...Eddie Angel Plays Link Wray is essentially one master playing tribute to another. As guitarist and composer for "America's Instrumentalists," the Mexican-wrestling-masked Los Straitjackets, Angel has staked out his own (albeit more recent) livelihood and legend as a black belt of the form. Angel is both a guitar primitive and sophisticate, treating the instrument with an equal blend of reverence and irreverence. On his own and with Los Straitjackets (as well as the cavemen-dressed Neanderthals), Angel writes beautiful, wistful guitar instrumentals ("Pacifica," "University Boulevard") and also unleashes primitive, tribal, booty-shaking assaults ("Itchy Chicken," "Arula Mata Gali"). His own compositions and performances rival the best of his predecessors: the bright ocean rolls of the Ventures, the gentile twang of the Shadows, and (more to the point here) the snarling, jagged menace of Link Wray. Wray has been an important touchstone for Angel for decades, ever since Tex Rubinowitz first turned him on to the elder guitarist's boiling instros back in the early '80s, and it is Wray's complete rejection of established rules and institutions that have informed a lot of Angel's playing in subsequent years. (Angel also shared the stage with Wray numerous times in the '90s.) With the passage of the old master, Angel is the true inheritor of Wray's idiom. But listening to Angel pay tribute in his fifth decade, as a master himself, also makes clear the difference between the two players. Wray's aggression came out in his twangy, devil-may-care looseness; Angel has a more focused, tighter attack. You can hear that here on "Comanche." Wray's version, from Sundazed Records' Slinky! The Epic Sessions, is a limber, hip-shaking stroll, while Angel's take is a tough and aggressive fuzzbomb. On the other hand, it's harder to parse out the differences between the artists' versions of "Slinky," other than to say that Angel has a bit more mastery over his tone (which is cleaner), both in the studio and in live performances. Both, however, are masters of phrasing, and hearing Angel move through the power chords and scaled guitar figures of this track is like hearing him tracing his own six-string DNA. The bottom line is this: nobody plays Link Wray like Link Wray, but Eddie Angel is a true disciple. And hearing him put his own stamp on these compositions is instro manna from heaven, a crossing of generations -- and a whole lot of danger, sex, and menace distilled in a flurry of guitar notes. ~ Erik Hage, Rovi
trax:01 The Black Widow 02 Comanche 03 Roughshod 04 Hungry 05 Batman 06 Rumble Mambo 07 Deuces Wild 08 The Swag 09 Lillian 10 Ace of Spades 11 Slinky 12 Mustang 13 The Outlaw 14 Lynxtail
...While Gordon first hit the New York City rock scene as a proto-punk with Tuff Darts, when he struck out on his own in 1977 he was one of America's first rockabilly revivalists, covering the likes of Eddie Cochran, Billy Lee Riley, and Carl Perkins as if he was waiting for Sam Phillips to stop by and discover him. For this album, Gordon paired up with legendary guitarist Link Wray, and the result was a solid and evocative tribute to first-era rock & roll, though with a few details turned around. Wray was never really a rockabilly player, and while he brings plenty of fire and gritty presence to these sessions, the "Rumble" man sometimes seems to be holding back uncomfortably on the quieter songs, waiting for the opportunity to offer the full-bore blast that was his stock in trade (and he delivers it on cuts like "Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll"). The rest of Gordon's band often sounds more utilitarian than inspired, but they also don't overplay, and rock these tunes with clean power. And while Gordon doesn't bring much of a personality of his own to this material (the originals were written by Wray, not Gordon), there's no arguing that he had great pipes and sings these songs with the conviction of a true believer. It would be a few years before the great rockabilly awakening would truly happen in America, but Robert Gordon was one hepcat who already believed in the Big Beat in 1977, and his first album was filled with inspired moments. - AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
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…Aside from that record, though, and “Li’l Red Riding Hood” a year later in 1966, the group wouldn’t have that kind of chart success again, and Samudio and his band went down into most people’s annals as a one-hit wonder. This irresistible set, which collects all of the Pharaohs’ singles and B-sides for MGM Records between 1965 and 1968, plus Samudio's 1973 comeback single for the label (he had left MGM for Atlantic in 1970, only to return for that one release), proves there was a lot more to the story. Tracks like “Ju Ju Hand” (from 1965), “(I’m in With) The Out Crowd” (also 1966), “Banned in Boston” (1967), and “Old MacDonald Had a Boogaloo Farm” (1968) all display a delightfully subversive joy in being wryly silly, and they don’t get in the way of dancing, either. Oh, and then there's the wonderful kiss-off single "I Couldn't Spell !!*@!" from 1968 -- no, Sam the Sham was far from being a one-hit wonder and the romping, stomping proof of that is collected here.(Steve Leggett, Allmusic)
