Records You Should Own

Whilst perusing the blogosphere, I came across Chris "Lefty" Brown's review of my Mixed Bag Halloween CD. Given his comments - plus wanting some inspiration to blog more, I am starting a new feature of this blog. Inspired by both Greg and Chicago broadcasting legend Harry Porterfield, here is the new monthly "Records You Should Own", wherein I will humbly recommend an album that should be a part of your record collection.

Based on yesterday's blog post, my first recommendation is Rumble: The Best of Link Wray. If the only song Mr. Wray was known for was "Rumble" - three chords set against a menacing country-ish beat - his place in the rock pantheon would be set. Even if you include "The Swag"'s being featured in a John Waters movie - that would also be impressive. However, this disc - a great introduction - shows that he was so much more than that. If Chuck Berry "invented" rock guitar, then Link invented heavy metal - a huge, distorted monster sound that sounds more dangerous than your average death metal/punk/rap band.

It's all in the grooves, folks - "Rawhide's" threatening groove, a lascivious "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" (where Mr. Wray - having had a lung removed during the Korean war - sounds absolutely nasty), "Big City After Dark" (12-bar blues gone haywire), "Chicken Run". Even the songs that seem kinda silly - a goofy take on the Batman theme, "The Shadow Knows" (evil laughter + killer chords = malevolent tune). This is one of those discs that if you don't own, you are depriving yourself of a major piece of rock'n'roll history. In addition, it also means you're a big wussy. In fact, Christopher Titus would more than likely agree with me on that point. This is a CD that you absolutely have to own, dudes (and dudettes).

Oh, sure, Mr. Wray's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but you know what? That's actually good - it makes him even cooler. (And, in a shout out to a fellow blogger, Hey, Andy - is there a Link Wray cover of "Louie Louie?" (God, I hope so).

And in another piece of promotion, if you want to check out killer tunes, head to Good Rockin' Tonight. It's a great way to "try before you buy", you'll learn about some cool music, and your wallet will get thinner. That's the Blog THIS, Pal Guarantee.

And now, I have some thinking to do - I'm seriously considering changing my blog's motto, thanks to this comment from the Redhead Fangirl.

EDIT: Had to fix some broken links. All should work.