ALVIN’S CASUAL BLASTS FROM THE PAST

With the Blasters, Phil Alvin is a thoughtful house-rocker. On his recent solo album, “Un’Sung Stories,’ ” he proved himself an imaginative American music archivist/revisionist. In a casual solo show Friday at McCabe’s, Alvin was just a guy who wanted to share some of his favorite songs--the kind they don’t write anymore.

The set mixed the familiar (“Stagger Lee”) with the obscure (more song introductions would have been useful), the humorous (“Papa’s on the Housetop”) with the ominous (a scathing “Some of These Days”), all linked by Alvin’s expressive, lonesome howl of a voice. As a bonus, Alvin threw in “Jubilee Train,” a socially-conscious Blasters song by his brother Dave. Guess they still do write ‘em like that!

Former Blasters pianist Gene Taylor opened the show with a deft demonstration of just about every possible variation of boogie-woogie and blues, including a few pieces from his new album, “Handmade.”