The Blasters - Hard Line (1985) (with remixes and bonus track) - VINYL - 24-bit/96kHz plus CD-compatible format

Allmusic: Somehow, the Blasters could never make up their minds whether they were neo or retro, whether they wanted to expand beyond their influences or just copy them. By the end of this confused, if earnest collection, they've covered John Mellencamp and declared "Rock and Roll Will Stand." It did, but the Blasters did not.

I tend to look as this album as being half-way to Phil's solo album that came out a year later. "Common Man" was about Ronald Reagan, but, funny, it seems to fit Barack Obama pretty well, too.

Enjoy, please!


Allmusic:
Review by William Ruhlmann
Somehow, the Blasters could never make up their minds whether they were neo or retro, whether they wanted to expand beyond their influences or just copy them. By the end of this confused, if earnest collection, they've covered John Mellencamp and declared "Rock and Roll Will Stand." It did, but the Blasters did not.

Christgau:
Non Fiction imagined a world in which the American music the Blasters love remained the common tongue of ordinary guys, guys whose connection to their cultural history helped them understand where they were–not in control, but at least conscious. The follow-up attempts to reach those ordinary guys with producers and stereo and more drums and no horns and a John Cougar Mellencamp song, and also with the kind of fancy stuff that comes naturally–accordion here, acoustic version there, Jordanaires all over the place, and the Jubilee Train Singers on a fiercely joyous remake of "Samson and Delilah," which with its ancient threat to tear this building down is good reason not to fret about philosophical retreat. As are "Dark Night," about a race murder, and "Common Man," about some president or other, their two most pointedly political tracks ever. What's softened is the bits of the writing–where Non Fiction nailed specifics (plastic seats, repentant husband wiping ashes off the bed), here Dave Alvin settles (or works) for a level of generalization suitable to pop. Guess he's decided that sometimes ordinary guys don't want things spelled out so fine. He may be right. A



01 - Trouble Bound.flac
02 - Just Another Sunday.flac
03 - Hey Girl.flac
04 - Dark Night.flac
05 - Little Honey.flac
06 - Samson And Delilah.flac
07 - Colored Lights.flac
08 - Help You Dream.flac
09 - Common Man.flac
10 - Rock And Roll Will Stand.flac


I also added (separately) promo-only remixes of "Trouble Bound".
I've also included "One Bad Stud" from a promo 12", recorded for the "Streets Of Fire" soundtrack.
I didn't know what to do with it, so enjoy it now.

01 - Trouble Bound (remix)
02 - Trouble Bound (extended version)
03 - One Bad Stud - bonus track! - (from a promo 12" for the Streets Of Fire soundtrack)







No music was harmed in the making of this vinyl rip.