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It's just me having fun with my 45's and whatever random record I pull out of the boxes. I will try to give both sides of the 45 unless one side is dull, unbearable or unplayable. I hope you enjoy. (Gyro1966)
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...However, when French artists picked up guitars and drums and started playing rock & roll themselves, it took on a distinctly different personality -- broad, stylized, more dramatic, and with an added polish often missing from American rock of the first era. Vive le Rock 'n' Roll: The Unruly World of French Rock 'n' Roll 1956-1962 is a collection of early French rock recordings that offers a compact look at how the music was filtered through the French mindset in its early days, with fire and passion but also an over the top quality that sets it apart from teen pop from other nations. Vive le Rock 'n' Roll includes selections from Vince Taylor (the U.K.-born performer who found his biggest audience in France), El Toro & les Cyclones (featuring a young Jacques Dutronc), Gillian Hills (who later scored an international hit with "Zou Bisou Bisou"), Les Chats Sauvages, Nicole Paquin, Les Pingouins, and early home recordings from the man who would become France's king of rock, Johnny Hallyday.
In response to critical carping that his ambitious, evocative music somehow didn't swing enough, Charles Mingus returned to the earthiest and earliest sources of black musical expression, namely the blues, gospel, and old-time New Orleans jazz. The resulting LP, Blues and Roots, isn't quite as wildly eclectic as usual, but it ranks as arguably Mingus' most joyously swinging outing. Working with simple forms, Mingus boosts the complexity of the music by assembling a nine-piece outfit and arranging multiple lines to be played simultaneously -- somewhat akin to the Dixieland ensembles of old, but with an acutely modern flavor. Anyone who had heard "Haitian Fight Song" shouldn't have been surprised that such an album was well within Mingus' range, but jazz's self-appointed guardians have long greeted innovation with reactionary distaste. After Blues and Roots, there could be no question of Mingus' firm grounding in the basics, nor of his deeply felt affinity with them. Whether the music is explicitly gospel-based -- like the groundbreaking classic "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" -- or not, the whole album is performed with a churchy fervor that rips through both the exuberant swingers and the aching, mournful slow blues. Still, it's the blues that most prominently inform the feeling of the album, aside from the aforementioned "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting" and the Jelly Roll Morton tribute "My Jelly Roll Soul." The recording session was reportedly very disorganized, but perhaps that actually helped give the performances the proper feel, since they wound up so loose and free-swinging. With a lineup including John Handy and Jackie McLean on alto, Booker Ervin on tenor, frequent anchor Pepper Adams on baritone, and Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis on trombones, among others, Blues and Roots isn't hurting for fiery soloists, and they help make the album perhaps the most soulful in Mingus' discography. - AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
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...For a little under six of our English pounds you get 60 vintage soul recordings from the early sixties, from a wide range of female artists. It mixes up up big names (Aretha, Gladys Knight) and the totally obscure (Carrie Grant and the Grandeurs, anyone?), and generally avoids obvious big hits without picking unknown tracks just for the sake of it. These chewns may not be familiar, but many of them are magnificent and none of them are without something worthy of your attention. Whoever is responsible for the selection really, really knows what they're doing. It's worth the six quid just for the opening track, Martha & the Vandellas "I'll Have To Let Him Go", which is jaw-droppingly, house-shakingly brilliant.
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It's tempting to dismiss a man with three measly hits and a fitful career as a bit player in country-music history. Yet Hank Penny's music says otherwise. He was a mere 17 when he was captivated by the salacious Western swing of idol Milton Brown in 1935, and by the following year, he'd established his own outfit, the Radio Cowboys--the first Western swing band to take root east of the Mississippi River. His buddy Merle Travis convinced him to move to Los Angeles in the mid-1940s, and along with Bob Wills and Spade Cooley, Penny was a significant figure in that decade's vibrant Western swing scene. Yet, while Penny's combativeness seemed to keep him from the success that the other two achieved (though Wills and Cooley were hardly passive gentlemen), his bands were stylish, finely honed ensembles, more akin in sound to Cooley's polish than Wills's power, capable of moving from sharp jazz instrumentals to peppy novelties to pop standards.
