Albums: Gene Vincent

Bluejean Bop!/ Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps

The six-string stunt man Jeff Beck is generally considered the guitarist's guitarist, which I suppose makes "Galloping" Cliff Gallup the guitarist's guitarist's guitarist, judging by the enthusiasm Beck displays in his sleeve notes to these reissues of Gene Vincent's first two albums, which he considers "the best examples of radical-yet-sophisticated, guitar-driven rock'n'roll music ever recorded". Gallup was Vincent's lead guitarist, and a massive influence on a generation of British guitar heroes. Produced by Ken Nelson in Nashville, there's a compelling spaciousness to these recordings, in which the erotic-hoodlum tremor of Vincent's voice is suspended between Gallup's stealthy riffs and runs and the crisp snap of Dickie Harrell's snare. Save perhaps for Bumps Blackwell's work with Little Richard, these cuts have a visceral quality unmatched in their era (1956/7). Despite being bolstered by the addition of "Be-Bop-a-Lula", Bluejean Bop! is the weaker album, with too many winsome ballads betraying Vincent's country roots; the second is much more dynamic – from the first exhilarating notes of "Red Blue Jeans and a Ponytail" to the final shudder of "Pretty Pretty Baby" it's an exercise in controlled abandon that remains probably the finest rock'n'roll album ever released.