Live Coming Home (Shout! Factory, 2004)

The Blasters' story is the tale of two bands: One group features singer Phil Alvin and his current crop of rockabilly aficionados, and the other one is the original lineup featured here. Not to knock Phil, but without his brother Dave at his side on electric lead guitar, it's just not The Blasters. This DVD, which has also been released on CD, finds the original Blasters playing at Santa Ana, Cal.'s Galaxy Theatre along with a few of their musical heroes and friends.

It's a bit of a misnomer to call this Orange County venue a hometown gig, since The Blasters actually blasted off from Downey, Cal., which is in Los Angeles County, instead. But then, that's probably too small of a detail to quibble over. Yet there's no debating the joyful pleasures this documented reunion gives the viewer and listener. If you're any kind of Blaster fan at all, this one's a must-have.

The most of the group's big favorites are all here, from "Marie Marie" to "Border Radio" to the group's default theme song, "American Music." Special guests include the still-energetic rockabilly pioneer, Sonny Burgess, and straight blues singer Billy Boy Arnold. A doo-wop collective was also created for this event by joining members of The Calvanes and The Medallions into the mix for extra vocal help on songs like "Help You Dream." Simply put, The Blasters also brought along a few of their favorite American musicians for the sole purpose of celebrating American music. And such has always been their true reason for this traditional group's existence.

The DVD portion of this release is equally essential, since its interview segments with band members and musical guests alike provide plenty of intelligent insight into The Blasters' history. It's also good fun to see this project's extra vintage videos from Blasters days gone by, since these performances were filmed back when the Alvin brothers still had all their hair.

Home may be where the heart is, but The Blasters' true home is wherever both Alvin brothers are making beautiful American music together. Period.