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...Here we feature both sides of his 14 singles released between 1953 and 1961 making 28 tracks of prime Chicago Blues that is not to be missed! The cream of Chicago musicians appear on many of these tracks, including: Muddy Waters; Elmore James; Otis Spann and more.
...Starting, appropriately enough, with "Rumble," Rumble! The Best of Link Wray illustrates through its 20 tracks that Wray was indeed one of the pioneering guitarists of rock & roll, expanding the sonic possibilities of the instrument with a variety of effects. All of the tracks feature some truly warped, genius-caliber fretboard work from Wray, and a few also feature his equally demented vocals. Rumble! The Best of Link Wray is the definitive Wray collection. - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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...Included are instrumentals from people like Ray Charles, The Mar-Keys, James Brown, Ray Bryant, Jimmy McGriff, Allen Toussaint, Mac Rebenak (pre-Dr. John), Freddie King, Booker T and The MGs, Ike Turner, and other well known artists. But also here (and some are real finds) are good/great sides by many lesser known or unknown performers who up the instrumental soul quotient greatly. Naming names would be pretty pointless unless you're a deep collector--but included are sides by Roosevelt Fountain ("Red Pepper"), Nat Bagby ("Grinding"), The Barons ("Jay Walk"), Porgy & The Polka Dots ("Say Yeah"), The Ohio Untouchables ("Hot Stuff") with guitarist Robert Ward, The Twistin' Kings ("Congo (Pt1)"), Googie Rene ("Side Track"), and several others. But known or not these people can dish out some serious soul--instrumental style.
A very rare UK powerpop album, first released in 1979 on the Stortbeat label. This also includes the tracks from both of their 7" releases (one of which, "Best Friend," was comped on "England Belongs to Me vol. 1")
The Gangsters:
...The original release was credited to Joey Welz, with the Wray Brothers listed as session players, but in 2005, the material from the Listen to the Voices sessions was reissued by Welz under the title Brothers and Legends: Listen to the Voices That Want to Be Free, now credited to Joey Welz and Link Wray. In 2013, the recordings surfaced again as Rumble & Roll, with the billing changed to "Link Wray with Joey Welz." Except for some curious lo-fi synth patches pasted onto a few tracks, the music hasn't changed despite its many incarnations; for the most part, this music recalls the laid-back stomp of Wray's early-'70s work for Polydor rather than the feral guitar workouts of his classic '50s sides (even if Wray does amble through a remake of "Rumble"), and Welz's lyrics are clumsy, back-to-the-land hippie fare that doesn't quite mesh with Wray's minimal attack, except for a few tunes that recall his '50s roots and unwittingly reveal that his voice wasn't in its best shape when he recorded this set. (And the less said about the final track, a curious remix of the title tune that transforms it into a tribute to John Lennon, the better.) Rumble & Roll isn't a Link Wray album in the truest sense, and it isn't much of a Joey Welz album, either; Wray completists may want to give this a listen, but it doesn't represent one of the stellar moments of anyone who worked on these sessions, regardless of what they're calling the results. - AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
It's just me having fun with my 45's and whatever random record I pull out of the boxes. I will try to give both sides of the 45 unless one side is dull, unbearable or unplayable. I hope you enjoy. (Gyro1966)
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...Milton Samuel's real job was offloading large amounts of carbon paper to unsuspecting businesses, a practice called 'heavy sell' in which more carbon paper was sold than any firm reasonably could expect to use EVER. His passion was with music however and he started Beacon after he picked up a license for Ain't Nothin' But A Houseparty by The Showstoppers. It turned out to be the largest hit on Beacon and it's a shame it's not included on this disc. Anyway, Milton Samuel was some sort of character and it shows on this compilation in a great and diverse taste of music. The label went belly up in 1972, the masters were bought by a former associate and early 21st century they got out of the vaults again for this CD.
