Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Robert Gordon


6-1-10 Robert Gordon


LP ARE YOU GONNA BE THE ONE? RCA US AFL1-3773

1981 10 TRKS 5th; Danny Gatton

LP BAD BOY RCA US AFL1-3523

1980 11 TRKS 4th; Chris Spedding

CD BLACK SLACKS BEAR FAMILY DE BCD 15 489

1990 25 TRK Collection (late 70's recordings)

12" ENDLESS SLEEP / THE FOOL PRIVATE ST UK PVTS 127

1977 3 TRKS one side @ 78rpm

LP FRESH FISH SPECIAL (with Link Wray) PRIVATE ST US PS 7008

1978 10 TRKS 2nd

7" IT'S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE / ROCK BILLY BOOGIE (PS) RCA US PB-11471

1979 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR KING BISCUIT US 88018.2

1979 18 TRKS Live

CD ROBERT GORDON WITH LINK WRAY ONE WAY US OW 34493

1977 10 TRKS 1st

LP ROBERT GORDON WITH LINK WRAY PRIVATE ST US PS 2030

1977 10 TRKS 1st

LP ROCK BILLY BOOGIE RCA US AFL1-3294

1979 12 TRKS 3rd

CD ROCK BILLY BOOGIE / BAD BOY COLLECTABLES US COL-CD-2820

1979/80 23 TRKS 2 on 1 ('01 issue)

LP TOO FAST TO LIVE, TOO YOUNG TO DIE (Collection) RCA US AFL1-4380

1982 12 TRK Collection


I am certain I first saw Robert Gordon at the Whisky A-Go-Go, with Link Wray – Thursday October 27, 1977, 9:00pm. The ticket was $5. I still have it.


I must’ve heard his first album at work – Superior Music in Glendale, CA. Songs like “Flyin’ Saucer Rock & Roll” and “Red Hot” sounded good to me. Was it punk rock? I dunno. It was certainly before XTC, Magazine and Ultravox came to town. Gordon was the singer of the Tuff Darts – a punk band. I guess.


Next time I saw Robert Gordon was at The Roxy, his guitarist was Chris Spedding (Tues. May 1, 1979). Gordon’s RCA Debut “Rock Billy Boogie” sounded good, too – “Black Slacks” etc. I still have the “invitation”…guess I’d better R.S.V.P. to Yvonne (whoever that was, a woman at the label, no doubt).


My 3rd time seeing him was, again, at The Roxy (Fri. May 15, 1981). I don’t remember who was the guitarist. Danny Gatton? Looks like I bought tickets this time.


Always seemed odd that there didn’t seem to be regular CD issues of his work in the US – took me until recently to find a CD for his debut album (on One Way, a label notorious for letting titles go out of print). Same thing goes for the Collectables label.


30 years passes in the blink of an eye – I have all of the Robert Gordon titles described above. Does he still play live (or tour)? Does he make new CD’s? Whatever happened to Robert Gordon? I suppose I could look him up on Google or Wikipedia. Still alive.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like Robert Gordon. I have Rock Billy Boogie on white vinyl US promo and the CD issue on One Way. I really need to hear his Link Wray collaborations! I see they're now a CD twofer. Very catty comment on his Wikipedia page!

Quote> Though some of the (2005) shows certainly showed promise, there were also many shows where Gordon seemed unfocused, did not know the words to some of the songs, or seemed more interested in having discussions with the soundpeople while on stage than in entertaining the crowd. Some of the reviews that appeared around this time even suggested that he was inebriated while performing. A review from the well-respected Norwegian "ROCK" website: [3] An interesting review of the Umeå concert on July 10, 2009 appeared in the "Västerbottens Folkblad" (Sweden), a newspaper that is usually very mild in its reviews, but in this case Anna Wallentin’s review of the concert makes for sad reading. She concludes the review with: "He leaves his performance without showing any interest in offering encores, and there is no applause asking for it". [4]<
Rowr!

Anonymous said...

Also, Robert Gordon was an early music appearance on SCTV (!) where he sang Marshall Crenshaw's "Someday, Someway." Rather well, I thought! Looks like Danny Gatton was lead guitar on that appearance. It dated from 1981 so your emory was probably correct.

Deiter said...

I saw Gordon on his first tour w/ Spedding @ The Whiskey Au Go Go. It was all too clear much of the audience was there to see Chris Spedding (even took a moment to sing Miss Betty). I'm afraid Gordon was humbled by it. It may not have been like that everywhere but in LA that night it was obvious.

I dug what Robert was doing and props to him for having the courage to stand next to some amazing guitar players (Link Wray on The Way I Walk? C'mon! Does it get any (red) hotter than that?), but let's face it, he wasn't really bringing anything new to the genre. He was an able journeyman at best. He was certainly loyal to the form and maybe a little too bound by it at the same time. It might've been nice for him to have a little more fun with it like, say, The Cramps.

Ah well, he did have some great moments!