During 2002, the profile of The Blasters has been higher than at any time since the mid-'80s, thanks to the recent release of Rhino's "Testament" compiling the group's complete recorded output for the Slash label and the October release of "Trouble Bound" on HighTone, a new live album recorded at the original group's recent West Coast reunion shows.

What's surprising is that the band's profile had slipped as low as it had in the first place. Along with fellow '80s roots-rockers Los Lobos, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Rockpile, The Blasters had a degree of public recognition that few of their early 21st century successors could hope to achieve.

And The Blasters were arguably the best of the lot, fueled by the world-class songwriting of lead guitarist Dave Alvin and the impassioned vocals of his older brother, Phil.

Formed in Downey, Cal. in the late '70s, the group recorded four studio albums and a live record between 1980 and 1985 before imploding onstage at a November 1985 performance in Montreal.

When the dust settled Dave Alvin and pianist Gene Taylor were gone; Dave for a successful post-Blasters career as a solo artist and producer, culminating in a 2001 Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

For their part, The Blasters have been nearly as invisible as a ghost, with no new recordings and few shows outside of their West Coast base of operations. Adding insult to injury was the fact that most of the group's catalog has been out of print for much of the past decade.

"I never thought The Blasters got their due," says Dave Alvin, 47, in a telephone interview. "A couple of years after (the release of "The Blasters Collection" in 1991) the agreement between Slash and Warner expired, and all of the masters reverted back to Slash, who then sold everything to somebody else, and...you know...the merry-go-round. So, when Rhino contacted me about helping out on this collection, I went into the Warner vaults, listening to the unreleased stuff."

Although The Blasters recorded their first album, 1980's "American Music," as a quartet, others soon climbed onboard; pianist Taylor and saxophonists Lee Allen and Steve Berlin. Although Allen - a well-known R&B performer in the '50s and '60s - passed away in 1994, Berlin (a member of Los Lobos since 1984) hasn't taken part in the recent reunion dates.

"We talked about it but then somebody - I think The Blasters' manager - said Los Lobos were doing gigs at the same time," Dave explains. "Maybe at one of the other dates, we'll twist his arm."

Since Dave Alvin left The Blasters toward the end of 1985, the band has gone through several replacement guitarists; first Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann (who passed away in late 1986 due to heroin-induced heart failure), then, briefly, X's Billy Zoom (who Dave Alvin had just as briefly replaced in X). Following Zoom came Greg Hormel, then James Intveld, then Keith Wyatt, who still plays with "the continuing Blasters" (as Phil refers to the post-Dave Alvin versions of the band) today.

"I didn't have any misgivings about anybody's ability to play," says Phil Alvin, 49, on reuniting the original version of the group. "(Though) it seemed disrespectful to Keith and Jerry (Angel, the band's current drummer); that it would make unclear what was always a bit hard to keep clear: Who are The Blasters?"

Aside from three songs credited to The Blasters on Phil Alvin's 1994 solo album "County Fair 2000," no new Blasters music has been released since Dave Alvin's last album with the group, 1985's "Hard Line."

Phil Alvin says it hasn't been for lack of trying.

"I've got four records in the can," says Phil with no small degree of exasperation; understandably so. Hollywood Fats died while the band was recording a post-Dave Alvin studio album, and other sessions have taken place since then with Intveld and Wyatt. In addition, a mid-'90s live album with Intveld was recorded - twice! - and actually scheduled for release by one-time new age label Private Music before the label was bought out and the record scuttled by the new owners.

In spite of their long reputation as battling siblings in the best tradition of the Davies, the Everlys and the Gallaghers, the Alvins' relationship - as is the case with many brothers - is more complex than how it's frequently painted in the media."Brothers fight. And you shouldn't expect that to be different," says Phil Alvin. "I've always had a good relationship with David in that the relationship has included that we've always fought."

"Well, I really don't have to deal with it anymore," says Dave. "I've removed myself from having to do ' that. And lately Phil's been fine. It was real easy in the early days. When we fought we fought over brother kinds of things - 'You're stupid!' 'No, you're stupid!'"

It's no secret that towards the end Dave Alvin was increasingly frustrated being a Blaster; both with the band's inability to gain a wider audience, but also with the arguments with Phil over how the songs should be sung.