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...Not much larger than the average domestic lounge, with wall-to-wall white acoustic tiles and a control room so small that there was barely room for the engineer, Pathway had a lot in common with the legendary three-track shack out in the woods where Link had cut some of his most famous instrumentals back in the old days.
...Jones dug deep into the vaults of several labels and assembled tight, thematic collections that packed a real punch, but unfortunately they, like the 45s he compiled, never saw a revival in the CD age. As a tribute to the departed Jones -- he died of cancer in 2009 -- Bear Family reissued five of these collections in 2014, including this 1989 LP, The Best of Doo Wop Classics, Vol. 2. The first Best of Doo Wop Classics was a Du Droppers compilation from 1988 -- the Du Droppers are heavily featured on Groove Jumping, a Detour comp from 1983 -- whereas this contains four sides from the Five Keys (plus an alternate take of "When Will My Troubles End") and 11 tracks from the Nitecaps. The Nitecaps were from Detroit, the Five Keys were from Virginia, and they do have slightly different feels; the Five Keys are a little grittier and the Nitecaps are nimbler, sometimes sounding a bit sweeter and more adept at novelties like "Bamboo Rock & Roll" and "Snap, Crackle & Pop," but also capable of sounding quite raucous. Both groups benefitted from a Groove house band that often included the great guitarist Mickey Baker (and sometimes King Curtis on sax), which helped give all of these records a live-wire jump that remains infectious. It's this visceral rush that makes these rare doo wop records worth seeking out.
...Only one of these songs (a version of "Lillian" from the Great Guitar Hits LP) has been released before. As you would expect, at this point the well is starting to run a little dry, though this 17-track compilation of stray items from the early and mid-'60s has its moments. The studio outtakes are mostly original, with detours into covers of Gene Vincent and Elvis; they're typical Wray guitar-grinders, with occasional vocals, but not as compelling as his greatest material. There are also half a dozen live recordings, including more Elvis covers and versions of classics like "Rumble" and "Ace of Spades"; the performances on these are suitably energetic, though the fidelity is average at best, and rather poor at worst. The best track is probably "Bluebeard," an early demo of a growling instrumental that ended up being retitled "Mustang" for its official release. For those of us who love the Linkster, this is a worthwhile disc, but even more than the previous Missing Links volumes, its appeal is limited to aficionados. - AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
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It's just me having fun with my 45's and whatever random record I pull out of the boxes. I will try to give both sides of the 45 unless one side is dull, unbearable or unplayable. I hope you enjoy. (Gyro1966)
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When Creed Taylor left Verve/MGM for his own label under the auspices of A&M, he quickly signed Antonio Carlos Jobim and they picked up right where they left off with this stunningly seductive record, possibly Jobim's best. Jobim contributes his sparely rhythmic acoustic guitar, simple melodic piano style, a guest turn at the harpsichord, and even a vocal on "Lamento," while Claus Ogerman lends a romantically brooding hand with the charts. A pair of instant standards are introduced ("Wave," "Triste"), but this album is to be cherished for its absolutely first-rate tunes -- actually miniature tone poems -- that escaped overexposure and thus sound fresh today. The most beautiful sleeper is "Batidinha," where the intuitive Jobim / Ogerman collaboration reaches its peak. One only wishes that this album were longer; 31:45 is not enough. - AllMusic Review by Richard S. Ginell
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…Nowadays geetar whiz Evan Johns who grew up on Linktoons in the DC area recalls a '64 amusement park gig where kids were hurlin' ice cream cones stageside as the Raymen skirted their shouts for Beatle numbers. Still, Link did lay down a few sides with a nod to the new sound. On the overt Beatles rip off Baby Doll, the Raymen did sneaky biz as the Spiders for Lawn Records, tho Link soon came clean addin' Doll and its chugger of a flip Run Boy Run (not to mention the looney shakeout Remember The Twist) to his SINGS & PLAYS GUlTAR album. A raw, tuff treatment of the Fab Four's Please Please Me was seemingly Link's only other wink at the Beatles. Until now it's only ever been ished on a British budget comp so hopefully we'll be gittin' it some well deserved spins here. Brother Vern became increasingly involved in his home studio cuttin' locally successful sides on Ronnie Dove, the British Walkers and other DC noteables. Easily the coolest cat to cross Vern's path was R&B shouter / prizefighter Dave Walker who did his howlin' as Bunker Hill was discovered by Vern playin' a raunchy DC dive and Wray immediate took over as his manager & promoter, pushin' Bunker heavily with the Raymen as his backup band. The combination was incredible. Hide & Seek his first waxing became a monster DC area hit and was later featured to good effect in the John Waters flick HAIRSPRAY. 
