You might think Link Wray had cut Apache a lot earlier than he did just based on its sound. Early '60s, right? Maybe a bit later? Nope — try late 1989, when Wray recorded the album at London's tiny Pathway Studios with Bruce Brand (of Thee Headcoats). The result is a throwback gem, ten brief songs that pack the kind of punch you'd expect of material recorded during Wray's early rock-and-roll heyday.

Of course, the encounter between rock's quintessential instrumental guitarist and its quintessential instrumental tune was bound to happen, not least because Wray himself is part Native American — Shawnee, not Apache. Each tribe gets a number here, with "Shawnee" resembling "Apache" in skeletal form, Wray's tremolo working double-overtime. His "Apache" is a lean, hungry monster. This is a song whose melody is so indestructible it always keeps its shape. Wray doesn't deviate much from the template, but his implacable string bending goes just a bit further the longer the tune rolls on, and the hint of menace always lying beneath the surface of his playing keeps things on edge.

Wray is a guitarist first, so the songs featuring him on vocals, like "Big Boss Man," are a bit diluted.… read more »