THE DAY I DISCOVERED THE MISSING LINK (LINK WRAY)

One of the most satisfying aspects of collecting records is the seemingly endless amount of recorded music there is left to explore. One of my most memorable discoveries was the day I bought LINK WRAY's 1979 "Bullshot" album. I thought the leather clad cat was some British punk I hadn't read about in any of the fanzines I had begun to use for reference. Nor had any of the bands I was listening to mentioned him as an influence. I brought it home based simply on the cover. The black and white image with bold red text was a similar to the graphic style that adorned my copies of THE ONLY ONES "Special View" and the self titled album by THE BEAT. 

Naturally I began my research and learned that Link had in fact been around since the earliest days of rock & roll. I initiated a search for anything with Link Wray's name attached to it and found a collection of his early work called "Rock'n'Roll'n'Rumble" on Charly Records. I didn't have to wait long to experience the untamed savagery of his iconic 1958 instrumental rocker, "Rumble" as it kicked off Side 1 with a sonic blast. The over-blown distortion of "Ace Of Spades" and "I'm Branded" combined with Link's tortured howl on "Hidden Charms" and "Good Rockin' Tonight" embedded an indelible influence on my musical tastes. 

WELCOME TO "TRIP THRU TYME"

PEBBLES - VOL. 5 may very well be ground zero for my fifty plus years of record collecting. I had only recently begun to dive into punk and was hungry for more. While browsing the bins at my local record store the hype statement, "17 Original 60s Garage Punk Classics" emblazoned boldly across the cover of the album immediately caught my attention and I blindly added it to my stack on the hopes of hearing some classic punk. I didn't have a clue who any of the bands were but with names like THE PLAGUE and THE DIRTY WURDS, I was willing to take a chance. Surely, this had to be something like THE SEX PISTOLS, THE VIBRATORS, TEENAGE HEAD, or RUBBER CITY REBELS records I had been annoying my friends with the past couple of years. 

I didn't have to wait long to discover that the chance I took on a collection of unknown sixties punk bands would launch me on a totally new trajectory on my musical journey. My mind was blown on first listen! The raw power of "No Good Woman" by THE TREE shook me to the core; followed by the snotty blast of THE PLAGUE's "Go Away" I was hooked within the first two tracks of Side 1. The lineup continued to rattle me senseless with the triple treat of THE GENTLEMEN, THE 5 CANADIANS and the nasty punk screamer, "Why" by THE DIRTY WURDS. My transformation into a full-fledged garage geek continued on Side 2. I was treated to the punk snarl of LITTLE PHIL & THE NIGHTSHADOWS and THE STATE OF MIND; even being administered my first dose of moody psychedelia courtesy of THE SATYRS mesmerizing "Yesterday's Hero".

I listened to the album over and over again for days and it remains one of my all time favorite garage compilations to this day. I was quickly addicted to the primal punk pounding that had been spewed by American teenagers a decade before Johnny Rotten would say naughty words on live British television. I began gobbling up the rest of the PEBBLES series, soon becoming a student of the sound and building the foundation of my garage collection with the readily available essentials. PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS, THE SEEDS, COUNT FIVE, THE STANDELLS, ELECTRIC PRUNES, SHADOWS OF KNIGHT, even TROGGS and KINKS albums were my gateway to THE SONICS, THE REMAINS, THE LEAVES and THE MUSIC MACHINE. 

I expanded my knowledge by absorbing the description of bands plastered on the back covers of the BACK FROM THE GRAVE, GARAGE PUNK UNKNOWNS, HIGHS IN THE MID-SIXTIES and MINDROCKERS compilations and learned that many of the original 60s bands could only be found on 7" singles. So I broadened my search into dusty bins of 45s; adding slabs of teen punk from QUESTION MARK & THE MYSTERIANS, THE McCOYS, THE STRANGELOVES, THE BARBARIANS, SYNDICATE OF SOUND and THE GESTURES to my regular diet of sixties garage.

Almost fifty years later I am still afflicted with the garage disease I caught in the early 80s. I am constantly digging deeper for those long lost gems. It is my intention to share my journey over the decades with stories about wild finds and discovering new genres as I take you on my TRIP THRU TYME.