4/11/1944

The Blasters | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RAINMAN INC.
• ASIN: B0006210YC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Editorial Reviews

This album is different to the one released in the UK at the end of last year. It has been re-mastered and is an enhanced CD, including a film clip of the band live performing Daddy Rollin Stone, the lead off track on the CD. It also includes all the writing credits that didn't appear on the UK release. The cover has been changed from a red background to white in order to make it easier to differentiate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Was a band ever better named?, October 9, 2005

By 

stuck_in_a_moment (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4-11-44 (Audio CD)

The Blasters are a blast! And this album is a real treat. I'm not certain how to describe their music - rockabilly? blues? rockabluesy? or just rockin' American music? -- and I'm not sure it matters. My suggestion is to listen to the samples Amazon has provided, because even 30 second bites of The Blasters are pretty darn tasty.

With so many good songs on one CD, I'll touch on a few. Daddy Rollin' Stone struts, in the studio audio version, as well as the live, computer-playable video version (this is the only video on the disc). The title track is a great number about playing your lucky numbers ("If you're working harder than you're getting paid, 4-11-44/The poor man's remedy"). Julie is a plaintive promise to a lover who's a prison term away. Dry River is a fine ballad about lost Los Angeles and lost love. Precious Memories is a rollicking romp down memory lane ("I turned out to be/The only hell my Mama ever raised"). Just To Be With You is a very good harmonica-led blues track. And the closing track, Fire of Love, is about playing with fire ("Now love is an ember/It once was a flame") while trying not to get burned. Throughout, Phil Alvin is in fine voice and the band is terrific.

I've saved the best for last. My favorite is the rocker Rebound. Just try sitting still during Rebound, I dare you. If you're not bouncing around the room inside the first minute...call 911...check for a pulse...heartbreak has never been so much fun.

Thanks to The Blasters, even being unlucky can be very lucky indeed. 4-11-44 is a very lucky number.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still the Blasters, January 11, 2005

By 

Kenneth French (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 4-11-44 (Audio CD)

This is the Blasters first studio album since their original run ended in the 1980s. So there are no Dave Alvin songs or guitar solos here. That said, this is still a good record. Phil Alvin sounds as great as ever, embodying the songs with his big voice and big personality. John Bazz also remains from the original lineup. The new members fit well, and the songs are great. My only quibble is that there are no songwriting credits. I recognize a lot of the tracks as being old songs, but is the entire album covers? Are any of these originals?

And on a final note, could somebody PLEASE reissue Phil Alvin's incredible first solo album, "(Un)Sung Stories" on CD?!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Newest is Best, January 11, 2007

By 

M. S. Griebel "Blastered in Denver" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 4-11-44 (Audio CD)

Blasters newest studio CD is the best music and sound they have ever produced.....GREAT CD !!! Now we want more of the same out here Blasterland !!!!! Get to work fella's