In the late 1950s, Link Wray expanded the boundaries of the guitar as a rock instrument - his pioneering playing laid the foundation for power rock and heavy metal. This collection includes his two biggest hits - the late '50s favorites "Rumble" and "Raw-Hide".
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3 stars out of 5 - "In the late '50s, Link Wray was the first rock guitarist to give the impression he was playing a piece of industrial hardware....[A]n intriguing rock album..."
Link Wray & The Wraymen: Link Wray (guitar); Shorty Horton (electric bass fiddle); Doug Wray (drums); Vernon Wray.
Personnel: Link Wray (guitar).
A reissue of some classic late-'50s and early-'60s single sides, LINK WRAY AND THE WRAYMEN is 12 tracks worth of classic pre-surf instrumental rock & roll. Without Duane Eddy's twang and Dick Dale's impossible speed, Link Wray is a more traditional guitarist. More importantly, he doesn't have a gimmick, so he has only his instrumental ability to sustain the listener's interest. Happily, he has instrumental ability in spades. Taking his preferred mode of attack from Hubert Sumlin and the other great Chicago blues guitarists--feedback and distortion used as integral parts of his sound--but applying it to a less blues-oriented and more purely rock & roll style, Link Wray unwittingly paved the way for a host of other guitarists. Pete Townshend in particular seems to have lifted his power-chord style in large part from Wray. Look carefully; this release doesn't contain Link Wray's first and biggest hit, "Rumble," but the similarly-named later single "Ramble."
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