Perhaps best known for his incendiary guitar work in The Blasters, singer/songwriter Phil Alvin also studied and taught mathematics at California State University, yet he would have made an equally adept musicologist. With a boundless knowledge of American music that reached down to its very roots, Phil’s songs always incorporated different styles but it was an approach he pushed to the limit on County Fair 2000. With the aid of some special guests, this album takes the listener on a journey through ragtime, doo-wop, country, jazz, blues and gospel, and is stitched together by its own eclecticism. Currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, County Fair 2000 has lost none of its charm and now gets a timely reissue via Liberation Hall.

County Fair 2000 is a concept album and was originally intended to be linked through narration, unfortunately record label Hightone put the kibosh on that, yet it still plays as such. When approaching this record it is helpful to imagine Phil Alvin having a time machine as he zips around the twentieth-century and scoops up the musicians he meets en route. He’s smart enough to enlist the help of some of the best musicians in his quest and it’s his old compatriots in The Blasters (without brother Dave) who appear on the opening (and title) track. It’s a rockabilly/country hybrid that, in terms of energy, sets the tone for the rest of the disc. It also contains some of that narration which helps it segue smoothly into the following ‘Wreck Your V-8 Ford’. Featuring the talents of Billy Boy Arnold, it’s testament to the magnetism of Phil and the respect he garnered that he could attract the talents of Billy Boy into the fold. But it doesn’t end there; the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Cesar Ross (Los Lobos) and James Intveld are just a few of the names appearing on this project, each bringing their individual talents and helping make County Fair 2000 a multicoloured affair.

Whether singing his self-penned songs or inhabiting cover versions, Phil Alvin is like the very best character actor; he gets right to the core of these songs and pulls on their skins until they become part of him. It’s one thing to cover a song, but quite another to cover it authentically but Phil proves himself more than adept (hardly surprising considering his musical lineage). What Phil has on his side is a love of music and that’s what turns this album into a joyous, celebratory affair; it’s a carnival for the ears and it sparkle and fizzes in that fashion.

Released at the height of grunge and Britpop, County Fair 2000 felt like an oddball and an interloper when it hit the streets in 1994, but while acts such as Nirvana and Oasis now sound antiquated, County Fair 2000 has an air of freshness surrounding it, and it has never sounded better thanks to this reissue,

• County Fair 2000 is released via Liberation Hall on 20th September 2024 (from here).

Track List:

1. County Fair
2. Wreck Your V-8 Ford
3. The Blue Line
4. That Thing
5. Turnin’ Blues Into Gold
6. Starlight *
7. Keep In Touch
8. What’s The Reason I’m Not Pleasin’ You
9. She Loves So Good
10. Callin’ Corrine
11. The Terror
12. Oh, Doctor *
13. Mr. Satellite Man
14. Low Down Rhythm
15. Danny Boy’s Mourning Sunset: Old Rugged Cross *
16. Ankh/Didn’t He Ramble

* CD and Digital versions only. Not on vinyl