#591 Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps - Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps

We have a winner.

Studiowise, Gene Vincent is the quite possibly the greatest of the frontman of early rock and roll, and this album provides all the evidence you need. Youtube suggests that despite some charmingly raw rockabilly mayhem, these guys were not the strongest performers around, but this album beats out every other record of note from the era.

Some Little Richard energy, some Elvis cool, and a generous serving of uniquely Gene Vincent menace add up to a hell of a lot of swagger and allaround rock power. The beats are crisp, the guitars are fiery, and a chorus of hooting, hollering, and yelping from the backing band give this thing an unbeatable energy. This is all fronted by Vincent himself who effortlessly pours raw personality into every song, from the tension at the heart of Cruisin, the madness at the fringes of Red Blue Jeans and a Ponytail, and the unhinged energy that seethes and explodes from Cat Man, the most exhilaratingly terrifying rock and roll song of the 50's.

I put Red Blue Jeans and a Ponytail on a mix for Dan recently and he commented that it was a great song. I started to obliquely disagree and he headed me off at the pass, putting it perfectly "well, its a great recording". That nails it, with respect to that song and this whole album: its a perfect recording of some great songs, every missed note, every shriek, every muttered and cracked syllable essential for its singular vim and vigor 5/5