Robert Gordon with Link Wray/Fresh Fish Special

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 "Flying 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. [The CD was also released with bonus tracks.] ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/30/1997
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667165624

Tracks

1. Red Hot
2. I Sure Miss You
3. Summertime Blues
4. Boppin' the Blues
5. Sweet Surrender
6. Flyin' Saucers Rock 'N' Roll
7. Fool
8. It's in the Bottle
9. Woman
10. Is This the Way
11. Way I Walk
12. Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache
13. If This Is Wrong
14. Five Days, Five Days
15. Fire
16. I Want to Be Free
17. Twenty Flight Rock
18. Sea Cruise
19. Lonesome Train
20. Blue Eyes
21. Endless Sleep

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Link Wray   Primary Artist,Guitar
Robert Gordon   Primary Artist,Vocals
Bruce Springsteen   Primary Artist
Richard Gottehrer   Piano
Danny Gatton   Guitar
Charlie Messing   Guitar
Billy Cross   Guitar
Howie Wyeth   Drums
The Jordanaires   Vocals (Background)
Chris Spedding   Guitar
Rob Stoner   Bass,Piano

Technical Credits

Richard Gottehrer   Composer,Producer
Marshall Crenshaw   Composer
Marvin Pierce   Composer
Peter Shillito   Compilation Producer
B.J. Swan   Composer
Alan Duffy   Art Direction
Acy Lehman   Art Direction
Jim Houghton   Photography
Warren Barnett   Mastering
Rex Collier   Engineer
Dick Smith   Art Direction
Fats Domino   Composer
Joe Bennett   Composer
David Gates   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Howard Griffin   Composer
Lee Hazlewood   Composer
Link Wray   Composer,Performer
Johnny Burnette   Composer
Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner   Composer
Wayne Walker   Composer
Scott Litt   Producer
Rob Freeman   Engineer
Robert Gordon   Producer
Jerry Capehart   Composer
Jerry Leiber   Composer
Jimi Hendrix   Composer
Jimmy Denton   Composer
Marshall "Rock" Jones   Composer
Ralph Middlebrooks   Composer
Ray Scott   Composer
Junior Parker   Composer
Mike Stoller   Composer
Milton Subotsky   Composer
Bruce Springsteen   Composer
Glenn A. Baker   Liner Notes,Photography,Compilation Producer
Dave Bartholomew   Composer
George Hawkins   Composer
Glen Moore   Composer
Henry Jerome   Composer
T-Bone Burnett   Composer
Bill Emerson   Composer
William Beck   Composer
Kevin Mueller   Compilation Producer
Gary Green   Photography
Billy Willey   Composer
Greg Klein   Art Direction
Benno Friedman   Photography
Marquette Tarver   Composer
Neil Terk   Art Direction
Ned Fairchild   Composer
Desmond Wray   Composer
Lilly May   Composer
Eric Block   Assistant Engineer
Fred Wilkes   Assistant Engineer
James Williams   Composer
Jack Rhodes   Composer
Lance Quinn   Producer
Clarence "Satch" Satchell   Composer
Carl Perkins   Composer
Eddie Cochran   Composer
Huey "Piano" Smith   Composer