Today Dave Alvin simply says, "Towards the end it just wasn't fun because I was moving in a more singer/songwriter kind of vein, and the band itself felt more comfortable being a sort of R&B cover band. I just got to a point as a songwriter where I didn't want to have to write songs for him to sing. When you're writing for somebody else, you can't write about things that they can't relate to. So, as you grow older and your life changes, your songs are going to change."

Asked if he's written songs since leaving the group that he's been curious as to how his old band would have approached them, Dave replies, "Oh, sure. You're going to get some overlap. There's a song of mine called 'Museum of Heart' that my brother could sing the hell out of. It's a perfect Blasters song. And there's 'Dry River' and things like that. My brother could have nailed that. 'Romeo's Escape,' too."

Says Phil, "Once I threatened to David, 'Every time you put a record out, I'll put the same record out with me singing it.' Boy, did that piss him off."

"He's an interesting guy," says Dave of his brother. "In the same way that I - vocally - have to live in his shadow, he sort of has to live in mine as far as the songs go. He's an amazing singer. There are things he does with my songs that I don't like, but there are (also) things he does with my songs that just floor me."

For his part, Dave is thrilled with how "Trouble Bound" came out sounding and, in fact, regards it as his favorite Blasters album.

"Making the records years ago we had several problems; some of them ours, some of them not. One of the problems that really wasn't of our making was that in those days, it was very hard to find anybody that spoke the language we spoke. It was very hard to find a recording engineer that had any idea what a Sun record was. Or a Chess record. I've since found them, but it took years. So, to me, the live recording is my favorite Blasters record. It's The Blasters. There's no games, and there's no thinking. It's the band doing what we did. And the fact that it was recorded 20 years after we did it is amazing to me. There's a fear that you're not going to be as good as you were. Then about midway through the first song on the first day of rehearsal it was like, 'Oh, this is fine. We're The Blasters.'"

"Trouble Bound" is actually the Blasters' second live record, following 1982's "Over There," recorded at London's Venue.

"To be honest, it wasn't a well-recorded record," says Dave of "Over There." "It was a radio broadcast. But it was a side of the band that certain fans of ours felt wasn't on the first Slash record. (For 'Testament') we went in and mixed some of the stuff that wasn't released and did what we could. But 20 years later, we got it right."

Given the recent reunion performances and the new live album, the obvious question is whether Dave would consider recording another album with the group. Although he's been quoted a number of times as having said that there's no way he'd consider it, he now amends that by saying that it would depend on the project.

"I'd be willing to do an album of R&B covers," says Dave. "That'd be painful, but I might do that. But write 12 songs for my brother to sing and then go into the studio? No, I don't think so."

Phil Alvin realizes that at some point he'll need to pick one version of The Blasters over the other, if only to avoid confusion in the public's mind over who The Blasters are and so the band can get on with the business of capitalizing on the recent renewal of interest.

And it's the only part of a sprawling two-hour conversation in which Phil Alvin seems at a loss for words. The impression is that there's a part of Phil that would like to have his brother (and, presumably, Bill Bateman and Gene Taylor) back in the group. At the same time, there's a clear loyalty to Wyatt and Angel, both of whom have been in the band for years and are committed to the group in a way that Dave Alvin isn't.

"It's very hard," says Phil. "I wouldn't play if the people I was playing with weren't of the highest caliber. What a band is is so important to me, perhaps because I've been a bandleader since I was 14, and it's a miserably hard job. We're going to do these (East Coast) gigs, and then I'll probably have another discussion with David. To tell you the truth, I don't know the answer, man. (Both versions) are really excellent bands. I would hate to discard either of them, but I can't keep the name for both of them."

For his part, Dave Alvin appears happy to continue doing occasional reunion shows with The Blasters as his schedule permits. And if his commitment level isn't what Phil would like to see, neither is he totally ambivalent about the opportunity to play with his brother and friends again.

"We all grew up together, (but) we never play together. All of our parents are gone, and a lot of our friends are gone, and a lot's changed. So, the only way we can ever go home is if those five guys walk onstage together."

"I couldn't ask anybody to rearrange the continuing Blasters if the commitment from Dave was so nonchalant. Maybe there'll be a Phil and Dave Alvin Band (as well as) The Blasters. I can't imagine that I'm going to die without being involved with Dave in other endeavors."