Until recently, I was familiar
with Link Wray mostly by reputation
and the song ‘Rumble’. He was one
of those guys on my list to get more acquainted with. Well as fortune would have it, I grabbed the ‘Big City After
Dark’ double 45 reissue from Sundazed
during the latest Record Store Day event.
Credited to Link Wray And The
Raymen (his brothers and friends), this set features two rare singles
originally released by the Mala label in 1962. I was pretty excited to open up the mini-gatefold jacket and
throw the first side on the turntable.
What came out of the speakers next was mind melting! Featuring overdriven guitar bends with heavy protopunk
leanings and backed by a tight classic rock ‘n’ roll rhythm section, ‘Big City
After Dark’ sounds like what many of the latest wave of garage rockers have
been striving for. The innovation
and energy of Link’s guitar playing jumps right out and doesn’t let up through
the entire set of tunes. ‘Hold It’
is even more aggressive than ‘Big City After Dark’ and ‘Dance Party Pts. 1
& 2’ sound like awesome ragers.
Link sings a bit on those ones too. I’m not typically into instrumentals in the rock realm, but
Link Wray transcends the notion of an “instrumental” and blasts it to pieces. Link deserves even more credit than he
already gets and I’m looking forward to searching for more great cuts from him
and his fabulous Raymen.
The first Bikini Kill
12” EP just got the 20th Anniversary royal reissue treatment. Originally released in 1992 by Kill
Rock Stars, this EP now comes to us courtesy of the band’s own Bikini Kill Records. Bikini Kill was punk,
fierce, smart and funny. They demanded “revolution
girl style now!” and they got it.
The positive effects of the Riot Grrrl movement are still being felt 20
years later. What’s more, the core
ethos of the movement took on a life of it’s own after it’s first incarnation and
stretched out in many different directions. The female-centric counter culture it inspired is still present
in everything from music and art (think Denver’s own Titwrench Fest) to small
businesses and beyond. Now back to
the record itself. As soon as the
needle dropped on the first track and that famous quote faded into the
pummeling riff that begins ‘Double Dare Ya’ I was re-hooked. The songs on this record are immediate
and raw and they still hold up today.
Their best music was yet to come, but this was a statement record. Kathleen, Tobi, Kathi and Billy were
announcing themselves and letting anyone who listened know they had something
to say. The rest is pretty much
history. The reissue includes a
new fanzine poster and some cool liner notes. Although the
Reissue! category of this blog was formulated to cover obscurities, this EP is
most widely know as the first half of ‘The CD Version Of The First Two Records’,
so having it rereleased in the original format is close enough. I’m looking forward to more vinyl
reissues from Bikini Kill, especially since CD’s suck my left one. Wink!
