Robert Gordon with Link Wray

Performer: Robert Gordon
Producer: Richard Gottehrer
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: ROBERT GORDON WITH LINK WRAY/FRESH FISH SPECIALS was originally released as 2 seperate LPs. The single compact disc contains 9 additional tracks that did not appear on the original albums. Personnel includes: Robert Gordon, Link Wray, Chris Spedding, Danny Gatton. 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. ~ Mark Deming Rockabilly was pretty much a dead issue as far as American music fans were concerned when Robert Gordon released the two albums featured on this CD, and if he didn't kickstart the revival that would take hold a few years later all by his lonesome, he was certainly carrying the flag at a crucial time. Gordon also gave a major boost to the career of legendary guitar mauler Link Wray, who gets co-star billing on their two albums together, and though Gordon's classical take on rockabilly didn't always mesh with Wray's tough, noisy attack, Wray certainly made the most of his presence here, sounding potent if restrained on the quieter numbers and blowing the roof off when the opportunity knocked. If these albums have a flaw, it's the material: both 1977's Robert Gordon with Link Wray and 1978's Fresh Fish Special are dominated by rockabilly classics that most fans of first-era rock are very -- but very -- familiar with, and as good as Gordon sounds on them, he can't quite top the originals. However, that wasn't so much the case when these albums were cut, and while Gordon doesn't get the room to put much of a new stamp on "The Way I Walk," "Flying Saucers Rock & Roll" or "Summertime Blues," he sings them like they hold the keys to the Universe, and his enthusiasm is a big part of what makes these albums work. American Beat's two-fer reissue of these two albums features both in their entirety, but with no bonus materials, which given the fact the two LP's together clock in at less than an hour seems like a wasted opportunity (the Australian label Raven released a two-fer of these albums with a whopping nine extra tunes). Still, the original credits and liner notes are included, and the remastering sounds good; anyone into second generation rockabilly should dig this jive just fine. ~ Mark Deming Raven reissued Robert Gordon's first two albums, With Link Wray and Fresh Fish Special, on a single CD in 1997, adding nine bonus tracks -- "Rock Billy Boogie," "Black Slacks," "Love My Baby," "All by Myself," "Nervous," "Sweet Love on My Mind," "Drivin' Wheel," "Someday, Someway," and "Fire" -- to the original albums. Arguably, these records capture Gordon at his best, and this is an ideal purchase for serious fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Robert Gordon was one of the first stars of the rockabilly revival of the late 1970s and early '80s. After making an indie label splash with ROBERT GORDON WITH LINK WRAY and FRESH FISH SPECIAL (also recorded with Wray) in 1977 and '78, Gordon signed with RCA Records for a trio of albums. Both 1979's ROCK BILLY BOOGIE and 1980's BAD BOY featured lead guitar by UK legend Chris Spedding, and 1981's ARE YOU GONNA BE THE ONE featured his biggest chart hit, a cover of Marshall Crenshaw's "Someday Someway." Gordon continued his career on smaller labels thereafter.

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