Link Wray was a rock and roll guitar player most noted for introducing a new sound for electric guitars in his major hit, the 1958 instrumental "Rumble", which is considered by many to be the best rock instrumental of all time. Before Rumble, electric guitars were used to produce clean sounds and jazz chords. Wray made a new sound by inventing fuzz-tone, adding feedback, distortion and noise. Link Wray invented the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists. Listen to any of the tracks he recorded between that landmark instrumental in 1958 through his Swan recordings in the early '60s and you'll hear the blueprints for heavy metal, punk, thrash, you name it. Though rock historians always like to draw a nice, clean line between the distorted electric guitar work that fuels early blues records to the late-'60s Hendrix-Clapton-Beck-Page-Townshend mob, with no stops in between, a quick spin of any of the sides Wray recorded during his golden decade punches holes in that theory right quick. If a direct line can be traced forward from a black blues musician crankin' up his amp and playing with a ton of violence and aggression to a young white guy doing a mutated form of same, the line points straight to Link Wray, no contest. Pete Townshend summed it up for more guitarists than he probably realized when he said, "He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and "'Rumble,'" I would have never picked up a guitar."
Track List:
1. Rumble
2. The Swag
3. Raw-hide
4. Dixie-doodle
5. Rumble
6. Ain't That Loving You Baby
7. Jack The Ripper
8. The Black Widow
9. Big City After Dark
10. Run Chicken Run
11. The Shadow Knows
12. Deuces Wild
13. Hang On
14. Ace Of Spades
15. I'm Branded
16. Batman Theme
17. Climbing A High Wall
18. Switchblade
19. Hidden Charms
20. Jack The Ripper (Live Version)
Download: Link Wray - Rumble! The Best of Link Wray
Download Size: 68MB
16 comments:
I do not have much to comment, but a big THANKS is better than any comments; so THANKS!!!
I have a comment actually; since this morning every time I click on the link it says "Upload in progress". Am I stooopid or something or is it the wrong link?
I need this record!!!
:)
Fuck Damn Shit... Me too wants this.. that fuckin "Upload In Progress" has going on whole day... something is wrong with the link i guess...
Yes yes yes I got the "upload in progress" too... So I think that Mr. Digital MeltdOwn is uploading the file ! Just wait and see.
The file is up now. I apologize for the wait time, but my computer froze up three different times while I was trying to upload it. Enjoy!
Thank you.
Along with Dick Dale, one of the woefully underappreciated axemen of the early sixties. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent..i love stuff like this...Duane Eddy,..Davie Allan...The Ventures...Dick Dale..
Link Wray & His Raymen..it all rules
Hear hear! Thank you SIR! Have a great weekend.
Link Wray is the reason were all here now isn't it . i mean really he started it all folks everything mean and nasty about rock n roll started with Link Wray and his Wraymen. can you believe this man and work is not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. what the fuck is wrong with this world? BRANDONIO!
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a joke in my opinion. The Real Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in our hearts..
hey amigo!
thanks a lot for this record. the riffs are terrific!i appreciate your efforts very much!!!
a dios
pancho villa
Sorry to bother you but any chance this could be uploaded again please. Link appears to be dead. Great blog by the way, thanks!!
Any chance for a re-upload please, link appears to be dead. Great blog thanks!!
Thank you very much!!!! Rock 'n' Roll
Link Wray has cache that is tough to put a finger on. He's cool in a way that few other guitarists ever could have hoped to be. I have half of this stuff from a Canadian bootleg CD but I'm guessing this is the real deal, with Rhino/Warner Bros behind it.
Thanks so much for this share, it's about as cool as cool is ever going to get.
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