Robert Gordon with Link Wray [LP] [Bonus Track]

by Link Wray, Robert Gordon

Overview

Lester Bangs once described Robert Gordon as looking as if he belonged in a natural history museum identified as "Bopcatus Americanus," and while his first album wasn't the one that inspired the comment, the vintage duds and greased-up pompadour he sports on the front cover would have done any pop culture archeologist proud. While Gordon first hit the New York City rock scene as a proto-punk with Tuff Darts, when he struck out on his own in 1977 he was one of America's first rockabilly revivalists, covering the likes of Eddie Cochran, Billy Lee Riley, and Carl Perkins as if he was waiting for Sam Phillips to stop by and discover him. For this album, Gordon paired up with legendary guitarist Link Wray, and the result was a solid and evocative tribute to first-era rock & roll, though with a few details turned around. Wray was never really a rockabilly player, and while he brings plenty of fire and gritty presence to these sessions, the "Rumble" man sometimes seems to be holding back uncomfortably on the quieter songs, waiting for the opportunity to offer the full-bore blast that was his stock in trade (and he delivers it on cuts like "Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll"). The rest of Gordon's band often sounds more utilitarian than inspired, but they also don't overplay, and rock these tunes with clean power. And while Gordon doesn't bring much of a personality of his own to this material (the originals were written by Wray, not Gordon), there's no arguing that he had great pipes and sings these songs with the conviction of a true believer. It would be a few years before the great rockabilly awakening would truly happen in America, but Robert Gordon was one hepcat who already believed in the Big Beat in 1977, and his first album was filled with inspired moments. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2016
Label:	Bear Family Records
UPC:	5397102180200

Tracks

1. Red Hot
2. I Sure Miss You
3. Summertime Blues
4. Boppin' the Blues
5. Sweet Surrender
6. Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll
7. The Fool
8. It's in the Bottle
9. Woman (You're My Woman)
10. Is This the Way
11. Endless Sleep

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Robert Gordon   Primary Artist,Vocals
Link Wray   Primary Artist,Guitar
Rob Stoner   Bass,Piano
Howie Wyeth   Drums
Richard Gottehrer   Piano
Charlie Messing   Guitar
Billy Cross   Guitar

Technical Credits

Tex Davis   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Howard Griffin   Composer
Lee Hazlewood   Composer
Link Wray   Composer
Rob Freeman   Engineer
Scott   Composer
Jerry Capehart   Composer
Ray Scott   Composer
William Emerson   Composer
Bill Emerson   Composer
Carl Perkins   Composer
Eddie Cochran   Composer
Richard Gottehrer   Composer,Producer
Curly Griffin   Composer
Beverly Weinstein   Art Direction
Benno Friedman   Photography
Richard Mantel   Art Direction
Richard Robinson   Liner Notes
Robert Feldman   Composer
Fred Lincoln Wray Jr.   Composer
Eddie Bryan   Composer
Fred Wilken   Assistant
Thomas Eugene Beach   Composer