"Blackjack David, Alvin’s sixth solo album since leaving the Blasters and his first studio outing in four years, continues his move away from the rich bombast of his former rockabilly based group toward a more introspective, wearisome, "dirt on the shoes and soot on the mind" approach that has served him so well.

It’s an interesting change for Alvin, whose crisp, running guitar leads were a staple of the Blasters’ incredible 80s records and live shows. He doesn’t do a lot of interviews, so it’s hard to speculate about his reasoning, but the depth of his songs clearly show that he’s headed in a direction where the questions may not be easily answered and drinking, driving and dancing may not bring the hope of a new day or erase the pain of the old one.