Friday, 13 March 2020

Link Wray - LINK WRAY***

La De Da/Take Me Home Jesus/Juke Box Mama/Rise & Fall Of Jimmy Stokes/Fallin' Rain/Fire & Brimstone/Ice People/God Out West/Crowbar/Black River Swamp/Tail Dragger

This self titled album was one of many released by this well regarded American guitarist who started recording in the late 1950s. It sees him performing in a folk-blues Americana style. (US:186)

“If you like swampy gritty rootsy voodoo blues/country/soul, it doesn’t get better than this. Many of the songs also include ghostly backing vocals that add a uniquely eerie, haunting atmosphere to the proceedings.”

“This is a consistent, honest, soulful record that merits a full examination. It was recorded in a chicken coop which was reconfigured to house a band and features Link and his brother along with a few close friends cutting loose on some heavy blues/folk rock jams. The lyrics are honest and heartfelt, but occasionally border on the cheesy.”

“The sound of sitting around the campfire on a warm summer night, staring into the flame as the time slowly passes by.”

“His first album after a long hiatus finds him jettisoning the teen idol persona, and concentrating on what he does best: playing guitar. This is a fairly non-commercial mix of rock, blues, etc., vaguely reminiscent of some Capt. Beefheart that I've heard, but with better guitar and some fuzz.”

“Link Wray was the guitarist in Rumble and similar kinds of proto-surf instrumentals. But this was a surprise. It is not instrumental and there is no guitar workout on it. Instead it sounds something like The Band playing in a shack. There are some good songs here, it all sounds very intimate, and it a lot of fun to listen to.”

“This is down home folk/blues Americana recorded in a converted chicken shack for that extra raw sound. Its stomping and funky but soulful too as these beautiful songs chronicle the treatment of the Native Americans, and in a wider context, the results of faith and war in America . His song Fallin’ Rain which outlines the futility of war is heartbreaking stuff. As is Jimmy Stokes and Ice People in which the sheer cruelty of mankind is examined.”

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