SLINKY
The epic sessions '58 - '61
SUNDAZED MUSIC has went above and beyond the call of duty! This double CD set is absolutely incredible. It should be in the collection of every fan of Link, Doug, Vernon, the Wraymen, guitar slingers, rock fans, etc. etc. etc.
The folks at Sundazed have done the Rumbleman well.
They have put 46 CUTS on this gem, FIFTEEN of them are previously unissued!
They've also put brother Doug's sides on here - GOOSE BUMPS and SCHOOL GIRL, which (I think) have not been reissued since the 45 was released in the early 60's!
Bob Irwin has done a great job in remastering these tracks. They sound as if they were cut yesterday. This package comes with a 12 page insert, with great documentation of each track. Teisco del Ray's liner notes bring out a few rarely-told stories of Link and the Wraymen, complete with some comments by Elwood Brown. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about all the cool pics!
If you ever in a club and run into Project Managers Tim Livingston or Efram Turchick, be sure to buy them a beer! Thanks guys!
The cuts in YELLOW are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED!
SLINKY
MARY ANN (alt. take)
RIGHT TURN
RAW-HIDE
RAMBLE
AIN'T THAT LOVIN' YOU BABY
CAROLINE
STUDIO BLUES
WALKIN' WITH LINK
DIXIE-DOODLE
RADAR
OH BABE BE MINE (alt. take)
LILLIAN
COMANCHE
DANCE CONTEST
GUITAR CHA-CHA
RUMBLE MAMBO
EL TORO
COMANCHE (demo)
RIGHT TURN (alt. take)
LILLIAN (alt. take)
KIKI
MOONLIGHT LOVE
HANDCLAPPER
MARY ANN
GOLDEN STRINGS
NEW STUDIO BLUES
RENDEZVOUS
TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE
RAMBLE (alt. take)
SLINKY (alt. take)
WALKIN' WITH LINK (alt. take)
YOUNG AND IN LOVE (demo)
STUPID PONY - The Ponies
GOOSE BUMPS - Doug Wray
SCHOOL GIRL - Doug Wray
NIGHT LIFE - Bert and Ray
SLOW DRAG - Bert and Ray
NEW STUDIO BLUES (alt. take)
GOLDEN STRINGS (demo)
AINT' THAT LOVIN' YOU BABY (alt. take)
IF THIS IS WRONG
OH BABE BE MINE
RADAR (alt. take)
TIJUANA
TENDERLYALBUM REVIEW FROM "WHERE Y'AT" MAGAZINE, 9-2003
Link Wray & the
Slinky! The Epic Sessions ‘58-’61
Sundazed
Is there anything else that we really need to say about guitar mauler Link Wray? Quentin Tarantino has nearly made him a household name in the soundtrack realm, while Pete Townsend and Jimmy Page have pledged their undying allegiance over the years, so now even classic rock fans have to begrudgingly give him their due (there could always be more, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame might be nice, considering his all-encompassing influence on every garage band from the late fifties through the present day…). But at some point you have to get back to the essence of the matter. And the essence of this matter are rough Washington D.C. joints like the 1009 Club and Benny’s Rebel Room, stomping grounds where Link and his band the Wraymen crafted and cranked out a soundtrack of tough instrumentals to accompany the booze and brawls.
By the time he signed with Epic Records, Wray had already scored that elusive hit with 1958’s starkly menacing “Rumble,” which sounded like the prelude music to a gang war. The majority of things he’d do in the coming years would have the same power-chord heavy brand of raunch stamped upon them somewhere, but Wray was rarely derivative. His guitar playing was absolutely destructive; he attacked and mangled the strings more than he actually played them and there are plenty of fine examples laid out over this excellent sixty-six track collection, from the Indian-themed “Comanche” to the brakeless rockin’ of “Rawhide.” But if it was his guitar mauling that gave him his well-deserved notoriety, he took the same approach to the rare vocal number. Two of the finest moments of his career are a re-working of Jimmy Reed’s “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby” and Ray Charles’ “Mary Ann,” both included here in their original, as well as alternate, versions. The Cramps’ Lux Interior seems to have used “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby” as a spring board for his entire sound, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mick Jagger studied the record as well. The instrumental backing is just as ferocious and the guitar solos, are, of course, completely over the top.
Dan Gilbert