The Blaster’s acclaimed frontman’s sophomore solo album re-released, including vinyl debut in gatefold LP package.
“County Fair 2000”, had originally seen the light of day back in 1994, on the now defunct HighTone Records label some eight years after Phil Alvin’s debut solo album “Un Sung Stories”, which followed the initial disbandment of the legendary American Rock band The Blasters. Now in continuation of their reissue campaign of the band’s back catalogue, record label ‘Liberation Hall’, are re-releasing the album on all formats including for the first time as a gatefold LP package. This new version however contains no additional songs to the original album’s bumper sixteen-strong set list, and unsurprisingly considering the time limitations, the LP version omits four of the tracks.
With his first solo release, Alvin had chosen to abandon the high-energy rock sound of The Blasters in favour of a more low-key approach, drawing his influence from the American music songbook of the 1920’s – 1940’s, stuffed full of blues gospel and jazz covers. On “County Fair 2000”, he has expanded on that blueprint, albeit covering a wider time frame, and mining a much broader assortment of musical idioms including, Ragtime, doo-wop, country, Dixieland and swing, all loosely structured around the ambitious concept of a mid-century small town fair that attempt’s to tie together the sixteen tracks.
The album boasts an illustrious lineup of musicians, including on guitar Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos, harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold, from New Orleans The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, along with blues shouter Top Jimmy. In addition members of the reformed The Blasters which at the time included James Intveld on guitar, John Bazz on bass and Jerry Angel on drums, play on four of the tracks, while musicians from two of Alvin’s side projects The Faultline Syncopators, and The Guada La Habrians, are also in attendance.
Opening with the country flavour of the title track Alvin spends the following 55 minutes revealing himself to be one of America’s premier musicologists as he leads the listener through an eclectic mix of sounds and stories from the first half of the 20th Century, with tracks bleeding into each other to help promote its thematic intentions. The second number ‘Wreck Your V-8 Ford’ sees Billy Boy Arnold join Alvin on vocals for a humorous rendition of an automotive grudge match while ‘The Blue Line’ delivers some delightful doo-wop. Alvin is in great form vocally and with his instinctive ear for great lyrical narratives has sourced some fabulous anecdotes such as on ‘Turnin’ Blues Into Gold’ and ‘Mr Satellite Man’ that draws comparison to the sound of early Tom Waits, who himself once excavated a similar vein. There are shades of Tex-Mex on ‘Starlight’ while ‘Keep In Touch’ with its accordion accompaniment delivers a sprinkling of zydeco to the heady ingredients.
The blues and jazz that were so prevalent on his previous album are still liberally scattered across the sixteen tracks here with, ‘That Thing’, ‘She Loves So Good’ and ‘Callin’ Corrine’ all embracing the post-war country blues, whilst ‘Oh Doctor’, with its infectious R’n’B groove and smokey harmonica playing, resembles a song The Blasters could have made their very own. Elsewhere the jazz-infused ‘What’s The Reason I’m Not Pleasin’ You’ and ‘Low Down Rhythm’ pay homage to the swing era of Cab Calloway with the former containing some delightfully sassy vocals from Mary Franklyn. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band bring all their undoubted polyphonic expertise to the Dixieland instrumental ‘The Terror’ while the loose arrangement of the gospel standard ‘Old Rugged Cross’ provides the perfect precursor to the closing track, Sun Ra’s ‘Ankh’, where Ike Williams’ trumpet and Jerry Angel’s drums strike up an exquisite three-way dialogue with Alvin’s piano playing.
It goes without saying that “County Fair 2000” defies categorisation, drawing as it does from such a staggering myriad of America’s musical and cultural history that lies at the very foundation of today’s current genres. With this album, along with its predecessor Alvin hasn’t just helped to preserve these timeless musical nuggets, but by injecting them with such a passion and understanding that extends beyond the usual archivist boundaries, he has delivered them ripe for a new generation to discover. On its original release this album received a warm reception from the media but failed to reach an audience, here’s hoping that thirty years later it finally reaps the rewards it fully deserves and acts as a tonic for Alvin who continues his slow rehabilitation since being hospitalised back in January 2023.
