Dave Alvin is steeped in Americana – not just the genre but a deep river of American myth that keeps giving him characters to write about. Former guitarist for roots heroes the Blasters, Alvin fills his 11th album with small towns, highways and losers we imagine he’s encountered on countless tours. Though Alvin has often switched between electric and acoustic, almost everything here is plugged in – above all Alvin, an underrecognized guitar hero. Two songs are addictive: the tear-jerker "Black Rose of Texas" and "Johnny Ace Is Dead," a tragicomedy powered by Steve Mugalian's backbeat and Alvinss burning Strat.

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“Everyday People”

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.