Thursday, 15 November 2018

Robert Gordon with Link Wray "Fresh Fish Special" 1978

Elvis Presley, the first great rockabilly, died only a few months after Robert Gordon cut his debut album, and Gordon paid tribute to the Fallen King on his second LP -- Fresh Fish Special was named for the ugly haircut inflicted upon Elvis in the movie Jailhouse Rock, Gordon covers one of the lesser known tunes from the flick, "I Want to Be Free," on this set, and the Jordanaires add backing vocals on five cuts…...Otherwise, Fresh Fish Special doesn't stray especially far from the sound or direction of Gordon's debut. Link Wray returns as Gordon's lead guitarist, and as on the first LP he's in fine form, though he doesn't get to offer up as tough a sound as one might wish (many of the tunes are too low-key to carry the full weight of Wray's full-on guitar attack). Gordon's band sounds more comfortable their second time out, generating a bit more swing than before, and while the songs are mostly vintage covers again, the selection is a bit more imaginative (making room for the New Orleans classic "Sea Cruise" was a nice idea), and whoever brought Bruce Springsteen's then-unreleased "Fire" to Gordon deserved a bonus. As for Gordon, he's in great voice here, and has shaken a bit of the operatic melodrama that slowed down the second half of his debut, though he still comes off more as an enthusiastic interpreter than a musician with a vision of his own. Still, there weren't that many American-born rock & rollers who were willing to fly the flag for rockabilly at end of the '70s, and if other acts would surpass Gordon in imagination and impact a few years on, he certainly gets an 'A' for effort, and there's some real fun to be had on Fresh Fish Special. - AllMusic Review by Mark Demingtrax:
01 The Way I Walk 02 Red Cadillac, And A Black Mustache 03 If This is Wrong 04 Five Days, Five Days 05 Fire 06 I Want To Be Free 07 Twenty Flight Rock 08 Sea Cruise 09 Lonesome Train (On A Lonesome Track) 10 Blue Eyes (Don't Run Away)

9 comments:

RYP said...

Robert Gordon with Link Wray "Fresh Fish Special"
gitit! pw: rideyourpony
https://www33.zippyshare.com/v/HU29iSxf/file.html

S R Management said...

I love this album and all of Robert's music. It was a saving grace from the disco era.

RYP said...

Javier Soriano,
You have violated the 2 basic rules of this blog:

1. NO ALBUMS AFTER 2015 AND A LIMIT OF 3 EVERY DAY - you can read that clearly on the main page in the accompanying text of the section "... and now for something completely different! Xxx"
2. Post in the future what you want under the heading "... and now for something completely different! Xxx" and not under my regular posts.

That's why I deleted your comment here. Of course you can post something else under the conditions described.

cdelint said...

Another great one--thanks, RYP!

Carc said...

Big thanks!

Days of the Broken Arrows said...

Found this album in a cut-out bin when I was 13. I knew Gordon from Rock Scene mag, so I spent the $2.99. It really opened my eyes to great '50s artists my generation had missed, like Jack Scott, Warren Smith, and Jack Scott. I still play it, too.

javier said...

Pues nada, mis disculpas, no volvera a pasar, posteare en mi blog, gracias.

RugbyLad said...

Great album, came out when I was in High school on the Jersey Shore, and the song Fire received a ton of airplay on NYC FM radio stations, which made me want to check out the rest of the album , which then introduced me to Link Wray

Stinky said...

Yeah, this one is a scorcher! Thanks for turning folks onto it! - Stinky