Pressed at R.T.I.
Fred Lincoln “Link” Wray was a man out of time. He lived in the future, waiting for the rest of the music world to catch up. Anticipating vital elements of punk, psych, surf, metal and more well before they happened, he invented large swaths of the basic electric guitar vocabulary. His use of distortion and power chords, in particular, are essential to the rock lexicon. Every 45 he released was another lesson, eagerly studied by fledgling guitarists around the world. About Link's first hit, Pete Townsend said, “If it hadn't been for Link Wray and ‘Rumble,’ I never would have picked up a guitar.” Pete's sentiment was echoed by legions of fretboard aficionados.
The Swan Singles Sessions ‘63-’67 collects twenty-six absolutely primal six-string salvos. From his own “Jack the Ripper” to covers of Dylan and the Beatles, the intensity never lets up.