Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics

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Robert Gordon With Link Wray

  • Robert Gordon With Link Wray [Private Stock, 1977] B
  • Fresh Fish Special [Private Stock, 1978] C+

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Consumer Guide Reviews:

Robert Gordon With Link Wray [Private Stock, 1977]
I've gotten to where I enjoy almost all of this a little, even the original compositions by Wray, who on every evidence except that of his guitar ought to retire to the Fools Hall of Fame. But it's nowhere near as exciting as Gordon's Tuff Darts album would have been; it's nowhere near as exciting as "Red Hot," the only cut that jumps out at you the way this good ole rock 'n' roll is presumably supposed to; and it's nowhere near as exciting as the Gordon-Wray band on a good night, which is really the point. I've run into that confluence of events several times; if you haven't, you won't find this worth your time. B

Fresh Fish Special [Private Stock, 1978]
Gordon has perfected his craft since cutting his first album, and the follow-up is less lively as a result, because the heroic stance he's homed in on is rockabilly balladeer, which is a lot harder to approximate than '50s rock and roller. After all, the credulous lucidity of Presley's slow songs is beyond mortal imitation, and how much secondhand early Twitty (or Husky) does anyone need? C+