Customer Reviews

Guitar Preacher: Polydor Years

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Contains the full LINK WRAY LP (11 cuts) and:

From BEANS AND FATBACK
-Hobo Man
-I'm So Glad, I'm So Proud
-Georgia Pines
-Water Boy
-Alabama Electric Circus
-Take My Hand (Precious Lord)

From MORDICAI JONES
-Walkin' In The Arizona Sun
-Scorpio Woman
-All Because Of A Woman
-On The Run
-Days Before Custer

From BE WHAT YOU WANT TO
-Be What You Want To
-All Cried Out
-Tucson, Arizona
-River Bend
-You Walked By
-Walk Easy, Walk Slow
-Morning

From THE LINK WRAY RUMBLE
-It Was A Bad Scene
-Good Time Joe
-Walkin' Bulldog
-I Got To Ramble
-Backwoods Preacher Man
-She's That Kind Of Woman
-Super 88
-Rumble

Notes by Colin Escott; reprints Pete Townshend's liner notes for THE LINK WRAY RUMBLE (20th March 1974)

buy wray's three track shack first to get the best for the least money. be what you want to isn't on that release,but it isn't as important as the three albums on wray's three track shack. my preference is for these folk/funk rockers rather than his much released instrumental rockabilly guitar which seems one-dimensional in comparison. the be what you want to material is sort of upbeat easy-listening and essential for completists who want all dimensions of this low-key,pioneering,humanistic artist who served his country in korea and then worked his tail off opening for jerry garcia,etc. i completely missed his mordicai jones album and foolishly passed on trying beans and fatback, but his link wray album was enough to always keep him in mind until i bought this double cd and discovered the excellent ripping rock unlike the vast majority of available rock albums. the man had much to say and a complex idea of how to deliver it on recordings. >>>>>>>>>>amazon has me in 'bad standing' comment-wise, so this is my comment-within-a-review: t. johansson & j. melancon note on the wrays' three-track shack cd amazon page that: 'take my hand, precious lord' has been omitted and 'waterboy' cut from 9:40 to 6:12 length on that cd and, in their place, 'backwoods preacherman' from the album link wray rumble substituted. >>>>>>>>>>polydor should pay attention and restore the cut material and generously retain 'backwoods preacherman'. i suggest their key people listen to 'waterboy' in its entirety. wray's non-rockabilly output is 'precious' and must be kept available for posterity if at all possible. just as charles ives and alfred schnittke have their classical-music concepts preserved as essential music, so should wray's visionary american roots rock music be enshrined in the catalog/marketplace. it is a cultural injustice to allow wray's rockabilly product to smother public awareness of his more intellectually-based folk material. it is a resource to be treasured and respected for its beauty and clarity.

If all you know of Link Wray is Rumble, you missed out on his mid career recordings of roots music. Link and his brothers grew up dirt poor so this is not the polite roots music of suburban kids studying roots music at an upscale college....this is real and raw. The four albums these tracks come from our out of pring and cost a fortunre on Ebay or Amazon so this is the best way to hear the music. Sadly it appers this set is also out of print but there are affordable options for purchasing it. I never tire of this music.

I bought The Link Wray Rumble LP when it came out in 1974. This is how I discovered the music of this often overlooked rock pioneer. That LP was a perfect introduction to his music as it featured an updated version of his classic, "Rumble" which had a fuller and nastier sound than the original. Joe Crane doubled the bass line on piano adding to the menacing tone of the recording. This collection features the best cuts from that LP as well as selections from his other early 1970's LPs. This shows an often ignored aspect of his career as he delved into a very rootsy style during this time period. There are lots of surprises here and the tunes from Be What You Want To are very well recorded and feature such Bay Area legends and icons as Commander Cody and Jerry Garcia. If you like Link Wray's stuff you will want to have this collection as it does a great job of covering this period of his career.

To think this guy was doin it b4 any of the modern guitar heros were thought of and he has his own unique style. Tail Dragger pure magic