Shadowman

Album Review

With the roar of the opening track, "Rumble On the Docks," the 68-year-old rock & roll guitar legend proves he's back in a big way. Backed up by a spartan bass and drums rhythm section, Link comes to the plate here with nine new originals in his classic, abrasive style, along with covers of John Fogerty's "Run Through the Jungle," "Heartbreak Hotel" and Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)." On "Timewarp/Brain Damage," the recasts the old lick from "Rawhide" in a new speed metal version, and with an album split fairly evenly between his raw vocals and bone-crunching guitar, this album is his most cohesive in years. While other artists from the '50s attempt to move into country or easy listening, Wray's style hasn't altered one bit over the intervening years, and this one finds him kicking and clawing his way into the next century.