...Jones dug deep into the vaults of several labels and assembled tight, thematic collections that packed a real punch, but unfortunately they, like the 45s he compiled, never saw a revival in the CD age. As a tribute to the departed Jones -- he died of cancer in 2009 -- Bear Family reissued five of these collections in 2014, including this 1987 collection. More Ballroom Kings is a sequel to Ballroom Kings, which was a 1982 compilation of the best of Pee Wee King. More Ballroom Kings also features Pee Wee King -- he owns a quarter of the 16 tracks here -- but, as the title suggests, the net is thrown wider, rounding up other western swing artists who recorded for RCA between the late '40s and early '50s. Some of these names remain obscure, but others have received a career rehabilitation since the release of this LP, including Wade Ray, Elton Britt, and Homer & Jethro. All are happily playing western swing, working with bands that aren't as sprawling as prime Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys. Often, they sound more like Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys -- a slightly leaner lineup that also hit the hardwood honky tonk floors a little harder (Ray also uncannily sounds like the jovial Thompson). By concentrating on groups and bandleaders all working the same style, More Ballroom Kings gels and also thrills: it sounds like a never-ending party in the dancehall on the edge of town. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic)
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The second volume of Norton Records' four-volume MISSING LINKS set, 1996's BIG CITY AFTER DARK is a two-pronged affair. Twelve of the 22 previously unreleased tracks are unissued studio recordings from the early '60s, and a pretty mixed bag in terms of both style and sound quality. During this era of Wray's career, the guitarist was floundering a bit for a public persona. Surf guitar was the big thing in instrumental rock during this period, but Wray wasn't a surf guitarist. Wray's unique style blended the sort of distortion and controlled feedback pioneered by the Chicago blues guitarists and applied it to twangier, somewhat rockabilly-influenced compositions like his big hit "Rumble," creating a new and surprisingly influential blend. The studio recordings find Wray both revisiting past glories, like the self-explanatory "Rawhide '64," and exploring new directions. More impressively, the other 10 tracks on this set are a complete 1961 concert that finds Wray and his Wraymen in full-on rave-up mode. These tracks are sweaty, noisy guitar-god fun, vitally important for all Wray fans. - from cd universe
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...Jones dug deep into the vaults of several labels and assembled tight, thematic collections that packed a real punch, but unfortunately they, like the 45s he compiled, never saw a revival in the CD age. As a tribute to the departed Jones -- he died of cancer in 2009 -- Bear Family reissued five of these collections in 2014, including this 1989 LP, Hillbilly Houn' Dawgs & Honky Tonk Angels. This is a deep dive into the vaults of RCA/Victor, rounding up selections recorded at various RCA studios between 1952 and 1956. Some of the names will be familiar to serious country listeners -- Charline Arthur, Bob King, and the Davis Sisters have small, dedicated cults, while Terry Fell wrote the standard "Truck Driving Man" -- but the sounds will likely feel more familiar to a wider audience. The album alternates between hopping country boogie, straight-ahead Hank Williams weepers, two steps, and honky tonk, sometimes finding some weird cracks between all these sounds, such as Wade Ray's "I Need a Good Girl Bad," which swings so loosely it sounds more R&B than country, and Jack Turner's "Walkin' the Chalk Line," which would've qualified as a Johnny Cash parody if it hadn't been recorded prior to "I Walk the Line." This illustrates how expertly this collection was chosen: it was assembled with a real ear for what's worthwhile, balancing near-novelties and oddities with rip-roaring forgotten gems. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic)
Link Wray played the most important D chord in history: it opened Rumble. Guitarists often remember where they were when they first heard it. Thirteen years later, Wray signed with the newly-launched American division of Polydor, and his back porch sound could almost have emanated from another Link Wray. The extended Wray family was living almost communally on the family farm near Accokeek, Maryland, an hour south of Washington. "Papa started building a chicken coop and a porch on the house," Link told Tom Zito in 1971. "Then he built a room onto the porch, and then another room onto that and pretty soon it was all connected. Ray moved his three-track recorder into one of the rooms and we converted the coop into a studio, but the two were never connected so we still have to yell back and forth, 'Is it running, Ray?' every time we want to start."
