The Blasters

As the L.A. punk scene was just starting to run out of gas in the early 1980s, two bands, X and The Blasters, breathed fresh life into it by bringing roots-rock influences into the mix. Of these two, X was the more punky; rockabilly and country informed their punk rock, rather than the other way around. The Blasters, on the other hand, were shameless traditionalists who won the approval of young scenesters by dint of sheer energy. Their three studio albums and one live EP have been out of print for years, and new fans have had to make do with the well-selected but nowhere near comprehensive Blasters Collection on Warner. This two-disc set remedies the problem by offering the full contents of all their official Slash releases, along with a nice handful of outtakes and compilation tracks. Absolutely essential.