Rumble: Best of Link Wray Review

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Rumble: Best of Link Wray ReviewIn January 1959, radio stations nationwide banned a certain instrumental song due to fears (unjustified, of course) that it would incite teen violence due to the title, which was slang for fighting. That song was "Rumble" by guitar instrumentalist Link Wray. The song, highlighted by Wray's snarling surfer fuzztone guitar licks, set to a menacingly slow bluesy tempo, kind of like a leisurely swagger. It had enough of an impact that when Wray and his band appeared on American Bandstand, Dick Clark introduced the band without mentioning the song title. "Rumble" ended up being Wray's highest charting hit, reaching #16.
The flipside was the bluesy/rockabilly "Swagger" which is a reminder that like Bill Haley, Wray started out in country/western before his rock career, as there are undertones to that style. As for the A-side, Wray followed up "Rumble" with the near equally-sounding "Ramble" (note the vowel change).
Inspired by the TV series of the same name, the upbeat "Raw-Hide" sports a cool surfer type guitar set to a blues beat, proof enough that Wray was the forerunner of hard blues which led to George Thorogood and "Bad To The Bone." This was their second and last Top 40 hit, peaking at #23, though I would've easily put it in the Top Ten. Speaking of blues, Wray actually sings on his cover of Jimmy Reed's "Ain't That Lovin' You Babe," and the distinctive raspy voice and occasional wheezes is due to the loss of a lung to TB during the Korean War. "Big City After Dark" is electrified surf blues at Wray's best.
The live medley "Dixie Doodle" is one part "Dixie," another part "Yankee Doodle Dandy." The first part of the song is definitely not PC today, but at least he gives both songs equal time verse-wise. If "Jack the Ripper," with its insistent and uptempo drum backbeat and occasional guitar riffs that suspiciously like the Surfaris' "Wipe Out" makes you go twenty over the speed limit, I won't blame you. This reached #64 in 1963, and the live version that closes the record has some screeching feedback and all sorts of buzzing noise that's crazier than the studio version. And the opening guitar melody would later be echoed in the opening riffs of Led Zep's "Moby Dick," another famous instrumental.
Wray does some high pitched theatrics with his guitar to imitate a chicken cackle in "Run Chicken Run" before going into his usual style. One of my favourites due to that creative chicken sound, which I can't get enough of.
Wray did two other songs inspired by TV series. One was the lazy drawling stomp of "The Shadow Knows," where Wray does the intro dialogue from The Shadow in a creepy voice complete with twisted laugh and backing organ. In the other, "Look Bruce, it's the Bat signal," and then that familiar riff sounding like when Bruce Wayne's mom calls him for supper, "dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner Batman!" Yes, you guessed it!
Part surf, part blues, this is a guy Pete Townshend credited as one of his influences in first picking up the guitar. So, to make long overdue amends, "Ladies and gentlemen... Link Wray & his Ray Men with `Rumble!'"Rumble: Best of Link Wray Overview

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