with Lincoln 'Link' Wray: vocal / guitars / Dobro/bass; Billy Hodges: piano / organ / backing vocal; Bobbie Howard: mandolin / piano; Doug Wray: drums / backing vocal; Steve Verroca: percussion / backing vocal
...Jones dug deep into the vaults of several labels and assembled tight, thematic collections that packed a real punch, but unfortunately they, like the 45s he compiled, never saw a revival in the CD age. As a tribute to the departed Jones -- he died of cancer in 2009 -- Bear Family reissued five of these collections in 2014, including this 1987 LP, Still Groove Jumping, which was an explicit sequel to the 1983 LP Groove Jumping. Groove was RCA's 1953 attempt to get back into the hopping R&B and blues market, an audience they'd abandoned late in the '40s, and while they didn't rack up many successes -- only Mickey & Sylvia's 1957 single "Love Is Strange" was a genuine hit -- they did record a lot of terrific, rocking blues and R&B in the mid-'50s, much of it featuring Mickey Baker's wild guitar. Baker doesn't possess any individual credit here, but he's still prominent, spitting out great, wild guitar that's rivaled by that of Roy "Mr. Guitar" Gaines, who opens the proceedings with the breakneck "Right Now Baby" and "All My Life." Gaines showed up on the first Groove Jumping, as did Mr. Bear, whose lascivious growl is in full effect on his four sides (including two near-eponymous cuts, "The Bear Hug" -- a slow shuffle that seems to yearn to be a dance craze -- and "Mr. Bear Comes to Town"), and the Du Droppers, who only contribute the swinging ode to booze "Drink Up." Elsewhere, there are lots of old blues guys pushed into a modern R&B style -- Champion Jack Dupree, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and Piano Red among them -- and that raucousness is the appeal of Groove. Maybe the label didn't score smashes, but it sure sounds like they were having a ball trying to make a hit.
SPLODGNESSABOUNDS Formed in 1979 by Max Splodge and Pat Thetic. Baby Greensleeves was Max's girlfriend, backing vocalist, prop supervisor and go go dancer to early SPLODGENESSABOUNDS. This "high energy comedy punk band" from London spearheaded the early 80's UK 'Punk Pathetique' movement. Baby appeared on all their early Deram hits
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It's interesting to think that Link Wray was the first Rock Guitar god, because well, he sounds like the best lead guitarist in highschool battle of the bands. Don't get me wrong it's perfect for garage rockers, but it definitely seems a bit bold for him to just be an instrumental rock guy. It's really interesting how this came out in 1963 and in like 3 years Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, jeff beck, mike bloomfield, etc would just run circles around him. - Famepollution
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...Jones dug deep into the vaults of several labels and assembled tight, thematic collections that packed a real punch, but unfortunately they, like the 45s he compiled, never saw a revival in the CD age. As a tribute to the departed Jones -- he died of cancer in 2009 -- Bear Family reissued five of these collections in 2014, including this 1983 LP Groove Jumping. Groove was RCA's 1953 attempt to get back into the hopping R&B and blues market, an audience they'd abandoned late in the '40s, and while they didn't rack up many successes -- only Mickey & Sylvia's 1957 single "Love Is Strange" was a genuine hit -- they did record a lot of terrific rocking blues and R&B in the mid-'50s, much of it featuring Mickey Baker's wild guitar. Mickey & Sylvia are here with "No Good Lover," a raucous minor-key rocker with a riff reminiscent of "Shaking All Over," and there are other recognizable names in Sonny Terry and "Big" John Greer, both wilder than they've often been heard. Wildness is the order of the day: even the harmony groups the Du Droppers and the Five Keys, who together account for nearly half of this 14-track collection, sound like they're going to careen out of control. Much of that is due to the heavy echo, wailing sax, and that barbed guitar, elements that are showcased best on two wonderful sides by Roy "Mr. Guitar" Gaines ("Worried 'Bout You Baby," "Dat Dat De Dum Dum"), but this entire thing is a potent, damn near addictive collection of rollicking '50s R&B. It deserved to be preserved once, and it deserved to be preserved once again.(Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic)
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