/R&B revivalists: the brilliant “Marie, Marie,” their killer take on Little Willie John’s “I’m Shakin’”, the joyful “Red Rose” — between Phil Alvin’s rich, chesty voice and Dave Alvin’s modern-traditional songwriting (not to mention the crack rhythm section of bassist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman), these guys were one of the best things to emerge from the L.A. punk scene in the early 1980s. Of course, they were nothing like a punk band except for their energy, which never flagged.